New Orleans Saints 2012 Mock Draft: Buying or Selling Matt Miller's Latest Picks

After the NFL Combine ended, our very own Matt Miller filled out a full seven-round mock draft. He had the New Orleans Saints coming out with plenty of talented prospects, despite not having a first-round pick. The players he chooses bear an eerie similarity to the players I've been having the Saints targeting.

With that being said, I'm here to buy or sell his picks in relation to their value on the board and whoever was still available at the time of that pick. Let's see which picks I have as hits and which ones I think could have been better.

SELL: 2nd Round: Bobby Wagner, OLB, Utah St.

Even though I am selling this pick, I still think Bobby Wagner would be a great get to play opposite of Martez Wilson for years to come. One of my favorite players in this draft. The reason I am selling this pick is because of the guy that comes off the board after him in this mock draft. A player who is perfect value and can play multiple positions of need on the defensive line... Jared Crick, DT/DE, from Nebraska.

If Crick were still available this late, you'd have to cash in on a first-round talent who fell in the draft because of injury, right? 

Wagner would be the safer pick because he has no history of injuries. He would also would fill one of the main areas of needs on the Saints: weak side linebacker. The 6'0", 230-lb., Utah St. product would also be a tackling machine based on his high production in college.

Before Crick tore a pectoral muscle last season, he was considered a Top 10 pick who could rush the passer from the outside or inside of the defensive line. He would address two needs, defensive end and defensive tackle, and would also give the Saints a young talent with a much bigger upside than Wagner's. 

SELL: 3rd Round: Josh Norman, CB, Coastal Carolina

Josh Norman is a great small-school prospect with next-level skills. It's just that his certain skill set is not a fit for the kind of defense that Steve Spagnuolo brings to New Orleans. Yes, Norman fits the taller, physical type of cornerback that Spags wants, but his corners have to be better in man coverage. 

Norman is better suited in a Tampa 2 type zone defense, where opponents can't take advantage of his lack of speed. He would benefit from sitting in a zone, and just reading the QB and making plays on the ball. He is heck of a ball-hawk who can make plays, but will get beaten a lot in man coverage, which Spagnuolo runs.

He is also a SELL because of the versatility of a couple of the prospects that were still left on the board. Shea McClellin and Audie Cole were still available, and both could add depth and starting potential at areas of need.

McClellin, 6'3", 250 lbs., ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at the combine, and looked fluid in his seamless transition from DE to OLB at the Senior Bowl. This late in the draft, the Boise St. product would be a steal. He could also play that Mathias Kiwanuka-type role on the defense: OLB who can rotate in with the pass-rushers.

Cole, 6'4" 240, can play at ILB or OLB in any scheme. His strength is in his coverage and pass-rushing ability, which would make him an excellent bookend to Wilson on the weakside. If Johnathan Vilma is lost to more games this year, he would be able to fill in on the inside also.

SELL: 4th Round: Kheeston Randall, DT, Texas

Another pick that is devalued based on who is left still sitting on the board. Kheeston Randall is a one- dimensional player whose ceiling is pretty low. He is good at defending the run, and often takes on double-teams to free up linebackers to make player. If you wanted that in a NT prospect, Loni Fangupo is still on the board, with a bigger body to move and has a higher upside in the long run.

Fangupo, 6'1", 330 lbs., is raw and plays uninspired at times, but can be a major force if a coaching staff can light a fire under him. I think this staff could do that for him. He never got to establish himself on the collegiate level and could be a late bloomer at the next level.

Also available at the pick were prospects Nate Potter and Michael Egnew. Matt addresses the OT need later in the draft with "diamond in the rough" type of steal, so Potter is less of a need here. Even though DT gets addressed later, I felt Fangupo was a better value than Egnew. Despite that, Egnew would be a great prospect to put alongside Jimmy Graham and have two receiving TE threats.

BUY: 5th Round: Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan

This is a great pick if the Saints lose Marques Colston and Robert Meachem to free agency. I compare Jordan White to being a taller Lance Moore. He's a possession-type of receiver who can work the middle of the field and has great hands. He is a second-round talent who drops this far because of his injury history. He has torn his ACL and torn ligaments in his knee that took away two seasons.

He overcame all of that to become a back-to-back semi-finalist for the Biletnikoff Award in his junior and senior seasons. In those final years, White had 234 receptions for over 3,200 yards and 27 touchdowns. If he can remain healthy, he has shown the ability to be a consistent playmaker who can help ease the loss of losing those key free agents. 

BUY: 6th Round: Josh Chapman, NT, Alabama

Another great value pick here. Chapman also possesses more pass-rushing ability than the DT's listed at the fourth-round pick (Fangupo and Randall). Chapman is a shorter prospect who uses that to his advantage, combined with a great explosion off the ball to get lower than opponents quickly. He uses that trait to exploit double-teams and free up lanes for other players to get into the backfield.

He is a very unselfish player who understands his role on a team and never complains. Chapman could add depth to a defensive tackle position that could get very thin after free agency opens. That all depends on what Aubrayo Franklin and Shaun Rogers decide to do as unrestricted free agents. New Orleans could keep one of them, but surely won't keep both again at their asking prices.

BUY: 6th Round: Tom Compton, OT, South Dakota

The Saints sure do love those small-school offensive line prospects. Tom Compton could be another late-round gem that New Orleans finds from a non-FBS school. They struck gold with Jahri Evans (Bloomsburg) and Jermon Bushrod (Towson) in the middle-to-late round area and could hit it again with Compton.

The South Dakota product is 6'5", 315 lbs., and is a perfect candidate to be groomed for the RT position. Right now, that position is being held by Zach Strief, who can't handle starting full-time, and Charles Brown, who is looking more and more like an injury-prone reserve player. Compton can be "red-shirted" this year and set up to compete for the RT position in 2013. 

That would make it 3-for-3 for the Saints in the small-school offensive line department.

SELL: 7th Round: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise St.

Kellen Moore shouldn't be drafted. At least by a NFL team anyway. He just doesn't have the makings of a starting-quality QB. A lot of scouting reports compare him to Chase Daniel, and that just doesn't get me excited. At all.

Daniel has just developed into a capable backup QB that can be counted on. Why draft another project with no intent on moving Daniel? Isn't that why they drafted Sean Canfield and proceeded to take him on and off the practice squad bi-weekly? 

This pick should be used to get younger on special teams and start weeding out the older veterans who only serve a purpose on special teams. If they were to get a player like Ron Brooks, CB from LSU, then they would be ably to fill two needs, cornerback and special teamer, in one pick and get younger in the process.

Brooks is a playmaker who returned each interception he had in his career for a touchdown. That would also add a playmaker in the secondary. That's something that has been missing for a while.