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METAIRIE, La. — It’s not that Kenny Vaccaro isn’t a player with tons of upside.

It’s not that the Saints didn’t need help at safety.

It’s just that from afar – that is, outside the Saints’ war room – safety would fall below linebacker and defensive line as areas of issue.

And the first round of the draft played out almost exactly as the Saints needed it to to fill those positions.

As the clock neared 9 0’clock in the evening, linebacker Alec Ogletree and Jarvis Jones were available. So, too, were defensive tackles Sylvester Williams and Sharrif Floyd.

Yet, New Orleans went all counter-intuitive, selecting a safety that will be forced into competition immediately with two incumbent starters.

While coach Sean Payton didn’t go into specifics on other players, it was clear that New Orleans’ decision-makers were over-the-moon about Vaccaro’s flexibility and versatility.

He can play three positions – free safety, strong safety and the nickel cornerback position.

He can tackle well, seen in the fact that he led Texas with 107 tackles as a senior.

Vaccaro could end up being a solid player, one who spends seasons with New Orleans as a steadying presence in the secondary.

But I look at this as a missed opportunity for the Saints to pick up a player whom could have made a real difference at a position of greater need.

Read more: Handwerger: Saints seem to have missed opportunity by taking safety | wwltv.com New Orleans

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.