Re: Grade our draft
 

Not to mention Washington had a RAS of 9.88.
As far as 7 TE being taken before him…that’s not uncommon for great players to slip though the cracks. There were four RB taken before Kamara until he got drafted in the third round…I guess teams thought he was a project as well…

Re: Grade our draft
 

Is there evidence right now that he couldn't produce on day one? Being how strong of a blocker he is, that's a useful trait we could have used immediately. His size alone makes him a red zone threat. Just because he was the 7th TE drafted, that doesn't mean he can't make an impact right away. Rashid Shaheed went undrafted and make an impact last season. 32 teams passed on him. Talent, opportunity, and will power have a lot to with that.

That's a very flawed argument.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I get what you are saying to a degree, but weren't there players of the same position that would have been available later at the Saints previous slot before trading up? It just appears to me that they had the players they moved up to get ranked higher on their board that what they felt would be remaining if they sat still. I believe while need was absolutely a factor it was the desire for those specific players that drove the trade ups.

One thing I hear repeatedly every year around draft time is that every team's board will be dramatically different outside of the first ten to fifteen players. What appears to be a reach (negative version) by one team's standard may be a steal as seen from other team's reckonings.

Re: Grade our draft
 

It comes down to personal preference. The Saints and the other 30 teams that passed on him know why they passed on him. I get that this is SEC country and there would be a bias toward SEC players in this fanbase.

I just don't see a player like Washington being a fit in our offense. We don't run much 12 personnel. If anything outside of 11 personnel it is 21 with the FB leading the way.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I guess this is why I've never gotten into the whole pre-draft hype. We as fans have no idea what the teams have in mind for their needs and direction. It's quite possible that the Saints, and several other teams, never saw Washington as a fit at all and was he never even a consideration. It is impossible as a fan that has fallen for draft prospects to come away from any draft without disappointments. But, fortunately, we do not make the final decisions. :D

To be honest, I had never heard of Washington until after the draft. I'm not a college fan and didn't really notice him in the championship game that I did watch. That's the only Georgia game I saw all season. I don't remember hearing anything about him pre-draft when the top TE prospects were discussed some.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I understand that we as fans have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, but we have visions and desires of what we’d like to see and ways we’d like to improve our team as fans. We want to enjoy a good fun discussion about it without a Debbie downer coming let us know that we know nothing. Yes we might be a little disappointed if the outcome doesn’t go our way, but we get that’s how it is. This part of football is as fun for me as the actual season.

So out of curiosity….if you dont follow college or pre draft hype, then why inject your opinions with people on this forum that do? Obviously it’s an open discussion for all but it doesn’t make sense to object to peoples opinions when you have little knowledge or desire on the subject.

Re: Grade our draft
 

This right here ^^^^.

Repeated patterns & consistent behavior :rolleyes:.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Oh, I have plenty of desire and quite a bit of knowledge, it's just that the knowledge comes after the fact. I'm giving my opinions from a Saints aspect. I look at all the players we drafted to learn as much as I can about them and discuss them with some insight. I also hear about players that others wanted to be drafted and look into them, many for the first time, in depth. In many cases I can see why they might have been a fit and can understand the point. But in others, like Darnell Washington, after doing some research, I couldn't see what made him more desirable than any of the players we took prior to his going off the board. I couldn't see the fit so I asked for input on what others saw in him that they felt was so compelling that it basically downgraded our draft in their minds. I don't see that as being a Debbie Downer at all. Quite the contrary, one could say that those wishing we would have taken some player other than the ones we did were the ones being Debbie Downers. :D

Regardless, it's all opinion and open discussion. I just haven't been convinced that my opinion that the player wasn't a good fit for the Saints was wrong. Apparently the Saints, and 30 other teams, had similar opinions in as far as his value at any point before he was finally selected toward the end of the third round. Who knows, maybe he'll blossom in the NFL and be more than the self-described "sixth offensive lineman."

So, out of curiosity, Riaton, where do you think we should have selected Mr. Washington had we had interest as a team? #29? #40? #71? Keep in mind he went #93, I believe.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Nah, I was right in my assessment of what a Debbie downer is.

Where I think we should’ve drafted him has no relevance to me on my opinion of Washington. I honestly don’t care where he was drafted nor do I care where we should’ve or would’ve. I’m not even mad that we didn’t draft him, I like others here believe he has potential to be a good player and would’ve liked to see him in the black and gold wherever he would’ve been drafted.

At any rate I’m not here to debate anything with you, as I know it’s a waste of my time, just curious about your contradicting behavior, that is all

Re: Grade our draft
 

Okay. Thanks. Like I said, I just couldn't see anything about him from what I saw or read the last couple of days that made him seem special in any way as compared to the top TE's. I was simply wondering what I was missing. It appears I wasn't missing anything, as you explained it is just believed by some here that he has the potential to be a good player. I wasn't trying to be contrary, I was honestly trying to understand the appeal. I guess the Saints just weren't interested in a project at TE at this time. Who knows, he may someday develop into a Gronk type player.