Grade our draft
 

How do you think we did? What would you have liked for us to do differently?

Re: Grade our draft
 

B. It would have been an 'A' but the pick of safety Howden pick puzzles me, we don't seem to have room for another safety. It's a Saints thing, I guess. Should have added a second RB here. Deuce Vaughn among other good ones were still available.

And I like the Haener pick, but wish he was our QB2 and Jameis feels redundant now. I mean, there's a good shot he's better than Trask or Ritter who are both in our division and higher on depth charts.

Re: Grade our draft
 

B makes sense for me.

Unsure about BB but if he can prove the injuries were flukes, then I hope he can make a difference early on.

I absolutely loved the Foskey pick, just because of his size, speed and ability to strip the ball consistently on sacks.

We need an RB badly and I think Miller looks very capable, his highlights show good balance, decisiveness and power.

Unsure about the OL pick, just because it seemed like a small school pick and not sure if we need to trade up to get him, but happy to be proven wrong.

Haener, at least from highlights looks a good QB that would be a good backup and maybe even take over one day if the NFL leap isn't too much. His passes have accuracy and he broke down film with Brees in an effort to improve.

DA love's these safeties that are jack of all trade types and more teams are going 3 or 4 WR, so you need defenders that can cover. PJ Williams improved over the years, but if we can upgrade then great.

A T Perry looks like a solid receiver, but I've read he has a problem with drops, 17 in 2 years if I recall the article correctly.
If he can get that figured out, then I think he could surprise us. Many scouts thought he'd go early 5th round.

Re: Grade our draft
 

A for execution. It's seem like we came in with a plan and executed it without a hitch. Personally a B just because I liked a couple of players a bit more. I was fine with taking a quarterback but I didn't disagree with the counterpoint with not taking one where we did. Nothing against Miller but I really like Achane. That would have been fun. With that said, if grounding and pounding while playing stout defense will be the foundation of this team, I get it. I wanted Kuntz late as his size and athleticism would have been an intriguing fit.

It was a good draft.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Hopefully, we'll have a hit or two but quite frankly our draft didn't impress me. Not often do I have such a bad feeling about our team's draft class.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Of course, I give it an "A".

I for one can never be trying to outthink the selection of one player over another because I know for certain they have far more insight to that than any of us. But I think they nailed our needs and appeared to get players they targeted in each case, not just who happened to be there.

Safety had been brought up as a need several times, not only around here, but by beat writers like Triplett and Underhill. And in terms of safety, the need was more for the nickel duties that Ceedy held. Howden has extensive experience playing the slot so he's a perfect fit.

Saldiveri can play all across the line and would be an ideal replacement for Peat. He also has the high character traits and drive that we desire.

Haener was obviously a target all along as a potential long term backup, at least, and the record run of QB's immediately after and over the next round proved that the Saints had the timing of the pick dead on. He would not have been there the following round.

I 100% trust the selection of Miller at RB. They have the opportunity to spend time with these players and garner more insight than we can ever have to help weigh them against each other. How does one fit your scheme versus another?

Bresee and Foskey were slam dunks, in my opinion. Both athletic, highly motivated, and of extremely high character.

As for the WR, Perry, he was slated by some "experts" to go much higher from what I understand. The position, like all others, was a need and for the position of the pick was well worth the chance to further develop.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Were you watching the same draft as the rest of the world, hitta? :D

Re: Grade our draft
 

Can't get all the players you need in a single draft. S depth is needed... heck even CB and LB. Need a solution at TE. Maybe Krull is better now or Moreau will be coming in. Or they're not through exploring options in the FA or UDFA market for that position. In our offense they'll be able to use the RBs as TEs.

Overall an A draft.

Re: Grade our draft
 

A+ I can’t remember a draft I felt better about! We filled all the holes with solid picks. I think we might have Colston light with Perry and our O/D lines will be much improved! Haener could be the next Brees! I really like the competition they picked up for our kicker and punter!

Re: Grade our draft
 

You always have at least three QB's on roster. He should be an upgrade to Jake Luton. It makes sense to have Haeden spend a year learning from both Carr and Winston. Or even most of the year. Someone is going to lose a QB sometime during the season and Winston will be great trade bait.

Who would we not have taken for a second RB? We have already signed SaRodorick Thompson, RB, Texas Tech as a UDFA. I don't doubt there will be others.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I can't see downgrading the draft on Haener only because he wouldn't be a starter this year as I have seen elsewhere. No QB taken outside of the top ten should be expected to start year one.

Re: Grade our draft
 

IDK Guido. I'm looking at Hooker, Bennett, and others going off the boards before him and when I see them pick Haener, I get the impression that QB was an after thought for this War Room. If it's not a priority, they could have used that pick for a different (less iffy) position of need. I know that any QB picked in the 2nd Round and beyond is really not supposed to be an immediate impact on the roster, but I'm getting an Ian Book vibe with that pick that's kind of like a place holder.
"In Event of an Emergency, Please Break Glass and Start This Guy"

We'll see though. Like someone who quoted Forrest Gump on anther thread: 'You never know what you're gonna get!' ;)

Re: Grade our draft
 

BTW, I'm a C+ guy. I really was scratching my head when they let Nolan Smith slide...

Re: Grade our draft
 

Nolan Smith didn't fit our scheme at all. He probably wasn't even on our board. From what I gather he's basically a 3-4 outside backer. See Baun and Kikaha for comparison. Both of them were square pegs just as Smith would have been. We run a 4-2-5 probably 75% of the time. He simply wouldn't have had a spot.

Re: Grade our draft
 

From everything I have heard and read Haener was the target all along. They had done a lot of research on him. He definitely wasn't an afterthought. They were going to get him and they got him at the perfect spot given Bennett went on the next pick and O'Connell a few picks later. And then at the top of the 5th round a run of four more QB's went off the board.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Lol, maybe not. Just nothing we did felt particularly groundbreaking to me. I hope I'm very wrong. I think there are some good players in the mix, but nothing felt potentially game-changing.

Re: Grade our draft
 

All the ground breakers go in the top ten, I suppose. After that it's role players and hopefully starters at some point or another. I believe we got five potential 2023 starters (Bresee, Foskey, Saldiveri, Howden, and Miller) out of seven drafted players. That is phenomenal.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Time will tell but what I do know is that MOST (if not all) of our 2023 draft picks were either team leaders or a team CAPTAINS in college.

For me, that matters a lot.

If we get 3, maybe 4 quality starters that’s a huge draft win.

Can’t wait for camp ⚜️

Re: Grade our draft
 

If it works out the way you are thinking that would be great. Lol, I'm not sitting here hoping we have a bad draft class. I just don't want to look back in 5 years and none of these guys are even on the roster.

Re: Grade our draft
 

These look to me as all keeper types, for sure. But, most players drafted across the entire league don't last five years. But, I'd wait for five years from now to worry about it. ;)

Re: Grade our draft
 

Facts and I understand your argument 100.

See 2018 class (Trequan :rolleyes:) 7 picks but all we have on the roster is a barely targeted WR taken in round 3. Swing and a miss.

2019 -> Only McCoy is left.

Anyone who claims to think that they know how these selections will pan out a day after the draft has ended needs to be working on Airline Dr and not discussing it on a Saints forum ;).

Time will tell :bng:.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Facts are a hard reality... So is the average tenure for a player in the NFL. I just wonder what percentage of players actually do make it to a second contract ...

Re: Grade our draft
 

I do think they should hire me though. 😂😂

Re: Grade our draft
 

F for FN Outstanding! Lol

The highlight reels look good to me.

Yeah but does it transition..

Time will tell..

Hopefully Mr. Hurts and that RB in dirtybird city don't find their groove until yr. 4

I'm good with what they did in attempting to address need before projects.

Hopefully Brees Jr @ QB turns out to a great student.

Re: Grade our draft
 

The guy I liked quite a bit from this draft is Perry. Probably my favorite pick of ours. Amazing talent and athleticism for a 6th rounder with long arms and good hands that can pluck the ball out of the air. He'll be a great red zone target and really fits with Carr's style of QB play.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Bingo! Nobody knows, the least of all any of us sitting in our easy chairs at home. Projecting the success of any draft can only be done at least three years down the road. All we can look at today is what needs were addressed.

In addition to those needs is how the players fit the organization in terms of intangibles which can only be understood if we were sitting there in all of the meetings that the front office had and being there when the hundreds of hours of deep research was taking place.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Re: Grade our draft
 

So not the Broncos?!? NeauxFW!!!

Re: Grade our draft
 

I can absolutely see the role envisioned for each and every one of the new UDFA's we brought in to fill out the roster. If our coaches can coach up the Saints young role le players we brought in then we might be set up to shock the NFL again. They nailed positions of need in this draft.

Re: Grade our draft
 

As far as drafting quality players and players of need, cannot really say anything negative about this draft. With that said, can make a pretty good case that maybe some of the picks were reaches, of course if they pan out who cares. One thing I do like is the Saints did not pull the trigger early in the draft for a QB, to me that shows they are really on board with Derek Carr and will give him every opportunity he needs to be successful.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I'm curious, Matthew, how do you define a "reach"? I hear this term a lot. Does a "reach" have to have a negative connotation? If you see something you really want and are fearful of it not being there when you get to its location you "reach" out and grab it. The Saints are known to identify players that they want and are not afraid or too skittish to go get them in the draft. Both Loomis and Harley have said this verbatim several times. "When we see someone we want, we go get them."

In every case that the Saints moved up in this draft there was a very real likelihood that the player they drafted would not have been there when their next slot arose.

Recently there was posted here a study that showed the Saints had the highest success rate (players still in the league) from the first half of the draft since, I believe, 2009 of all teams in the league. This has to be related to their willingness to go and get the players they want instead of waiting to select from what is left. In other words, to reach out and get what they want.

I actually gave the Saints an "A" because they did "reach" out and get the players that they wanted and felt would fill a vital need.

Re: Grade our draft
 

Reach is generally a negative term, but it doesn't always need to be. In the Saints case, a few guys were taken earlier than expected per published scouting reports and draft projections. With the Saints having very specific area's that needed to be addressed, some slight reaches were expected. This always going to be an issue when a team has to draft for need instead of best player available, which is where the Saints are at right now.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I feel the same thing brother! I love that we picked linemen on both sides of the ball.
The Dt seems to have high ceiling. If he is healthy he will probably play a lot. The DE has a good chance of getting a lot of time in the rotation.

I am quite excited about our OL pick. He might be slotted at guard but getting a guy that can do it all is great, versatility just keeps getting more and more important.

And the most important thing for me, all of the picks seems like good people, high character and so on.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I wanted Darnell Washington. Other than that, let's see how it goes!

Re: Grade our draft
 

Same. I kept visualizing that big bastard helping blaze trails for our backs to do their thing in addition to becoming a great red zone threat possibly. Oh well, still like our draft

Re: Grade our draft
 

This will be a good talking point in a couple of years :p

Re: Grade our draft
 

I was literally just thinking that after I wrote that! Maybe we scoop him up in FA in a few years😁

Re: Grade our draft
 

Once again, I don't get the love for Darnell Washington. He describes himself as a "sixth offensive lineman". In his entire career he never displayed anything approaching being a threat in the passing game. He only had THREE TD's in his career. He averaged only 1.66 catches per game in his career. In his final five games with Georgia he only caught a total of FOUR passes!

If you want to convert him to an offensive tackle, maybe, but as a TE offensive threat .. where was it? I hear, "But, he can block!" So can Tre'Quan Smith. He's an oversized Tre'Quan. :confused:

Re: Grade our draft
 

It's not difficult to see the reasons why people wanted to draft Darrell Washington, you're just not choosing to look. His size, speed, athleticism, pedigree, and blocking ability make him a very tempting prospect. Looking solely at his college production is very misleading. Georgia plays in a heavy run oriented offense and his usage rate as a receiver was not high. He also played alongside 2024 top 10 pick Brock Bowers.

So while I was neither for or against taking Washington, you could definitely see why there was appeal there. I wanted Achane instead of Miller, but that doesn't mean I can't see where Miller makes more sense. It's okay that people like Washington and you don't, vice versa.

Re: Grade our draft
 

I guess I'm not the only one that didn't see it. Seven TE's went before him in the draft. All 32 teams passed on him until the 30th pick in the 3rd round. Only seven TE's were drafted after him, as well. Perhaps all the teams saw him as a project. We didn't need a project. We needed players that play and produce on day one like Bresee, Foskey, and Miller.