Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

Kamara he was steadily inserted in the offense. Hardly instant success. Think it was week 6 and even still he was behind another RB. It wasn't really until late in the season he was the starter. A lot of people forget that he was gradually put in the offense.

Many draft picks don't get that luxury. They are thrown to the fire immediately then everyone just says boy do they suck. Yeah, no kidding.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

He was not used to his full abilities. His workout with the Saints had him catching passes because we knew he could run but no idea if he could run precise routes or catch the football. Kamara fits this system beautifully. That's one of the things I like about Payton. He has vision! Every player we bring in already has a role to play on the team when they prove themselves to Payton.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

Just proves that the draft is really a crap shoot and most "experts" really don't know what they're talking about when they make all those predictions and talk and hype up certain players for the first round. Look at all the people who hyped up Baker Mayfield as some generational talent. Mayfield will be out of the league in a few years. Stuff like this just proves how random the draft is.

I think the Saints are a good example to argue against tanking. We had 3 consecutive 7-9 seasons stuck in the purgatory of mediocrity, kinda like how the Dolphins are either 6-10, 8-8 or 10-6 every year. But we didn't tank in the end. All it took was one strong draft and a few key free agency signings after overhauling talent evaluation in management and it brought us back.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

Precisely :bng:.

Remember Mel Kiper saying that is was a "stretch" to move up for Alvin.

These guys throw as many darts as possible, hoping that some of their picks "stick". Half the time they are simply guessing too.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

The first of those three 7-9 seasons was based upon the abundant number of trips to the injured reserve with 15 players. The great rebuild started the next year with the purge of a number of aging veterans and the influx of new, younger talent. The rebuild continued the following season with only four or so players left from the 2010 Super Bowl.

The remarkable thing is that the Saints were still able to win seven games each of those years under staggering obstacles. Payton and Loomis had a plan and that continued over the next two years with major acquisitions through the draft. The building of the team we have today started back in 2014.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

I don't have the video but I swear this is true; when we drafted Wayne Martin back in the late 80s, Kiper swore it was a mistake and the Saints would regret that decision. Wayne Martin is my pick for most underrated Saint ever and he had a solid career with productive seasons even during the Ditka years when there wasn't a whole lot of talent.

Those guys don't know what the hell they're talking about half the time. BAKER MAYFIELD supposedly was a generational talent... never mind all the glaring evidence that he had bust written all over him.

Re: Amazing that Kamara wasn't drafted higher
 

IMO if you removed Brees from those 7-9 teams, they probably don't finish better than 2-14. We had historically bad defenses during those years and it was thanks to having a HoF QB that really elevated those teams and pushed them to gain more wins than they deserved.

I slightly disagree with you on 2014 being a rebuild year. I think that was more of "SB or bust" and the team really bought into their own hype all summer following the surprise 2013 season. They made key free agent signings, most of which turned into free agent busts like Byrd and later the next year we'd come to dramatically regretting the Brown signing.

I remember most of us thinking the defense had been fixed overnight from Rob Ryan's adjustments in 2013. They were never the same again after Jabari Greer's horrific knee injury.

I can see your point though on 2014 from how the roster was managed. We fans had super high expectations cause of the 2013 team making the playoffs, but going into 2014 much of the roster was different. You could clearly see where they were lacking the veterans on defense that had been there for years and had a sense of familiarity with the team.