New Orleans Saints Draft thread

[Sveen]

New Orleans Saints selection:
5th round, 164th overall
Carl Nicks, OT, Nebraska

Next pick: 6th, round, 178th overall.

[Flyboy]

Maybe he can replace Stinchy.

[Sveen]

Our last pick is coming up soon. Please give us Erin Henderson :)

[Sveen]

New Orleans Saints selection:
6th round, 178th overall
Tyler Mehlhaff, K, Wisconsin

This is all for this year.

[TigerBait45]

I love Nicks and Pressley.

I don't know anything about Melhaff though, so I can't comment there.

Nicks makes a lot of sense because of how versatile he is..he played both tackle spots in college and hes athletic enough to do it in the NFL. I'd imagine hes the heir apparent to Stinchcomb, unless Jermon Bushrod is progressing better than I've heard.

I really love Pressley..very athletic for a 300 pound man. Really explosive..could make a good pass rusher, I think. Hes kind of raw, and he isn't always going full-speed, but Ed Orgeron is a hell of a d-line coach that should get him straight.. I think he could be a really solid player in a few years.

[Sveen]

New Orleans Saints selection:
7th round, 237th overall
Adrian Arrington, WR, Michigan

We gave up our 6th round pick next year to get back into the Draft and get this guy.

[Scotty D]

Originally Posted by Sveen

New Orleans Saints selection:
7th round, 237th overall
Adrian Arrington, WR, Michigan

We gave up our 6th round pick next year to get back into the Draft and get this guy.

Great pick. He is a steal. He's going to be productive.

[Sveen]

It's all over!

The 2008 New Orleans Saints Draft Class:
#7 Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
#40 Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana
#144 DeMario Pressley, DT, North Carolina State
#164 Carl Nicks, OT, Nebraska
#178 Taylor Mehlhaff, K, Wisconsin
#237 Adrian Arrington, WR, Michigan

[Saints67]

I think we got STEALS after Ellis and Porter, to be honest with you...


Pressley- Coach O, will coach him up and keep his motor going. I think he will be a great 3-tech DT for us.

Nicks- If he gets coached up by Marrone (which is certain), and he stays out of trouble...we just got our future LG/RT right here who has 1st round ability.

Mehlhaff- I think he will beat out Gramatica, and have a Nick Folk type of year for us.

Arrington- Highly productive but overshadowed by Manningham. Has alot of talent too, and with the coaching of Curtis Johnson, I think we got another Colston on our hands.

A+ draft, IMO.

[TigerBait45]

Now we need to sign Erin Henderson or Wesley Woodyard as UDFAs.

Ali Highsmith didn't get drafted either, did he?

[diabsoule]

There are a lot of UDFA's I want, although some, like Erin Henderson, J Leman, and Ben Moffitt, have already signed.

I would like us to target the following:
DT Frank Morton (Tulane)
S Jamar Adams (Michigan -- signed with another team)
LB Ali Highsmith (L.S.U.)
LB Larry Grant (Ohio St)
LB Curtis Gatewood (Vanderbilt)
DE Titus Brown (Mississippi St.)(I really want him)
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Ole Miss)

[GeauxSaints]

like our draft overall. would have liked to see us make a push for Connor. also really wanted Dorsey to be a Saint, but you can't get them all.

here are some UDFA's i like:

Mike Peterson TE
Joey Haynos TE (possible OG convert)
Ezra Butler OLB
Eric Scott C
Brian Witherspoon CB/KR
Michael Grant CB
BenJarvus Green-Ellis RB
Jehuu Caulcrick FB (possible RB)
Carl Stewart FB

got drafted but will likely get released:
Jamey Richard C
Matt Flynn QB
Kennard Cox CB

UDFA already signed:
Ali Highsmith OLB

[GeauxSaints]

signed so far:

Jason Boone OT
Jeremy Geathers DL
Nate McManus OG
Akim Millington OT
Waylon Prather P
Rocky Schwartz LB
Ryan Senser LS
Olaniyi Sobomehin FB

[TigerBait45]

Rocky Schwartz is a combine freak..great athlete.

Not sure how he plays but I know for sure he ran a 4.42 at the combine or his pro-day (not sure which)

[diabsoule]

I hope we sign Frank Morton and Titus Brown. I would be ecstatic if we were to land those guys. Morton is a run-stuff that would help out our DT rotation and Titus Brown is a pass-rushing freak that would really help out the DE rotation. He could also stand up and might could convert to an OLB.

[CJSchneider]

Adrian Arrington was a sweet pick. I think he was a little overshadowed by Manningham at Michigan. He has a good upside and will make a great 2nd reciever.

[SaintsFanForLife]

Just read this on another site do you agree with this?

2008 NFL Draft Grade:

Good Moves: I love every single pick the Saints made. Trading up for Sedrick Ellis was a no-brainer. He, fellow rookie DeMario Pressley and Brian Young will be a force in the middle of the defensive line, and I'm confident New Orleans will exceed last year's sack total of 32 ... Tracy Porter was the best cornerback available at No. 40 and he actually fits the Saints' scheme ... Carl Nicks was the steal of the draft at No. 164. He's a first-round talent, and I can't believe his stock dropped because he simply attended a college party that got a little out of hand ... Taylor Mehlhaff was my top kicker ... Adrian Arrington has the potential to be a seventh-round steal just like Marques Colston.

Bad Moves: None, except the free safety position wasn't addressed.

Grade give on 4/28/08: A+

[saintsfan912]

Sedrick Ellis, can't say much about him. Orgeron obviously knows he's special and he should bring an immediate comfort level to Ellis.

The only reason Arrington fell was because of his off the field issues and not being the "star WR". A guy thats 6'3 and runs a 4.5 should be a damn good compliment to Colston and Meachem(Hopefully).

I loved the Pressley pick and the Saints obviously loved him too to move up 2 spots to take him before the Bengals. He's a big body that should immediately play a role in the DT rotation. I'm guessing his minor injuries were one of the reasons for his fall but he only missed 2 games because of them.

Absolutely loved the Porter pick! The kid is 5'11, ran a 4.37 and had a 38 inch vertical. He looked to have great ball skills in the few videos I've seen of him. Also looked damn good as a return man so that's definitely a huge plus.

Not gonna comment on the rest of the picks, don't really know much about him.

[SaintsFanForLife]

Nicks was a steal IMO. Allot of people had him going in the second in allot of mocks. But the off the field stuff dropped him down a long ways. Im sure he will be fine in our system and could start at G at least I hope. I like the pick.

[saintsfan912]

Maybe he can take Stinchcomb's spot.

[SaintsFanForLife]

Originally Posted by saintsfan912

Maybe he can take Stinchcomb's spot.

I hope so.

[diabsoule]

My breakdown of the Saints picks:

What I really liked:
They aggressively attacked the defensive side of the ball and drafted three players I really liked in DT Sedrick Ellis, DT Demario Pressley, and CB Tracy Porter. Ellis I considered the best DT prospect in this draft. The reason he beat out Dorsey in my book is due to his durability. Ellis will immediately compete with H. Thomas for the UT position and will more than likely win out. Pressley is an underrated player who I feel can really develop into a very good three technique (a la the Bryan Young position). Porter is a guy I've liked for a while. The only thing I don't like about him is his run-support skills but other than that he's everything the Saints need out of a CB and fits their scheme.

What I liked:
I find the Adrian Arrington selection a very underrated selection. He has the skills to develop into a very good #2 opposite Colston. I know we selected Meachem last year but I see him as a slot receiver due to his speed.
Carl Nicks is a player I've drafted, or tried to draft, in every fantasy draft we've had on this site. I see him as a player that can develop into a fine LT. I know most will disagree with this but I see us trading Jammal Brown next year or the year after. Nicks or Bushrod will be our LT and the odd man out will be our RT with Zach Strief being a valuable backup. Our O-line is set for years to come minus Goodwin at C.

What I didn't like:
I felt we didn't need to draft a kicker. I like Gramatica, and have for years. Although we did draft the best kicker, in my opinon, I still felt we could've addressed BPA like we usually do.

What I really don't like:
I hate the fact we didn't address OLB. I wanted us to get someone like Tavares Gooden, Phillip Wheeler, or Dan Conner and we didn't target any of them. We could have targeted Wesley Woodyard, Curtis Johnson, Curtis Gatewood, or Larry Grant in UDFA and have failed to do so. I think this will bite us squarely in the ass this season.

Another position that should have been addressed is TE. Brad Cottam is the guy I liked the best out of this TE class and think he could turn into the next Jason Witten. I also liked Martellus Bennett, John Carlson, and Jermichael Finley. We drafted no tight ends and didn't even address one in UDFA. We will have to address one soon, as soon as before training camp, because our TE's suck.

I also wanted us to go after DT Frank Morton and DE Titus Brown in the UDFA signing period. I think Morton would help us in running situations due to his ability to clog the run and I felt that Brown was the best pass-rusher available in UDFA. I felt he would be the next Mark Anderson, a pass-rushing specialist, and I also felt he could possibly develop into an OLB given time. I really, really live him as a prospect.

I was also wanting us to get a QB to groom as Bree's replacement. I like Paul Smith out of Tulsa and Josh Johnson out of San Diego St. I felt those two would fit Payton's system ideally but we missed on both. Hopefully next year we can address that because we're going to have to address it sooner than later.

Overall draft grade: B-

[saintsfan912]

We drafted Adrian Arrington, not Mario ha.

You have that much faith in Gramatica?

[diabsoule]

Originally Posted by saintsfan912

We drafted Adrian Arrington, not Mario ha.

You have that much faith in Gramatica?

Gramatica looked good last year. I know we need youth at the position but I felt that youth at OLB and TE was more pertinent.

[saintsfan912]

Prob so. I guess I just like strong legged kickers like Melhaff. Not to mention the last kicker we drafted turned out pretty well, Morten Andersen.