Originally Posted by jnormand

BMG, why are you so sold on Williams? I think the guy is really good, but don't you think the Saints need a LB more than a DE? If the Saints draft Williams, what do they do with Grant and Smith....rotate?

I just want to find out why you think Williams could help this team more than Hawk or D'Brick or another QB.

jnormand, Thank you for asking.

At first I was really opposed to the Williams deal because of Grant and Smith. I was persuaded when I talked to Detillier about it. I ordered a draft guide from him a few weeks ago and he spent a few minutes responding to my question "What's up with the media love affair with Williams when we have Smith and Grant on the roster?"

In a nutshell, Detillier thinks that Grant is a liability against the run. After he laid it out, I found myself persuaded. After the Manimal really established himself last year, I agree with Detillier that Grant is going to get run over all season long. He also laid out how Mario "tilts the field" away from him. I found myself more convinced that if anyone is too over-rated in this draft its Manny Lawson. Teams would rather take chances on his side than against Williams. Now Detillier was in favor of a Grant for Walker deal with the Packers. I'd prefer to deal Grant and get some sort of value for him now, mainly for his declining performance going into a contract year.

Now if we don't take Williams I won't be crushed. I'd still prefer Ferguson over Hawk, simply because there are a lot of LBs in this class that I don't think are that much less of a player than Hawk is. Ferguson and Brown would give us a quality tandem on the line that we haven't had since Willie Roaf left. The hard part about being so high is that I don't see a player who strictly corresponds as the second best player in the draft. So I'd still rather trade down.

On the other hand, it's very emotionally satisfying to give WhoDi ulcers in the week leading up to the draft. :08: