SmashMouth

The 2017 draft will go down in history as one of the best in New Orleans Saints history.

The seven-man haul featured five eventual starters, including the offensive and defensive rookies of the year in Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore.

The class played a big role in the Saints' vault from 7-9 to 11-5 and the NFC South championship last season. It's already being compared to the Saints' famed 2006 draft class, widely considered the best in club history.



It would be unfair to compare the Saints' seven-man draft class this year with the 2017 bunch. It would be almost impossible for this year's group to match its predecessor in terms of impact or production.

This draft was less about stars and starters than it was about depth and development.

From this class, first-round pick Marcus Davenport might be the only major contributor on a team that returns all 22 starters from a year ago. And that's no certainty when you consider his inexperience. He played only a handful of years of organized football, mostly against mediocre competition, and is described as "raw" by scouts.

Davenport is expected to compete with veteran Alex Okafor for the starting right end spot opposite Cameron Jordan. Whether he wins the job or not remains to be seen. Regardless, he's going to play a lot, especially in passing situations.

Receiver Tre'Quan Smith, the team's third-round pick, figures to be part of a deep rotation that includes Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr. and Cameron Meredith. Smith will provide quality depth and can be groomed as Ginn's eventual replacement in 2019 or beyond.

But the rest of this draft consists of backups, role players and special teamers, at least initially. And that's fine. Every team needs quality depth and the Saints have the luxury of waiting on players to develop.

But this draft, while being notable for finally ending the Saints' eight-year drought of drafting LSU players, is mainly about one thing: Davenport.

The Saints paid a steep price -- two first-round picks and a fifth-rounder -- to select Davenport. I know the trade-value calculus doesn't add up. I understand the skeptics who think the Saints paid too much to take him.

But comparing the deal to past draft-day trades is irrelevant. You have to look at this deal solely through the prism of this Saints team in this offseason.

The Saints roster is decidedly different now than it was a year or two ago. This is a much deeper and more talented Saints team than previous iterations. Sixteen players from the 2015-2017 draft classes are on the roster. Fourteen of them dot the two-deep depth chart.

The Saints bolstered the young core and filled key holes in the depth chart by signing tight end Ben Watson, cornerback Patrick Robinson, wide receiver Cameron Meredith and offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod in free agency.

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