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Hello fellow Saints fans.

I am a long time reader (look when I signed up) but I don't post often (sorry). But this is the best time of year to be a Saints fan (right before the draft) and this year is more exciting than the rest.

I wanted to weigh in a little on the big draft coming up, and especially point out the one factor that I see not many people mentioning- the Benson factor.

I'm going to warn you now that I plan to use nicknames in this post. This is all for fun and Saints fans make the best nicknames. So I plan to use some....I can spell if I need to I promise.

Lets all be honest- Benson is one of the cheapest owners in the NFL. We all know that. And I think that is VERY relevant this year.

High picks in these times make HUGE bucks just for being drafted. And if we pick in the place we "earned" then we will be paying second most of any team....

That does not sound like Benson's style to me.

I can see the Saints making some deal to move down so that Benson does not have to pay out as much. I bet his Lord Cheapness will tell the GM Looney to take "any deal that does not embarrass me as much as the Ricky deal did."

And I think that it might be a really good thing. Why?

We REALLY need defensive players. We have not drafted great on the defense the past couple of years (not talking about Will.....I love Will) and its taking its toll. If we move down then we have a shot at some of the better defensive players in the draft. There is none we can get with the second pick and still save face.

But if we do that, we have to think "what do we have to lose?" I say not much.

Bush will be gone. I live in Texas now and the Texans are in love with him. I expect them to buy the ring and get down on their knees soon.

So what are we left with at second? Only two choices we can pick and save face- Lionheart and Young.

I REALLY don't want Lionheart. I know some of you like him....but I see him as a disaster waiting to happen. Why? Because he lacks talent?

No. Because he thinks he is awesome. HUGE head. And can you blame him? L.A. lacks a pro team (for now). So in L.A. USC is their pro team. For him to come to the Saints (I love the Saints sooo much guys but I have to be honest) would be a step down in his eyes I think. I don't see him going from the pro team in the second biggest city where he is porking celebs every night to going to a city that is not one kinda (I saw the destruction with my own eyes recently...bad stuff).

If we draft him, I see him pulling an Eli- holding our jersey like it has a disease on it when the cameras are on. Then after we pick him I see him leaning over to his agent to say "if I hold out all year, they have to trade me right?" I personally don't see a guy with such an ego that he would not admit the other team was better after he was defeated in the Rose Bowl playing for the Saints. We are a humble team with no great football history in a humbled city. He is currently Mr. L.A. Those don't go well together.

The other option is to pick Young. He IS a great talent...but he is a little too "boom or bust" for my tastes. I saw him play in person this year and I know for certain that this Superman has holes in his cape. USC's defense could not stop him, but that doesn't mean that the Panther's defense or that the Buc's defense couldn't. If we stay in the spot I would prefer to pick him because Lionheart is a cancer, but I hope we don't have to choose between the two.

I think the best move this year is to make Benson's wallet happy AND make Saints fans happy (when has that ever happened) by trading down. Pick up some good defensive talent in whatever spot we trade to.

But then you ask "Who will be our QB?" A veteran. I want to see the playoffs sooner than it takes to develop a rookie. Lets do what it takes to get the Jags current backup, or somebody else already in the league who can play.

With a better defense and a good enough quarterback, us Saints fans will have more to talk about next year during this time than the draft.

What do you all think?