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New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton
2014 NFL Draft first round press conference
Thursday, May 8, 2014

Opening Statement
“We’re excited with our selection. We were able to move up and get a player that we had valued. I think the interesting part in the early part of the draft was – and we felt would be a question – was how the quarterbacks were to go. You’re just hoping that there are a number of them taken, a number of players taken to push, possibly, some players that we had in a cloud or our group of players back. That didn’t happen. However, there were a few players that were selected that kind of moved the group back. It unfolded a little bit like we had planned, and we were fortunate to be able to go up a few spots and get a player that we liked coming into the process.”

What do you see his role being on this team?
“He’s a playmaker. The one thing about him that stood out is that he’s a tough player both physically and mentally. He has been very consistent, very durable. Obviously he runs well, but I like his makeup in regards to his mental toughness. His interview was fantastic. We’ve got a pretty good relationship (with the Oregon State staff) – Mickey (Loomis) does – with Coach (Mike) Riley there. I think there were a lot of intangibles with him aside from just his skill set as a player that we’re really excited (about).”

Can he be a return candidate?
“He’ll have a chance to do those things. He has returned. We’ll work him both as a punt returner and kick returner and see how he does. He has the skill set to do it. He has real good hands. I think he’s a tough player. I think in order to be a returner, you have to be tough. He’ll get an opportunity to do that.”

Obviously you didn’t want to risk him falling. How much did you weigh that, looking at the draft board?
“Without going into detail with the names, there were really three guys that were still in our group (left). But the problem was that there was seven or eight picks left. Only one of those three was someone that we felt, prior to the process, that we would move to get and that was Brandin. Prior to the draft even beginning, we put together a list of players, in order, and then kind of a line at a certain point. Above this line we might possibly move to go get, and below that line we would sit tight and see if we could make our pick. He was the one remaining player in that group that was someone that we identified that we might trade up to get if we felt like it was necessary. I think as it began to unfold it was just trying to find the right team, the right partner.”

Was there a team that you feared might be interested in Cooks as well?
“You look ahead of you at the teams, but you also understand that the one unknown is always a team coming back in. There were a couple of teams that had a need at receiver. The Jets, before we made the trade officially, we really sat on that pick waiting. They went the direction of safety, and that all of the sudden made it apparent that this could happen.”

The team let Lance Moore and Darren Sproles go this offseason. Did any of that have to do with the deep talent at the receiver position in this draft class?
“No I wouldn’t say those decisions were based on the way this draft class shaped up. Those were tough decisions, one with the trade and the other with a guy like Lance Moore. They weren’t predicated on the depth that we were looking at at all. They were separate.”

How much did you weigh giving up a third round pick?
“We weighed it some, but when you’re picking 27th in each of these rounds, you’re really five picks away from being in the fourth. We really felt, with regards to the value sheets, that it all added up and made sense.”

Read more: Sean Payton talks about drafting WR Brandin Cooks

exile

The biggest positive I read from SP is that we had the luxury of not needing a QB and other teams did. So Cooks dropped more than they thought. So that equals another win for Brees.

Rugby Saint II

The Saints FO does a great job of targeting players.