ScottF

History says that we have done considerably better with late picks than early ones
I'd much rather see a late first BPA than a costly move for unproven talent.

FA and later round gems are our forte- Too many Usama Youngs, Cie Grants, SJBs, Chip Vaughns, etc

Danno

I think we've kinda sucked with the late rounders too.

Who was the last late round pick that turned out to be great?

WhoDatFan26

Cameron Jordan, DE from California. Drafted in 2011.

vpheughan

Oh yes, I remember that guy! Absolute Zero, he was a great QB/WR/LB/DE/DT/TE/PK/P but didn't pan out. Turned out he wasn't A BEAST, had no AIR IN THE TIRES and NOTHING IN THE TANK, would't play ON THE CHEAP for the HOMETOWN DISCOUNT and didn't TRUST IN SPAGS or MICKEY!! A bitter disappointment!!

hagan714

I am not sure about Smith. If there is never damage that is a huge red flag. If so the odds of him coming back 100% are next to zero. This kid will fall through the floor if the medical evals hold up and there is major nerve damage. I am talking possible day 3 flyer to UDFA stuff here.

Trade down and stuff a later round pick in your pocket to use on him would be not crazy.

Question now appears to be HOW BAD is the nerve damage? Doctors have gotten really good at a lot of thing but nerve repair and evaluational in not one of them. He is going to have opinions all of the place as to how bad the damage is. Doctors just still do not know enough about nerves in general and repair of them. It is always a wait and see what we got when all is said and done.

His future is in the hands of the medical evals. do not feel to bad for the kid, I heard if he drops out of round 1 his 5 million dollar insurance policy kicks in. smart kid

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

K Major

Saints won't gamble on Jaylon Smith @ #12. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

RaginCajun83

Hearing an interview with him made me like this kid even more, seemed up beat and not discouraged by the rehab process. He just oozed Saints type of player, smart and team first.

He was smart to take out the insurance policy but I got a feeling some team in the first will draft him

vpheughan

Depends on your definition of great too: Colston, Morestead

jeanpierre

Rookie Draft Picks...

First round picks should be starters as rookies coming out of training camp...

Second round picks should be starters by mid season or key rotational players...

Third round picks should be playing strong minutes in relief and able to make spot starts by the end of their rookie seasons...

Fourth and Fifth round picks should be providing quality depth and have at least some kind of impact by the end of their rookie seasons...

Sixth and Seventh round picks are your developmental, special teams and medical redshirts...

Exception: Quarterbacks (First Rounders should be starting by midseason)

Look, we developed enough talent for other kids during the Mora years, let the other kids develop the talent...

We should be reloaders, not rebuilders...

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

K Major

JP - valid points but if our 1st rd pick is missing 6, 7 games makes or breaks us, then we are already in trouble. Yes we need our 1st rd pick to make an impact but even great players don't have huge impacts to change a teams season. If we ever expect our defense to become great, it will help big time getting a top rated player fall to us at 12.