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The New Orleans Saints have been among the most aggressive teams in terms of trading up in the draft in under general manager Mickey Loomis, making notable recent first-round moves to pick Brandin Cooks in 2014 and Mark Ingram in 2011.

Assistant GM Jeff Ireland, though, has provided a bit of a calming influence the past couple years as the Saints have gone through the draft process.

In 2015, Ireland's first year with the team, New Orleans made nine selections in the draft, the most players the Saints had taken since 2002 when they also took nine. The team picked up extra picks in 2015 in player trades that also landed center Max Unger and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.



"In the first draft, I had the calming voice to not go and go and go because there's other players behind them that may not be that big of a difference, so we just sit and wait," Ireland said Thursday at the Senior Bowl.

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