The New Orleans Saints had a great draft over the weekend.
Trading up to get Sedrick Ellis was a great move, especially since they could not get their hands on Glenn Dorsey. Ellis is the next best thing, and a lot of analysis on ESPN and NFL Network had him and Dorsey ranked 1-A and 1-B. Ellis will bring the swift and strong burst that was needed so desperately last year to put pressure on the quarterback. He will also be a stout run-stopper at 305 pounds, helping plug up the holes and taking on the double teams necessary to allow Will Smith, Charles Grant, and newly acquired Bobby McCray to get around the corners and into the opposing backfield. With Brian Young slowing down, and Hollis Thomas showing his age of late, he should be in the starting front four come opening kickoff against Tampa Bay.
The second round brought in cornerback Tracey Porter from Indiana. Though small at 5’8” and 185 weight, Porter brings the ball-hawking speed and youthful energy to an aging secondary that was one of the worst in the NFL last season. With Mike Mckenzie coming off of surgery and getting up in age, and the completely inconsistent Jason David, he will see some extended playing time this season.
Though the signing of Randall Gay, last year's draftee Usama Young having a year in the system, and vets Aaron Glenn and Jason Craft on the roster, Porter will have to come in and prove himself quickly, or he will find himself deep on the depth chart, but still on the roster.
- B/R Ticket Guide
The first of two picks in the fifth round, DeMario Pressley is another draftee at defensive tackle. Weighing in at 301, Pressley is another heavy hitter who happens to be quick on his feet. As a small project, he could work his way into the starting line up with older and increasingly slower players ahead of him.
If he wants it bad enough, he will work his way onto the field quite often in the many different packages the Saints defense could throw. He should make the roster, and be no more than the third string guy.
The second pick in the fifth brought offensive tackle Carl Nicks. With a bulky frame of 341 pounds, he could be a heck of a run blocker. The main question is if he can control his weight, and stay on task to be in the running for a backup position. But with the Saints already invested in four young, offensive tackles, he might have a better shot at making the roster as a guard. Otherwise, he may just be practice-squad project material.
The sixth round brought the first kicker drafted by the Saints since Morten Andersen in 1982. Hopefully, Taylor Mehlhaff will have the same success. He has good accuracy, but his kicking distance has been questioned. Though kicking in a dome for at least eight games a year shouldn’t be too treacherous. He is young and taller than Martin Gramatica, and especially after the Olindo Mare debacle of ’07, Mehlhaff should get a good look from now until the season's beginning. He should make it on the active roster.
The last pick of the day came in the seventh round with Adrian Arrington. A receiver who played in the shadow of Mario Manningham, he is better known as a possession receiver than a down-field threat. But with all of the dropped passes last year by the Saints' receiving corps, he will be a welcomed addition and will get a good loock after Marques Colston made the roster after being nearly the last player taken in the 2006 draft. He will be a practice-squad project, unless Robert Meachem is slow to start and the rest of the corps reverts to last season's drops.
The Saints addressed their need at DT and slightly at CB. They did not, however, draft either a tight end or a linebacker for the second consecutive year, despite have a need in both areas for multiple years now. Though the addition of another WR to the mix, and a young kicker to challenge the incumbent are promising.
This years draft grade: B.
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8 months ago
Picking up Arrington late was good, but why don't the Saints just bite the bullet and start drafting top quality corners? With the four that would have been available at the #10 spot (McKelvin, Talib, Rodgers-Cromartie, Jenkins), it seems ill-advised to trade up for a defensive lineman, even though I think Ellis will be a great player. Bottom line is whoever has played on the opposite side of McKenzie for the last three years has been atrocious (Fred Thomas, Jason David, Jason Craft), and offenses will continue to burn the Saints unless they start picking up more than nickelbacks in the offseason and in the draft.
8 months ago
Too true, the Saints should have taken a top prospective corner. But they went for the sure thing with Ellis, their probably still gun shy after the Jason David signing went awful for them. If Ellis wasn't available like Dorsey was, I would have stayed put at 10 and taken either Rodgers-Cromartie who is the tall, fast corner teams can build around or gone with Keith Rivers LB from USC who would have helped solidified the linebacking corps for years.
It would have also been nice for the Saints to draft a quarterback in the late rounds as sort of a project for the future. The kind of kid who can sit and learn from Brees for a few years without demanding playing time (like Colt Brennan or Matt Flynn), but there is always free agency for the players that didn't get drafted. But I hope the Saints wait till next season and draft quarterback Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan, he was a ton of upside and leadership qualities that an NFL quarterback needs to have in order to win games.
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