WalterFootball Mock Draft....
 

First four rounds have the Saints picking;

2nd; New Orleans Saints: Mike Martin, DT/DE, Michigan

The Saints' leading sacker in 2011 was safety Roman Harper with 7.5. Will Smith will be 31 before the 2012 season, and New Orleans could use another edge rusher to pair with Cameron Jordan in the long term. The team also needs some help at defensive tackle. Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin are short-term players while Sedrick Ellis has dealt with frequent injuries in his career.

Martin (6-1, 307) is a powerful player with a relentless motor. He has some power and speed but doesn't produce as much as his skill set would suggest. At the Senior Bowl, Martin had a phenomenal week and was a standout in the one-on-ones and the team scrimmage. As a senior in 2011, Martin totaled 64 tackles with six tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. He had 2.5 sacks and six tackles for a loss in 2010. In the NFL, Martin could fit as a five-technique in a 3-4 defense as well as a 4-3 defensive tackle.

3rd; New Orleans Saints: Brandon Taylor, S, LSU
The Saints need to replace Roman Harper, and Taylor is a good value at the end of the second day.

Taylor had a strong season for the Tigers and entered the BCS Championship second on the team in tackles, behind only Tyrann Mathieu. Taylor benefited from having a lot of talented players around him, but the 6-foot, 194-pounder is a fast, physical playmaker in his own right. In 2011, Taylor amassed 71 tackles with 7.5 tackles for a loss, five passes broken up, one sack and two interceptions. He is a sleeper prospect who has the potential to be a solid pro.

At the Senior Bowl, Taylor did his part to not be a sleeper. He used his physicality and was a real presence. Taylor also has a lot of quickness to cover the deep part of the field.

4th;New Orleans Saints: Sean Spence, LB, Miami
The Saints need outside linebacker help, and Spence could be a good fit. He has idolized New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma and tried to mold his game off of the Saints Pro Bowler.

Spence is very undersized, but flies around the football field and makes plays. The 5-foot-11, 228-pounder is a fabulous athlete who is always around the ball. In 2010, he had 110 tackles with 16 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, six passes broken up, and one forced fumble. Spence has good instincts with a nose for the football. He was suspended for Miami's season opener against Maryland, and the Hurricanes really missed him.

Fortunately for Miami and Spence, his suspension was for only one game. He finished this year with 106 tackles with 14 tackles for a loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. Spence had an excellent performance against Georgia Tech and led the way for the Hurricanes to stuff the Yellow Jackets' option ground game. With his blazing speed, he would be a good fit as a Will (weakside) linebacker in a 4-3 defense.


WalterFootball.com: 2012 NFL Mock Draft - Charlie Campbell

Martin is undersized for a kind of a DT the Saints need in my opinion - he looks too much like Ellis did back in the day - it's one thing to push around college O-linemen and another to do the same in the NFL.

Especially this type of an assessment concerns me:



Somebody please tell me why the Saints need to replace Harper? And if they would need to, why not use A-Q to fill that need?

Looks like a solid group draft... though the last 4 or 5 Michigan lineman drafted high has been quite underwhelming to say the least.

I might as well get the generic answers out the way. He's old, has too much white hair, can't cover Ray Charles rolling down the field in a wheel chair, and Sam Bradford tackled him from behind.

I don't know if this is Walters or Charlie Campbells of Walters but on one of the 2 one had us picking a WR in round 2. BPA is usually how we go although Payton suprised us last year, I wish we had a high 2nd I would feel a little better.

Taylor would be a nice pick up if we get him.

Saints could actually fill a LB need by moving Roman Harper to WLB.

Harper is too small for a LB; I think...

Yeah, that wouldn't work.


...and Harper's only 29, so I would hardly call that old. And I know Papz that you were only repeating what has been said about him by lots of ignorant people, who seem to know very little about football.

The truth is that Harper is a pro bowl caliber SS and the Saints could've done a lot worse in that department. No player is perfect and Harper certainly has his weaknesses, but, nonetheless, he is a good safety. And more importantly with the contract he got last off-season - he won't be going anywhere for a while, so people should stop with the hating on him.

I would say no to moving Harper to WLB, to small. Although I would like a lb. like Harper with about 30 more pounds on him. I acually would like 2 more with Wilsons size and speed, that would be perfect.

6'-200 pound linebackers may work in college, but would get destroyed in the NFL.

And I don't know why you'd want to move a pro-bowl SS to another position that he's never played his entire life. Why not just sign a WLB and be done with it?