Linebacker Comparisons
 

So I thought I'd look at how Anthony and Kikaha compared to the other MLBs and OLBs drafted around them

Kikaka
Total tackles: 26
Sacks: 3
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles: 2

Dante Fowler - IR

Vic Beasley
Total tackles: 11
Sacks: 2
Passes Defensed: 1
Forced Fumbles:1

Bud Dupree
Total tackles: 11
Sacks: 2
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles: 0

Shaq Thompson
Total tackles: 16
Sacks: 0
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles:0

Stephone Anthony
Total tackles: 23
Sacks: 1
Passes Defensed: 1
Forced Fumbles: 0

Eric Kendricks
Total tackles: 19
Sacks: 1
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles: 0

Bernardrick McKinney
Total tackles: 10
Sacks: 0
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles: 0

Denzyl Perrymen
Total tackles: 10
Sacks: 0
Passes Defensed: 0
Forced Fumbles: 0

OUt of the top" OLBs, Kikaha leads them all in tackles, sacks and forced fumbles. Out of the "top" MLBs, Anthony leads them in tackles and is tied with one sack. Thus far, we've pretty much hit it out of the ballpark with our MLB and OLB draft picks

Re: Linebacker Comparisons
 

Thank you new scouting department. We finally drafted some good players.

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Like the post. Playing time is a factor you may not be considering and we won't truly know how good these guys will be for another year but overall I get your point.

I think we drafted the right guys and they'll be quality starters for years.

Re: Linebacker Comparisons
 

We are getting a lot of mileage out of our young defenders and this will pay off in the next few years. Solid pieces selected this season.

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Passes Defensed: 0

This is the sore spot we need to correct at OLB.

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Now we need a lb coach to help in their development

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Some of those players listed are DE's. And we are playing our rookies because we have no choice. I like Kikaha, but I'm still waiting for him to learn some moves. Number of tackles is a meaningless stat.

Anybody remember Curtis Lofton? He made a lot of tackles. He also missed a lot and sucked in coverage. I'm not making a judgement 4 games into their careers, but I'm sure not seeing a home run either. I do see the potential in Kikaha, and it's obvious why. I still haven't seen Anthony do much other than make a tackle here and there.

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The DROY finalists may have two Saints if they keep this up!!!

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I dont care what the stats say, I am very impressed with what I saw. I like Kikaha, but Anthony is really impressing me. He seems to read plays well and tackles with authority.

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Well, most of them were projected as 3-4 LBers for the draft. Kikaha plays OLB and DE for us. As for no choice but to play our rookies, I think Kikaha and Anthony earned their PT. Could be Humber starting at MLB or Hawthorne. But our rookies earned their spots and, for rookies, are playing well. They can only get better.

And yeah, you can't judge them based on 4 games really, but compared to the other top draft picks at their positions, statistically they are putting up better numbers. And, out of the list, the only players who aren't starting for their teams right now is Bud Dupree (Steelers) and Denzel Perrymen (Chargers). Considering how these other players were generally ranked higher than our pre-draft, I think they are doing pretty well, in comparison, and hopefully continue to improve. Future looks bright at LB to me #WhoDat

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When I say they had no choice, I know there are other players, but we already know what they are. And they aren't good. So you plug in the rookies and see what you have. I have no problem with that under the circumstances. But I'm just not seeing anything standing out with Anthony, other than a nice tackle or two, and Kikaha is still a one trick pony. I'm not declaring that neither will become good all around players. I'm just not drinking the kool-aid at this point.

I take no issue with your opinion, I'm just not seeing enough yet. Especially from Anthony. It seems like every year we draft some guy and he gets talked up all season despite not doing very much (Vacarro is a prime example) and then they fall flat on their face the next year. I'm going to be pessimistic for a while until I see a consistent uptick in our draft productivity. It's been bad for a while.

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Man these are going to be great. Kikaha, and Anthony are really impressing me.

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And the fact that as the season progresses, so will they is very intriguing...

Four games in and already it seems that they are both reading the plays better, playing faster...

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I agree, we haven't drafted well in quite some time. We've had 22 selections since 2011 (not including this years class), and only Jordan, Ingram, Vaccarro, Armstead and Brandin Cooks remain. 5/22, that's horrendous, and none from the 2012 class. Hopefully with the shake up we had in our scouting department, things will change.

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Couldn't a lot of tackles speak to a bigger problem of being on the field a bit too much?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have them, but gotta address the bigger picture. And I think they can, provided they stay healthy and start setting some edges.

And penalties.

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I will dare to say that these two boys are the best Linebackers the Saints has drafted since Mark Fields.

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I would love to see a 3-4 with Anthony next to Vilma in his prime.