New Orleans Saints 2010 Draft: What Could Have Been

Following the New Orleans Saints Superbowl win over the Indianapolis Colts, there were many people that came out to announce their Black and Gold fandom.

Most were always there and some just wanted to be part of the excitement.

Shortly after, many began to ponder what the Saints would do in the upcoming draft.

There were Saints mock drafts flooding the internet and flying around like locusts in the Bible. Some by experts, some by fans, and some by people just looking to get in on the fun.

Some were great, some were bad, and a few was just plain awful, but all were entertaining.

Most mock-drafts had the Saints focusing on the defensive side of the ball for 2010 with only a few picks being reserved for spots like TE, RB, and QB.

Most of them also had the Saints focusing on the LB, DT, and DE position very early in the draft, which seemed to make the most sense.

Scott Fujita was lost at the OLB position and was expected to be replaced with an early round draft pick. That wasn't the case.

Charles Grant's future is still up in the air and a replacement for him was also expected to be found early on. That also didn't happen. They did however sign Alex Brown from Chicago, at the DE position and he will most likely compete with Anthony Hargrove and Jimmy Wilkerson for playing time.

That still left the LB and DT positions to be potential early targets of the Superbowl Champions heading into the 2010 draft.

What actually happened was very different than what was expected and left many scratching their heads.

In all actuality they ended up drafting two offensive players in the first three rounds and a Nickel Corner in the first.

The DT position wouldn't be addressed until the fourth round and a LB or RB would not even be drafted.

It was a puzzling draft no doubt, and I wanted to take a look at what the draft could have or should have looked like for the Champs.

Make sure to check out the Free Agency additions on the last slide.

First Round— Daryl Washington LB-TCU

It would have been no surprise if Washington were picked at 32nd overall by the Saints.

With Scott Fujita, gone it opens the door for competition at the spot and Washington would have provided that.

He's a great player that could have earned the starting job by regular season and would have been an upgrade over Fujita.

Second Round—Myron Lewis CB-Vanderbuilt

If a Nickel corner was an area of need, it could have waited until round two or later.

Myron Lewis is a physical specimen at 6'1" 205lbs that would have been great to bring up in the box against the run or bring on a corner blitz.

He would have been the perfect fit for our defense that loves to bring blitzes from different spots.

Third Round—Dennis Pitta TE-BYU

If there is one pick that I'm o.k. with, it's the Jimmy Graham pick.

He's a great player in an area of need and was drafted in the correct round.

However, Dennis Pitta is a proven player that was available when Graham was picked. Both are Pass-Catching TE's that should thrive in our offense.

Fourth Round—Cam Thomas DT-North Carolina

In the fourth round we moved up to get Al Woods of LSU.

I'm glad we moved up to grab a DT but I question if Woods was the better choice given Cam Thomas was still on the board.

Woods has faced injuries at the college level and that also weighs on the mind.

Fifth Round—Jonathan Dwyer RB-Georgia Tech

How we could have passed on this guy in the Fifth round for a back up Center is beyond me.

We desperately need a short yardage back and Dwyer would have been the perfect fit.

He would have been great around the goal line, on short yardage situations, and has the potential to become more than that.

He would have also provided great depth for a running-back duo that has seen injuries in the past.

Seventh Round—Zac Robinson QB-OSU

It's no secret that Mark Brunell is not the same player he was 10 years ago.

Zac Robinson is a great young QB with a strong arm. He has proven time and time again that he is a better QB than Sean Canfield.

He played better at the Senior Bowl and made Canfield look like a high school student in a quarterback competition that shortly followed.

Canfield will never be more than a third string QB and was essentially a pick that was thrown away.

Zac would have been a much better pick.

Free Agency Additions

As most know, the draft doesn't end with the last pick.

Teams must continue to find talent that was overlooked in the draft.

Here is a look at three players I would have added in Free Agency.

Rico McCoy LB-Tennessee
Max Hall QB- BYU
Lagerette Blount RB-Oregon