Saints' 2015 Draft: Aggregating Report Card Grades from Around the Web

The 2015 NFL draft is in the books, and the New Orleans Saints supplemented their roster with nine prospects over the course of the three-day event.

The draft gives members of the media a chance to evaluate each team’s selections. Like the other teams in the league, the Saints’ draft has been closely examined by multiple analysts over the past couple of days.

Granted, grading a team’s draft is highly subjective, and many of these analysts base their grades on their own preconceived opinions on how the drafted players will pan out at the professional level.

In this slideshow, we’ve compiled a collection of some of these Saints draft grades, and we’ll take a detailed look at what various analysts are saying about New Orleans’ 2015 draft.

As a refresher, here’s a list of the Saints’ picks:

• Round 1: Andrus Peat, OT
• Round 1: Stephone Anthony, ILB
• Round 2: Hau'oli Kikaha, OLB
• Round 3: Garrett Grayson, QB
• Round 3: P.J. Williams, CB
• Round 5: Davis Tull, OLB
• Round 5: Tyeler Davison, DT
• Round 5: Damian Swann, CB
• Round 7: Marcus Murphy, RB

CBS Sports/NFLDraftScout.com

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

CBS Sports teams up with NFLDraftScout.com for draft coverage and evaluations, and analyst Rob Rang handed out grades.

He apparently didn't think too highly of the Saints' draft, as he gave them a C-. In particular, Rang questioned New Orleans' first-round selections of Andrus Peat and Stephone Anthony, along with some of the Saints' other picks.

Here's part of what he had to say:

"

The Saints addressed big concerns along the offensive line and middle linebacker with their two first-round picks in Andrus Peat and Stephone Anthony. But, frankly, I'm considerably lower on both players than many, including (obviously) Mickey Loomis and his staff. I will acknowledge that Peat's lack of a mean streak isn't as important in New Orleans' pass-happy attack and that his length and balance will be accentuated in this scheme. The hard-charging Anthony fits coordinator Rob Ryan's scheme well, but he isn't the dominant defender his workouts indicate. Edge rusher Hau'oli Kikaha certainly was productive at Washington and has the heavy hands and motor to star off the edge but (like Anthony) he's isn't the most disciplined or fluid changing directions, leaving him vulnerable to play-action. Cornerback P.J. Williams has the instincts and physicality to be successful in the NFL but must clean up his tackling, as too often he'll lower his shoulder but fail to wrap up.

"

Rang is a highly respected draft analyst and an experienced talent evaluator, but he's nitpicking with some of this critical analysis.

Yes, P.J. Williams sometimes doesn't wrap up as well as he should on tackles, but he's an athletic, physical corner who fell to the middle of the third round before the Saints took him. It could easily be argued that New Orleans got Williams at good value, as he displays the requisite press-man cover skills to play right away in coordinator Rob Ryan's defense. 

Rotoworld

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

While Rang was unimpressed with New Orleans' picks, Evan Silva of Rotoworld was a lot kinder to the Saints with his draft grades. Silva gave New Orleans a B+, and he was impressed with fifth-round pick Davis Tull, among other selections. 

Here's part of his analysis:

"

Tull is an athletic phenom with an absurdly productive small-college track record. Davison has legitimate starting potential at nose tackle. Grayson is likely to prove no more than a long-term backup, but was fine value in round three. Williams' ability to play press makes him a good fit under Saints DC Rob Ryan. Swann can play safety or slot corner, while Murphy has a chance to contribute on special teams. The Saints did not draft a single pass catcher after parting with Graham and Kenny Stills this offseason. They are revamping their team philosophy, and I think this was a very fine start.

"

Silva's take on quarterback Garrett Grayson is particularly interesting. He makes a good point in his assertion that the young signal-caller is not necessarily the eventual replacement for Drew Brees, as many analysts seems to take as a given. 

Grayson was brought in so that he could be given a chance to succeed Brees. If, after a couple of seasons in the organization, the Saints don't believe Grayson is the right guy to take over, they could certainly opt to pull the plug and go in a different direction. 

NFL.com/College Football 24/7

NFL.com featured College Football 24/7 writer Brian Fischer's draft grades on its website. 

Fischer views several of the Saints' selections favorably, but he gives them only a C grade, which is a bit puzzling. 

Following is a portion of his analysis:

"

An offensive lineman isn't a sexy pick, but Peat could wind up being the best player at left tackle in this draft class and is just scratching the surface of his potential as a pass protector. He will be able to start right away in New Orleans and help keep Drew Brees upright. Anthony is an inside linebacker who should help defensive coordinator Rob Ryan slow opposing offenses down.

"

Fischer's views on Andrus Peat are spot on. This young lineman has all the tools to develop into a top-notch NFL left tackle. He has the quick feet and proper hand technique to excel as a pass-blocker, and he has the size and power to dominate defensive linemen at the point of attack on running plays. 

Bleacher Report

Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports

Bleacher Report NFL National Lead Writer Ty Schalter took on the task of evaluating all 32 teams, and he gave New Orleans a favorable review that ended with an A- grade.

Most notable in Schalter's write-up was his mention of the type of defensive player the Saints brought in:

"

The rest of the draft was dedicated to getting defensive coordinator Rob Ryan talented, hard-nosed football players, and for good reason. The soft Saints defense couldn't do anything right last season; the reinforcements to the run defense, pass rush and pass coverage were desperately needed.

"

His observation of the Saints' defensive selections as "hard-nosed football players" is something few other analysts have mentioned. Every defensive player New Orleans picked, regardless of position, is a tenacious, unrelenting competitor. If anything, the Saints became a tougher, more physical defensive unit in this draft, and that's never a bad thing. 

ESPN.com

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN.com critiqued the draft a little differently than other publications, giving each team a "Thumbs up" or a "Thumbs down" in place of a letter grade. The Saints were awarded a "Thumbs up" by reporter Mike Triplett, who covers New Orleans for ESPN.com. 

Here's how he sized up the Saints draft:

"

It was more solid than spectacular, but it’s hard not to like a draft that included a total of nine picks, two first-rounders and three in the top 78. I’d be even more excited if the Saints addressed more of their glaring short-term needs early instead of going with an OT and QB in the first four picks. But they did restock the defense with six of their top eight picks.

"

Triplett brings up a good point regarding the Saints' choices in their first four selections. They could have easily gone with a defensive player with their first overall pick and a wide receiver with their fourth pick, thus going with a strategy based more on winning now. 

The case could be made, however, that the Saints were actually shooting for both, drafting for now as well as for the long-term future, with the selection of Andrus Peat. New Orleans obviously had the future in mind when it made the Garrett Grayson pick, but Peat could come in and start as early as this coming season and strengthen the offensive line.

Meanwhile, Stephone Anthony and Hau'oli Kikaha, the Saints' second and third picks, are strong candidates to step in and play immediately in 2015. 

Final Grades

Outlet	Analyst	Grade
CBS Sports/NFLDraftScout.com	Rob Rang	C-
Rotoworld	Evan Silva	B+
NFL.com/College Football 24/7	Brian Fischer	C
Bleacher Report	Ty Schalter	A-
ESPN.com	Mike Triplett	Thumbs up

Grading a draft is a subjective process that starts with an analyst's view of an individual player and then combines it with how the analyst sees that player fitting into his new team.

Taking all of a team's draft picks and then drawing a single grade out of that can be broad and generalized. As seen in the diversity of grades for the Saints' draft, there's no consensus on how they did this year. 

In my Saints draft wrap-up, I gave New Orleans an A- grade, citing the team's focus on defense and the type of defensive player it went for. New Orleans brought in a collection of high-energy, physical players who are all talented enough to come in and compete for immediate playing time in Ryan's unit. 

While there are mixed opinions on this year's Saints draft, the fact that they rang up nine selections suggests that, at the least, they'll have a deeper, younger roster in 2015.