2016 NFL Draft Prospect Thread ...............

[WhoDatFan26]

Originally Posted by jeanpierre

And you can always find a 1000 recyd X-receiver in the 7th round...

Again, you really want to protect an aged quarterback with that salary cap committment with Evans and Lelito...

You can get by with a high-effort Lelito, but not both...

I agree that a Guard needs to be drafted but not before a DE or LB. The Offense for all its early season struggles was still top 5 in The League. The defense was 31st. Case closed.

[hagan714]

Originally Posted by WhoDatFan26

Both Coach Payton and Mickey have stated no more wild spending in free agency. We will be building through the draft. You build through the draft, get younger cheaper, deeper. DE, LB, G, TE, WR, NT.

that is why i am looking at young guns in FA that should be mid level FA. ok some pipe dreaming is in there

I agree draft is a huge key and failures we had in the past few years have hurt this team big time. I am a firm believer in the draft as the #1 way to build an entire team not just starters. I also believe the draft is the best tool in controlling ones cap figures. Also an area the bad drafts have killed us.

My top 2015 FA shopping list was a run stuffing space eater

Dan Williams (Signed 4-year, $25M deal with OAK)
Vs
Brandon Browner (Signed 3-year, $15M deal with NO)
C.J. Spiller (Signed 4-year, $16M deal with NO)

Solid YOUNG mid priced talent in the trenches can be had but you need to be willing to roll dice a bit. Dump the glamor positions ie CB RB from your shopping list. Glamor potions are better filled in the draft than FA IMO. Especially when your dealing a cap issue.

Unless your seriously in the running for a super bowl by pass the glamor positions in FA. The saints have not had a true shot at the super bowl since the day they signed Rob Ryan. Year 1 he almost got me to eat crow. But he proved me right in Seattle and lost the game for the saints, After that it was pointless. It honestly was pointless after the Pats game that year.

Neither Browner nor Spiller were on my radar and neither signing got me excited. To much dough for two players with issues. Heck i would have bypassed Byrd in heartbeat when i heard the contract amount.

A single player in my opinion would have been and was a safer and wiser move financially.

So if a solid YOUNG DL or OL player can be had at a fair price in FA you gotta go with it if you can.

Manage your cap through the draft as you said is huge. But now we need to get the most out the wasted dollars already spent. Either FA or the draft, you gotta maximize those investments.

[WhoDatFan26]

Originally Posted by hagan714

that is why i am looking at young guns in FA that should be mid level FA. ok some pipe dreaming is in there

I agree draft is a huge key and failures we had in the past few years have hurt this team big time. I am a firm believer in the draft as the #1 way to build an entire team not just starters. I also believe the draft is the best tool in controlling ones cap figures. Also an area the bad drafts have killed us.

My top 2015 FA shopping list was a run stuffing space eater

Dan Williams (Signed 4-year, $25M deal with OAK)
Vs
Brandon Browner (Signed 3-year, $15M deal with NO)
C.J. Spiller (Signed 4-year, $16M deal with NO)

Solid YOUNG mid priced talent in the trenches can be had but you need to be willing to roll dice a bit. Dump the glamor positions ie CB RB from your shopping list. Glamor potions are better filled in the draft than FA IMO. Especially when your dealing a cap issue.

Unless your seriously in the running for a super bowl by pass the glamor positions in FA. The saints have not had a true shot at the super bowl since the day they signed Rob Ryan. Year 1 he almost got me to eat crow. But he proved me right in Seattle and lost the game for the saints, After that it was pointless. It honestly was pointless after the Pats game that year.

Neither Browner nor Spiller were on my radar and neither signing got me excited. To much dough for two players with issues. Heck i would have bypassed Byrd in heartbeat when i heard the contract amount.

A single player in my opinion would have been and was a safer and wiser move financially.

So if a solid YOUNG DL or OL player can be had at a fair price in FA you gotta go with it if you can.

Manage your cap through the draft as you said is huge. But now we need to get the most out the wasted dollars already spent. Either FA or the draft, you gotta maximize those investments.

Can't keep throwing money at a problem. To fix a problem you must eliminate the problem. That is why we got rid of the players we got rid of last year. That is also why we will be using the draft more wisely in the next 2 years. I even expect to see us trading positions to accumulate more picks to increase depth and overall talent level.

[WhoDatFan26]

And for everyone predicting another CB to be drafted. We are getting PJ Williams back. He is a draft pick in itself. We will not be going corner unless its a steal in the 4th round and below.

[halloween 65]

Originally Posted by WhoDatFan26

And for everyone predicting another CB to be drafted. We are getting PJ Williams back. He is a draft pick in itself. We will not be going corner unless its a steal in the 4th round and below.

I like Williams but he hasn't seen the field yet, might, might not? I hope he does well!!

[halloween 65]

I'm a little worried about Lewis. Wonder what his recovery time is? Swann with 3 concusions, If I were him I would retire, seriously, no need to get hurt.

[WhoDatFan26]

But the fact is, he was good enough to have made the team and was actually slated to be the nickel corner and back up to Keenan before he went down. With Aaron Glenn now our Secondary Coach, look for our CB's to play more bump and run and be better at making plays on the ball.

[jeanpierre]

Originally Posted by WhoDatFan26

I agree that a Guard needs to be drafted but not before a DE or LB. The Offense for all its early season struggles was still top 5 in The League. The defense was 31st. Case closed.

Not so fast my friend...

There's more to it than passing up and down the field...you've got to score...

Marques Colston, my favorite active Saints, has not been Colston for the past two years (I've opined age<arthritis); and then there's that other kid who's on Seattle milk cartons...

If you want to look at the statistics, then let's do that...

We're tied with Seattle at eighth in points per game; still among the top nine, but that also includes an anomaly with the Giants game in the dome, drop that game, we're barely middle of the pack...

Source: https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/points-per-game

Then there's time of possession, still good, but only seventh, and if we'd had 2:00 (two minutes) less in total possession, we'd fallen out of the top twelve in avg time of possession...

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/sta...sion-net-of-ot

Now we were first in 3rd down conversions, we were fortunate that there were many third and shorts; this is where sending Cooks downfield and Snead or Hill underneath worked in the passing game and Mark Ingram's improved play; but not in 3rd in long where Colston, a big x-receiver that can body up and convert is missed...

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/sta...conversion-pct

But now we get to the real problem, the red zone...

Despite moving up and down the field, we were only ninth (9th) in red zone TD scoring...

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/sta...ne-scoring-pct

And when teams held us to a field goal, even when we made 'em, we lost games...

And Drew was actually behind the team in the red zone; missing that big go-to receiver...

2015 Red Zone Passing Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

So despite being no. 2 in total offense, which is tempered by a +2 turnover margin...We lacked that scoring threat...

That is why I make the case that Drew's better days were tied to a true threat at the x-receiver (Colston) and could be rejuvenated (Treadwell) and giving him pocket protection that he once had (All-Pro Evans and Nicks) by improving what he had at guard (Old, Broke-down Evans and Improving Lelito)...

By drafting these positions, you can score putting pressure on the opposition and making 'em one-dimensioal...

And the purpose of the safeties is to address the allowance of the big downfield plays that Byrd and Vaccaro have been incapable of snuffing out...

With regards to the pass rush, I've b*tched as much as anybody here about it being neglected; but there's new linebacking coaches, new linebackers and new defensive linemen; Hell, we had five rookie starters on defense at one point and we finally picked a defensive coordinator, let's let that begin to work and not paint it as dire as last offseason...

[K Major]

Originally Posted by halloween 65

I'm a little worried about Lewis. Wonder what his recovery time is? Swann with 3 concusions, If I were him I would retire, seriously, no need to get hurt.

Me too as it relates to KL. He hasn't been completely healthy in quite a while.

[jeanpierre]

Swann is done, and Browner is awful...

Re-sign Wilson, keeping Dixon, and PJ Williams returns...

With Westbank's health a question mark, may need another cornerback...