I thought I might jump into the pit with a thought.

Maybe we have so many UDFA's make this team because the players we draft just aren't really all that great?

We never draft LB's early. The only one I can remember is Tez, and he was a 3rd rounder and very raw. Its always 4th and 5th rounders.

Why do we hate LB's?

The sad truth is that I don't think it will change whilst we have the set of coaches that we do

SP is so set in his ways now that he refuses to change anything

We really need a Patrick Willis, navarro bowman kind of guy in the middle, #54 for the cowboys looks like an up and coming player

Teams like the patriots and seahawks every year have about 13 picks in the draft, I can't remember a time when we've had more than 6

question, why is all the talk is about how bad our defense looks? did y'all not see how awful our offense is playing? why dont i see fans saying maybe its time to look for a qb? why dont i see anyone saying we need a wr like a calvin johnson type? why dont i see anyone saying where's our adriene peterson type rb? how about a big hoggish ol? just think if our defense would have held up last night our offense still didnt see the likes of the redzone till the 4th qtr. how much defense is good defense with no offense? we look bad on both sides of the ball but i've been saying this for a while now. if we get this win sunday vs the bucs, go into the bye week with a 2-3 record, go to detroit and pull out an upset (because we will be the underdogs) now we're at 3-3 (.500) and could possibly go on a role. i feel right now its more of the saints not executing vs the other teams are just simply better.

question, why is all the talk is about how bad our defense looks? did y'all not see how awful our offense is playing? why dont i see fans saying maybe its time to look for a qb? why dont i see anyone saying we need a wr like a calvin johnson type? why dont i see anyone saying where's our adriene peterson type rb? how about a big hoggish ol? just think if our defense would have held up last night our offense still didnt see the likes of the redzone till the 4th qtr. how much defense is good defense with no offense? we look bad on both sides of the ball but i've been saying this for a while now. if we get this win sunday vs the bucs, go into the bye week with a 2-3 record, go to detroit and pull out an upset (because we will be the underdogs) now we're at 3-3 (.500) and could possibly go on a role. i feel right now its more of the saints not executing vs the other teams are just simply better.

Benardrick McKinney*, ILB/OLB, Mississippi State
Height: 6-5. Weight: 249.
Projected 40 Time: 4.62.
Projected Round (2015): 1-3.

9/20/14: In 2014, McKinney has 20 tackles, five tackles for a loss and two sacks.

8/23/14: After redshirting in 2011, McKinney made a splash in 2012 and was named a First-Team Freshman All-American by numerous media outlets. He recorded 102 tackles with 4.5 tackles for a loss, one sack and four passes broken up. The sophomore had 70 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks in 2013.

McKinney is an intriguing, versatile athlete who has a lot of upside. He has the potential to add weight and play 3-4 outside linebacker, and maybe even some defensive end, along with inside and outside linebacker. Sources have told WalterFootball.com that they view McKinney as a three-down middle linebacker candidate for the NFL.

The offense isn't anywhere near as bad as the defense. I thought that was pretty obvious to everyone.

We also plugged difficiencies in our LB corp with Safeties. We had two "leaders" on defense in Vilma and Shanle. Vilma was the field general. Shanle stepped up when Scott Fujita left for Cleveland.

We have never replaced those leaders on defense. Like their play or not, our LB's are essentially invisible on the field. I've said since the first game that our defense plays like they are only playing with 10 men on the field, that's because there's a double deficiency somewhere - probably poor d-line and unreliable LB's to plug those holes.

So we FIX the problem with safeties. Everyone trashes Roman Harper, but now it's apparent he was plugging holes as an outside linebacker. We didn't have the foresight to simply name him "OLB" on the roster and make way.

Finally, folks mentioning Malcolm Jenkins with 3 int's for the Iggles. He's able to play a TRUE safety position and let his talent shine at the Eagles because they have competant defensive linemen and talent at LB. At the saints he roamed between safety, CB and LB watching runners blow past the d-line, then past the LB's into the secondary where he has to make the tackles. At the Eagles he can ball hawk!

I've ALWAYS said, draft LB early and often, as much as possible. Great LB's can not only be field general QB's on defense, some are great pass defenders as well as run stoppers. At this point, anything has to be an improvement, but LB may be a great starting point.