1st Round Pick Draft Suckage
 

It's no secret that the Saints suck real bad when it comes to 1st round draft picks but the last few days seem to have been yet another timely reminder of this.

1) Sedrick Ellis retires from Pro Football aged 28, as a huge bust

2) Reports coming out of San Diego are that Robert Meachem wouldn't even make the 53-man roster were it not for the huge financial commitment they have in him

Is Kenny Vaccaro the start of the golden age of 1st Round Hall-of-Fame Daft Picks for the Saints? Let's hope so!

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Hey, we still have M. Jenkins? Wonder if he is going to be like Sed!! Oh wait, he already is.

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Have ring, don't care.

I'm kidding but at the same time, I'm not.

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We did OK with Cam Jordan and Mark Ingram.
Jury still out on Robinson and Jenkins.

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Meachem was great when he was here. Just not 1st round great.

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So two players past their tenure in N.O. and one yet to put pads on used as examples.

What sort of answer are you looking for?

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I would look for this trend to gradually disappear now that there are salary limits on rookie contracts. The thing is, the Saints don't like to get suckered into paying big money for bright shiny objects or guys with NAMES just because it's a name. Do you really want to go back to the days of trading everything to have Ricky Williams as your #1 pick? I don't. Now that there is no hefty price tag associated with rookies, I would look for the Saints to square it up and pick more adventurously over the next few years -- let's check back in year 5 of the new CBA and see how the Saints #1 picks are doing then. Because the price tag attached on them WILL affect who and how they pick.

I would rather have a team brimming with diamond-in-the-rough Colstons, Nickses, Jimmy Grahams, Pierre Thomases, Chris Ivories and those type of character guys, than have ONE big name player at #1 and the rest be camp nobodies, which is how the draft classes look for losing teams if you look around the league. If you are picking an impact player at #1, chances are pretty good that you sucked the year before. There's typically only 10 or so HUGE impact players in each year's class, and thankfully the Saints have been picking near the back of the pack, for nigh on the last decade, which means they did well the year before -- that suits me just fine.

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I saw Vaccaro today at the practice and the dude was all over the field. Im not saying he's the next ed reed or darren sharper out the gate but looks like over time he will be a really good center fielder.


The end is nigh

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Not just two or 4 or whatever. The Saints have a HORRID 1st round history.

Who even remembers Vaughn Dunbar & could give me any stats (w/o looking online)?

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I am surprised no one has mentioned Sullivan as the biggest of big bust! Wait, I just did.

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In my best Cartman voice....



Um you guyyyysss... Off-season is OVAH!

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Name a 1st round pick that worked out. Much easier.

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1971 Archie Manning Quarterback Mississippi

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Deuce Mcallister. In my 15 years of hardcore fandom, he is far and away the best first round pick.. and to think, I hated the pick at the time!

Honorable mention: Will Smith, Charles Grant (he was solid, mostly), Jammal Brown.

Then there's Cam Jordan, who I believe can and will be better than Smith or Grant ever were.. and of course, Mr. Vaccaro, who I really and truly think may end up being an elite playmaking safety

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Those are fairly bold statements.

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Agreed. Best First Round Pick we've ever had...

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Guys, a quick Google search on the subject of first round NFL draft success rates will find you lots of information and studies on the subject. The fact of the matter is that most fans have vastly unrealistic expectations. Bill Polian (among other former and current GMs) is quoted as saying that a 64% (4.5 out of 7 players picked) "hit rate" on serviceable players over an entire draft is considered HIGHLY successful by most GMs. One writer, after much research and study, wrote that, by his judgement, over a particular five year period "hit rates" on serviceable players in the first round is around 54%. A large number of the successes were at offensive line, too. What he also found (good news for us) is that there is a much higher rate of success in selecting safeties in the first round (among a few other positions). The point is that, although we fans want every pick to be our next Hall of Fame player, it is about a 50/50 shot that any pick will even be a playable option in the regular season. Now that the new CBA has rookie contracts becoming much more reasonable, it should be acceptable to ask fans to be a little more reasonable in their expectation of a team's draft.

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Managing a franchise isn't easy either. Scouting talent can be the trickiest thing to do.

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I don't think the figures listed are a matter of "setting the bar" based on opinion. The bar is set by the gathering of information over a period of time. These guys are not saying "I have a feeling we should hit on X number of guys". Information is gathered over an extended period of drafts and empirical evidence is given that shows the exact success rate of teams over that period. Actually, while it may not be "rocket science" exactly, there is quite a bit of scientific method involved in the process. I do not disagree that there is nepotism, but that is pretty much in any occupation these days.

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You would think that's objective.

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Biggest bust ever, Alex Molden!!! & Heyward

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And Meachem had 700+ yards and 9 td's, 600+ yards and 5 td's, and 600+ yards and 6 td's his last three years here. Only time he didn't have at least 600 yards was his rookie year. He was far from a joke or a bust. He's no Charles Rogers. His stats are right in line with Lance Moore.

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Jonathan Sullivan (who we gave two 1st rounders to move up for) makes those two look like HOF'ers.

I don't think a lot of people know what a draft bust really means.

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Ryan Leaf count?! Didn't play for the Saints, but has to be the biggest bust of all time.

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Man..... It's a coin flip between Leaf and Russell for expectations vs compensation.

Look no further than Rickey Williams for what was given up for the opportunity to over compensate.

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I wasn't looking for any kind of answer, nor was I suggesting that Kenny Vaccaro was a HoF player! I was merely pointing out that in the space of 24 hours, there were two reminders of how bad the Saints are at drafting in the first round! Seems to have sparked some debate anyway :)

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I don't think I've ever been as fired up about one of our 1st round picks as I am about this young man.

I'm totally out of control. I'm seeing Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu all rolled into one. :dance:

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" Is Kenny Vaccaro the start of the golden age of 1st Round Hall-of-Fame Daft Picks for the Saints? Let's hope so! "

Lets hope so is right.

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I already like what I see from the kid ... level headed, humble and ready to make an impact. Just a side note.. on saturday at the end of practice he was kind enough to take that one last photo with me while holding 4 helmets in his hand (lol).

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Why has nobody pointed out the unfortunate typo where I referred to Kenny Vaccaro as a 'Daft Pick' :)

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Haha! Because some of us thought he was.

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I'm disturbingly sold on him with nothing to back it up at the pro level. Ugh. Really hope he can be that good! I'm sure he will be :)

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I see both of them also.. Its subliminal, hidden with in his tattoos..

3 years from now we can resurrect the threads where people called the pick bad.

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jordan is working out so far but kenny is going to be a yeti. i was going to say beast but the word is often over used in athletic discussions.

kenny the yeti the artic beast