I didn't think I'd be in the minority when I thought this after the Saints picked Hicks, but I guess I am. I'm totally unimpressed with the pick. Not because he doesn't have potential, which he does, but because we didn't have a need so great at DT that we had to draft yet another project when there were more proven players at other positions of need. Loomis has hit some home runs with these types of players, as we all know, but he's also struck out a few times. I thought there were some very good players surprisingly left on the board, but apparently they are in love with this guy.

We don't have very good OT's. They're serviceable, but require a lot of help from the tight ends which takes away from the amount of time Jimmy Graham can be on the field. Bobby Massie was right there, and they didn't take him. Jared Crick, a more polished DT, was there, Ladarius Green was there if the Saints were interested in some play making depth behind Graham. But oh well, all I can do is hope it works out.

hmm... Saints offense the last 6 years: 1, 4, 1, 1, 6 (with Drew playing on a bad knee), and un-freaking-believable.

On the other hand, the Saints defense the last 6 years, other than 2009 with all the turnovers which kept giving the ball back to the best O in football, nnnnnot so hot, especially after 2 consecutive playoff meltdowns, lest we forget Lynch ginsu'ing the D in 2010, and not being able to stop Joe Montana in 4 consecutive drives last year. Oh, wait, that was Alex Smith.. my bad.

If Spagnuolo wants this young man, let him have it.

I think we can all agree that the Saints wanted him or they wouldn't have taken him. I am only giving my opinion on a pick that I did not personally care for. I think he has potential but I don't agree with the Saints grade on him.

I understand that we have a great offense, and I mentioned that in a reply to someone else on here. But we have already upgraded quite a bit through free agency on the defensive side of the ball, so I don't see a glaring need there. I do agree, of course, that we need more help on defense still, than we do on offense. But we have weak offensive tackles who almost got drew killed against the Rams, and forced the Saints to come up with a new blocking scheme to help those guys out. If anything happens to Drew, you can forget about the offense, so don't you want to keep him upright? I'm not saying we had to select Massie, but I thought he was more of a sure thing than Hicks. We upgraded at DT with Bunkley, and we could use some depth there, but what sort of depth do we have at OT?

If we had a pick in the first two rounds then absolutely we could have gotten a more proven impact defensive player, and that would have been great. But now we just have to hope that Hicks works out. Remember Jonathan Sullivan? Al Woods, Demario Pressley, Sedrick Ellis? The Saints have done a poor job drafting DT's and Ellis is the only guy who wasn't a complete flop. Then they sign Franklin and Rogers last year and that bombed.

So pardon me if I don't just bow to the Saints and automatically trust them when they Draft a guy like this. I love the Saints, and think they are brilliant with most things, but this is an area where I will be skeptical until given a reason not to be.

My response was directed to the comment you made about OT being a bigger need than defense. Yes, "serviceable" OTs, who are part of the best offense in football the last 6 years.

And yes, I remember the Sullivans, the Grants, the Dunbars, the Bates, the Kings... I remember a lot of players from waaaaaaayyy back. I'm old, you know?

And as for "flopping" on defensive picks, was it the players or the coaching?
Because Abrayo Franklin was damn good in SF, and Rodgers dominated games in Cleveland. And you can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't say the Saints have done a bad job of choosing DTs on one sentence, then on the other say they have upgraded the line enough... how can they upgrade enough if they suck at picking DTs? If they are that bad at picking DT talent, better get as many as they can in there, no?

Anyway, you can be as skeptical as you want and make too much ado about draft picks like a great number of NFL fans, especially after reading some scouting reports and watching clips on youtube (because reallly, have you ever seen a complete game played by Hicks?).

Personally, I really don't care that much about the draft and all the hype that comes with it, who picks who on what round, the grades, winners and losers, etc...

And yes, bow down to Loomistofeles!

I said OT was a weak spot for the Saints and that I believed Bobby Massie, who was still available, would have been a better choice than taking a chance on a project guy.

and where a tad close to letting Sam Bradford and Megatron steal one in the Dome.

I'm guessing you meant to say Matthew Stafford?

No, I got that. But the d-line and DT in particular is a much weaker spot than the o-line. The o-line, even with all the changes, has been very consistent the last 6 years: going off the top of my head, the o-line has gone through 4 centers, 4 LTs, 2 RT, 3 guards, and still, they produce. With all those changes, the Saints still fielded the best offense the last 6 years combined as reflected by points scored, number of sacks allowed, yards gained, etc; unlike the defense which, again, except for the one year when their trick was creating turnovers and giving the ball back to the best offense in football, have not been able to stop anyone.

What's the point of (debatable) "solidifying" the best offense in the business, if the defense still lets the likes of Alex Smith slice them and dice them for 4 consecutive drives in the 4th quarter of a playoff game?

If Drew goes down, all is lost? Ok. Sure. but with Drew at his best, the Saints still could not get past the divisional round of the playoffs because the defense could not stop anyone, and were a tad too close to letting Stafford and Megatron steal one in the Dome.

Is Hicks a "project"? Maybe. But maybe not. We'll see.


And you didn't watch "film". You watched a couple clips on youtube. Come on.

Have you personally scouted him?