papz

In a meeting room inside the newly renovated New Orleans Saints training facility is a massive grease board with color-coordinated magnets of players' names representing the team's depth at each of its position groups.

Entering the start of the NFL draft, some of the position groups were either unfulfilled or lacked the name of a proven or productive player.

But the Saints took care most of that this past weekend.

Having entered the draft with just five picks, the Saints managed to fill some of the obvious holes in their roster by selecting a safety (Kenny Vaccaro), offensive tackle (Terron Armstead) and a defensive tackle (John Jenkins) on the first two days of the draft, before wrapping up their picks on Saturday by taking Oklahoma receiver Kenny Stills in the fifth round and Tarleton State defensive end/outside linebacker Rufus Johnson in the sixth round.

"I think it went well," Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said of the draft. "I think it went real well. ...

"It gets back to trying to get the best player, the guy with the best opportunity to make your team, without being too concerned about need."

Like Loomis, Saints Coach Sean Payton said he thought the draft was a success.

"I think No. 1 we paid attention to the measurables and if you look at each player, their size, their speed (fits what we want)," Payton said. "With the defensive players, it's the stature, even with the left tackle (Armstead) offensively there is athleticism in someone who really did a good job, not only on tape but in regards to skill set, in regards to the way he tested.

"The same way with the receiver (Stills), he is someone that runs exceptionally well, he is fluid, and then I think at the very beginning of the draft with Kenny Vaccaro, there is a real good background or body of work the way he plays."

But it seemed clear the Saints went after two positions of need Saturday in landing Stills, a speedy and productive receiver, and Johnson, a dominant pass-rusher in Division II.

Read more about Stills and Johnson

Attached Thumbnails

 

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

All little common sense goes a long way.