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Not surprisingly, New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis didn't offer much specific insight into the team's NFL draft plans during a pre-draft press conference Tuesday. He even opened by joking, "Well, I guess this is the deal where you guys ask me questions and I do the best I can not to answer them."

But Loomis short-changed himself a bit. He did offer a few noteworthy nuggets, mostly about the team's current roster make-up. Colleagues Nakia Hogan and Larry Holder will weigh in with more extended pieces in the coming hours - including Loomis' thoughts on a potential trade for Chris Ivory, which he said is not "imminent."



Here were a few more highlights that stood out to me:

- Loomis said the Saints won't change their philosophy on whether to trade down in the first round just because they don't have a second-round pick in this year's draft. He said he would like to have a second-rounder this year, because he feels like there are about 45-to-50 players with second-round grades (and less than 32 players with first-round grades). But he said the decision whether to keep the 15th pick in Round 1 or trade down will be based solely on the value of the players and trade offers available when they're on the clock.

Loomis said the Saints haven't been any more active in trade talks so far, but he said trades like that usually don't develop until teams are "on the clock."

- Loomis did a good job of breaking down the concept of drafting the "best available player" vs. drafting for need.

"Usually when you're on the clock, it's not a matter of just one guy head and shoulders above anyone else," Loomis said. "There's usually two or three players with similar grades, and the players are all worthy of that pick. So that's when a position of need would come into play. Or a position of greater value. I think we would all say that pass rushers, corners, left tackles, quarterbacks, those are generally the more valued positions.

"But for the most part, yes, we're going to take the highest player graded on our board."

- I asked Loomis if the Saints still plan on adding another left tackle to their mix this offseason - either via the draft or free agency. He didn't specifically answer the question, but he did admit that the team hasn't identified a projected starter yet.

"Look, we've got Charles Brown and Jason Smith competing there. I think we've got some other young players in our building. So we've got competition there," Loomis said. "But clearly we don't have a name on that magnet at starting left tackle yet. So we'd have to look at every option."

- Loomis said the Saints have a pretty good feel for the kind of players new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is looking for to fit his new 3-4 scheme. I asked specifically about Ryan's philosophy on the nose tackle spot.

I know a lot of people think 3-4 defenses require a big, space-eating nose tackle. But Loomis confirmed that Ryan likes more athletic guys at that spot, like the Pro Bowler he had with the Dallas Cowboys, Jay Ratliff.

"First of all, that's a better question for Rob than me. But let me see if I can repeat what we've talked about," Loomis said. "Look, he's not necessarily looking for the big plugger. And he does cite Jay as a guy he's had in the past that fit the scheme he wanted to play up here."

Loomis also said current Saints nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley fits that role. And I agree. Bunkley didn't make much of a splash in his first year with the Saints last year and didn't prove to be very versatile. But he was still effective as a run-stuffing nose tackle, which is something he's excelled at during his NFL career.

New Orleans Saints' Mickey Loomis plays coy with draft, but offers some noteworthy tidbits | NOLA.com

homerj07

Draft can't get here fast enough

Rugby Saint II

Rob Ryan needs to choose better than his predecessors.