is ellis better than?
 

Mckelvin who we propably would of selected if we stayed and a third? i believe so!

Re: is ellis better than?
 

IMO - yes.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Ellis was the better pick here. He is hopefully going to give us the solid DT that we have been craving since LeRoi Glover. Only I hope that Ellis will be able to stop the run better than Glover could.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Is that a serious question? Ellis is one of the "elite" players in this draft, and somebody who will have an immediate impact on this team. Don't get me wrong, I think McKelvin is a good player, but Ellis is one of those guys that has the chance to anchor our defensive line for a very long time. I am EXTREMELY pleased with this pick and the trade, thank you Saints.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I'm always rooting to get the best LB with the first round pick. After being stung by the Alvin Toles incident (will someone PLEASE tell the Saints to stay away from Tennesse), I've been looking forward to another big dog in the 1st round. So, hearby I shed my anual tear since we passed on Keith Rivers.

BUT, they say that a linebacker's best friend is a hoss of a defensive tackle . . .

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I would not go elite but solid

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I would've preferred LB Keith Rivers. This kid Ellis had better not flop.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Folks, you do realize that not only has Ellis graded out better than Rivers on virtually every draft board, but he also fills a serious position of need. Ellis was a first-team All-American and a guy that people say "love to play football." I think it's the best pick that we could have made, minus getting Glen Dorsey. This is a position that people have complained about for YEARS, I just can't believe that people aren't ecstatic with this pick. And this is coming from a person who has whined about not having a good linebacker pick in a draft in forever. But, I feel we've adequately addressed the linebacker position in free agency, and we've now done the one thing that every linebacker needs: we got a disruptive tackle who can eat up blockers. I watched some film on Ellis, and the one thing I noticed is that he was consistently double-teamed in every game, but he still got 8.5 sacks. That's what we need, Ellis to eat up blockers to free up Jonathan Vilma. Are you kidding me, Vilma and Ellis in the middle? How can you not be happy?

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Hey, I'm good with that - if this guy is the real deal and Vilma gets / stays healthy. BUT , . . . I can't help but think back to the last DT we picked in the first round:

Jonathan Sullivan, DT, Georgia, 13.5 M signing bonus,
Eating at the media buffet during halftime

Re: is ellis better than?
 

It's easy to reflect on how we, as fans, have been burned by previous draft picks. However, IMHO, Ellis is light years better than Sullivan ever could have imagined being. That was a botched pick, and we all knew it then. Today you have very few people doubting the Saints choice in Ellis. This guy is going to be a stud for us.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I understand that picking a DT would make people have flashbacks of Sullivan, but in my opinion, there's absolutely no similarities besides the position. Ellis was a guy who was consistently on the national stage and played up to the hype, unlike Sullivan who came on late in the process. Ellis was a guy who had a very good pro day and an even better performance agains the top talent at the Senior Bowl. People say that Ellis has a great work ethic, something that wasn't one of Sullivan's positives.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Think people, who do you think was taking on the double teams allowing Rivers to look so good at USC.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Hey folks. Raider fan here!
First off, I'd like to say that you guys are my favorite NFC team. Black and Gold is only behind Black and Silver in my book :) I pull for you guys, and I was very happy when you guys got Brees, Bush, and Colston off and running. I know you have some places you can improve, especially on defense, but you guys really have a team you can get excited about now.

My real reason for being here, though, is just to congratulate you on snagging Ellis. He will really improve your DLine, no doubt. He was one of the elite players in this draft, and I think you can look for pro-bowl quality play from him.

Have a good rest of the draft, and for gawd's sake, get some players for your secondary!

See you guys in Week 6!

Re: is ellis better than?
 

What a silly question. The front office wanted a DT, they went out and got one of the best. Can Mckelvin play DT?
nuff said!

Re: is ellis better than?
 

thats silly to draft a backup in the first round....keith wouldnt have started over morgan or vilma or even fujita in my mind and ellis will start day one...that makes brian young tradeable?...who knows..while he is not a great DT...he can certainly start on some teams...ellis will no doubt make Will and hollis and even charles grant so much better...not to mention how he will create plays for Vilma who IMO is our best offseason move in years....im very excited for this guys....i am disappointed in settling with tracy porter when we could've moved up 5 spots to pick flowers

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Better play at DT will make our secondary look better. fwiw, I like the Ellis pick better than any corner who came out this year.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

UPGRADE at DT will improve the Defense on many many many levels. Anyone who thinks Rivers should be rated over Ellis needs, well I'll just keep the rest of this statement to myself. The pick here is DT should be a DT and need for this team is DT over a CB. CB will not solve our problems.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Therapy? Medication? A post-birth abortion?

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I see no reason why Ellis wont start on day one. he will replace hollis thomas from day one.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

There is no guessing or speculation... he starts day one. Our DT are older and not as explosive. He's got all of them beat already.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Nuff said. I believe we have a pretty solid LB corp. We really needed a DT and picked up a damn good on imo. I hope yall realize we are gonna be a force to reckon with next year. Im ready for some saints football :phat:

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I love what I've read about the work ethic Ellis brings to the team. Like all those other big guys drafted by the Saints in the past, lets see how he holds up in that Mississippi heat during training camp. That is what I am looking forward to the most. My feeling is he will be fine after the first couple of days if he gets himself properly prepared for it.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Please don't let Ellis be another Sullivan. Even Euph is high on this guy.
Go SAINTS.

FireVenturi-you changed your avatar? It was my favorite on this website.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

That would be just about as surprising as the sun not rising in the morning.

Sullivan: one year starter at Georgia with known work ethic issues:

Ellis: 3 year starter, multiple award winner, known for giving everything he has in every practice, every game, every play.

It's no comparison. Ellis is going to be a stud in the middle of our line for years to come.

SFIAH

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Ellis is a better pick-up than McKelvin would have been...and Leodis was my favorite CB in the draft. The really great part of this was that we picked up Porter, who seems to be a poor-man's McKelvin anyway. He's got the M2M skills and returns kicks. Whast more could we ask for?

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Ellis will not be a Sully. No way no how. We may get a pro bowl or two out of him.
Porter was a safer pick. Less money and more production in college at a higher level of competition. he may turnout to be the best CB in the draft.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Porter is everything you look for in a CB that would fit our defense. He excels in man to man coverage. The only knock on Porter is that he is more of a finesse player. Although its nice to have CBs that can tackle and make a hit, you pay them to cover which Porter can do. Good pick, IMO.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Without an improvement in our line play, McKelvin would have looked like a bust. Ellis was a very good move.

The exciting thing about Porter is his hands. I guess the coaching staff is hoping he will create some turnovers.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I'm very happy with the choices the Saints have made in this years draft. I think all saints fans are going to be well satisfyed with Ellis. What i've seen of him makes me excited about our d-line. A good d-line will take pressure off the d-backs. And that's where other teams have been hurting us. And can see teams having to double and trible team him. And that's going to free up Grant and Smith. Not to mention the linebackers. I just can't hardly wait for the season to starte. I'm so glad that they finially addessed the dense.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

I still think Dorsey would have suited us better for the cure we need on D. Ellis may not have the impact that I suspect Dorsey would have had but it definately brings youth, ethic and a disruptor to that line we so badly need.

Just because we had Sullivan doesn't mean its going to happen again. You realize its a different group drafting these players and its like if we draft a QB because we drafted Archie means we are going to end up with an Archie every time we draft a QB... come one!

I like our picks think they were great choices. There were a couple of players that we just had to snag because teams were letting them slide. We got great value and I think we'll end up with at least 3-4 starters out of this group in a couple of years and that is damn good!

I don't know if anyone caught some of the hoopla before the draft but some interesting stats. Most teams last 50 picks averaged 11 starters and 2 pro-powlers. So just having 2 starters our of one draft is a good thing... a very good thing.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

This is out of line... I was never high on Sullivan first of all. I didn't know enough about the guy. Hasslett and company took a huge gamble and lost. Ellis isn't a gamble. Ellis is a consistant starter for a team loaded with talent and played in a Pro system. Dorsy is believed to be the best DT to come out in 13 years... Ellis is rated close behind Dorsey, that says a lot! Ellis is a football player... you are more likely to find him on the field than at the nearest buffet.

I don't know how much he is going to make an impact for us because I was sold so much on Dorsey but Ellis starts day one for us, thats who bad we needed a DT like him.

Our DT's are slow, not nearly as explosive as Ellis and they are so old they are losing a steam before I can even finish the post. Any type of pass rush is going to help our secondary.

Re: is ellis better than?
 

Good points.

Out of cutiosity: Whould you have given up this year's first and second along with next year's first for Dorsey over the trade we made for Ellis?

Re: is ellis better than?
 

HELL NO! I would have given our second pick this year and that is it. The offer given to the Rams originally was swaping and our second which I totally agree with. Next years draft is going to be a REALLY good year. I would have like to have made some deals to stockpile some picks for next year actually.

I don't agree with EVER giving up 'future' picks. You never know what if the bottom falls out this year, we'd have nothing to build on. Like the Panthers... so stupid for them in a week draft to do something like this. They should have held out till next year then I would say smart thinking.

If they would have countered with a conditional say 5 or 6th rounder depending on how much of an impact Dorsey made MAYBE but that is a big maybe. The targets for Dorsey would have to be really high, almost 2 high... like making the pro bowl as a rookie you'll get a 6 if he leads the league in sacks 5.