SmashMouth

There are market inefficiencies waiting to be exploited hiding in plain site every year during the draft.

They’re the players draft analysts and fans clamor over and scream about on talk shows every day from February until the draft takes place in late April or early May. Sometimes they’re the most talented players at a particular position, but they’re slow to land due to the red flags attached to their backs.

It’s not an easy road to navigate. Falling in love with a player with a checkered past or character concerns can lead to disaster. In other instances, the teams that run from those flags and are forced to watch those players prosper in other cities.



Count the number of teams that wish they would have taken a gamble on Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant, Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu or, once upon a time, Randy Moss. The amount of regret stretches across the league.

Get it right and your franchise prospers. Get in wrong and there isn’t enough regret to cover all the headaches, setbacks and bad headlines that will follow. And sometimes those wrong guesses create even larger issues no one wants to deal with.

This is the terrain the New Orleans Saints will soon have to navigate. Considering the offseason has, at least in part, been about getting read of players who caused issues or distractions in the locker room, it might be foolish to even entertain this discussion. Any flags might mean instant dismissal from the draft board -- that’s generally been the modus operandi since Sean Payton landed here in 2006.

But considering the Saints are in need of talent and there are three players at key positions who could be available when they come on the clock for picks 13, 31 and 44, some consideration could be given to a player with a checkered past.



New Orleans might have to make one of those decisions early in the draft if Randy Gregory slides through the first dozen picks. The Nebraska pass rusher is unquestionably one of the more talented players in this draft class, finishing last season with seven sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss, but he failed a drug test at the scouting combine and recently admitted to having issues with marijuana.

On the surface, this can be brushed off as a minor issue. Typically, finding out a player partakes now and then, would not be enough to disqualify him from a draft board. It’s the fact that Gregory knew about the test, had ample time to prepare, and still failed that will scare teams away. It brings his intelligence, mental toughness, and discipline into question.

But his talent is intoxicating. Gregory was expected to go within the first 10 picks of the draft, if not higher. If he falls, he’ll unquestionably be the most talented player available to New Orleans at a position of need. But the risk could potentially be too great of a leap for the Saints to take.

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