Tag: draft picks

Saints rookie report card from preseason win vs. Chiefs

Here’s our Saints rookie report card from their preseason win against the Chiefs, highlighting every draft pick and standout UDFA’s | @DillySanders

The New Orleans Saints left the Superdome for the first time this season as champions, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 26-24 during the first week of the NFL preseason. While it was nice to see a lot of the returning players, like Chris Olave and Michael Thomas, it was also the first chance to see some of the rookies that we have spent months speculating about.

There were some great debuts, like Blake Grupe and Anfernee Orji, along with some debuts that did not go as well. While you can’t make a decision on how a player’s career will turn out based off of one preseason game, it’s also the only tangible in game play we have to go off of so far. Here’s the rookie report card for some notable debuts in the first game:

Report: Sean Payton never paid fines for COVID-19 policy violations during 2020 season

ESPN reports Sean Payton never paid fines for violating the NFL’s COVID-19 policy in 2020, allegedly laughing at Jon Gruden for doing so:

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Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton made a cameo in a dynamite report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham on the fall of longtime NFL personalities Jon Gruden (the ex-Las Vegas Raiders coach) and Dan Snyder (the soon-to-be former Washington Commanders owner). Payton has been close friends with Gruden for decades, dating back to their early careers together with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Back in the 2020 season at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Payton and Gruden were fined $100,000 for violating the league’s health and safety protocols after failing to properly cover their faces during a high-profile game at the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium. But ESPN reports that only Gruden paid up.

“I never paid the fine,” ESPN quotes Payton as telling Gruden, “You’re the only dumbf— that paid the fine.”

ESPN adds that Payton claimed multiple other coaches declined to pay their fines; the NFL issued discipline to a group including Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks), Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers), and Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos), though it’s unclear who Payton was allegedly referring to.

Payton has a famously frosty relationship with the NFL head office in New York stemming from the 2012 Bountygate scandal, so it’s not too surprising that he would refuse to pay up if not forced to. The Saints were later docked a 2022 sixth-round draft pick for additional COVID-19 policy violations, being the only team in the league to do so (the Raiders also initially forfeited a draft pick, but won it back upon appeal). We’ll have to wait and see whether Payton’s acrimonious relationship with league commissioner Roger Goodell has followed him to Denver.

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5 recent New Orleans Saints draft picks who need to step up

The Saints won’t get where they want to go with too much dead weight. 5 recent draft picks who need to step up, via @DillySanders:

The New Orleans Saints filled a lot of holes in the offseason, addressing a weak defensive line and bringing in some more offensive weapons. However, there are some spots on the roster that still need to see improvement from young guys that they couldn’t pull the trigger on replacing yet.

Some players just haven’t met expectations. The team’s early draft picks in the last couple of years have been heavily criticized, outside of Chris Olave who impressed immediately as a rookie in 2022. It has been a case of players not yet living up to the high potential that they were drafted for over players that would be a little bit safer of choices. The Saints have bet on their ability to help coach guys up and meet their potential, but too often fallen short of that goal.

This team won’t get where they want to go with too much dead weight. Here are five recent early-round draft picks from the Saints that really need to improve in 2023:

7 recent high draft picks who need to step up for Packers in 2023

The Packers need over a half-dozen recent high draft picks to step up in a big way during the 2023 season.

The Green Bay Packers need more than a half-dozen recent high draft picks to take meaningful developmental steps and become big-time players during the 2023 season.

High picks are the lifeblood of franchises. This is especially true for the post-Aaron Rodgers Packers. The roster is young and talented, but potential and draft capital can’t be wasted.

Here are seven recent high picks the Packers need to step up in 2023. We aren’t included picks made in the 2023 draft because rookies are historically unreliable playmakers.

5 recent Packers draft picks likely to play more in 2023

The Packers will likely give more playing time to these five recent draft picks during the 2023 season.

The Green Bay Packers will transition from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers to 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love during the 2023 season. But Love isn’t the only recent draft pick likely to play a lot more snaps this season. The Packers went young this offseason and several recent picks will need to take on bigger roles in 2023. It’s the cycle of life in football; young replacing old.

Here are a few recent draft picks likely to get a big boost in playing time in 2023:

Saints have already signed half their picks in the 2023 NFL draft

The Saints have already signed half their picks in the 2023 NFL draft. Four first-year players put pens to paper on Friday:

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How’s this for a nice and simple New Orleans Saints offseason? The team announced Friday that four of the players they picked in the 2023 NFL draft have already signed their rookie contracts: running back Kendre Miller (third round out of TCU), offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri (fourth round from Old Dominion), defensive back Jordan Howden (fifth round of Minnesota), and wide receiver A.T. Perry (sixth round, Wake Forest).

That leaves just three other first-year pros yet to put pen to paper, but they’ll follow along soon enough. Many of the details in these rookie contracts are tied to draft slots these days, so there isn’t much haggling and negotiating to be done. All of these players are in town for Saints rookie minicamp practices over the weekend, so it’s a safe bet that Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, and Jake Haener will sign soon, too.

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Kendre Miller is the first Saints draft pick to sign his rookie contract

Kendre Miller is the first Saints draft pick to sign his NFL contract. Expect the rest of their draft class to follow soon with everyone in town for rookie minicamp:

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Expect more of this in the days ahead. The Score’s Jordan Schultz reports that running back Kendre Miller signed his contract with the New Orleans Saints, making him the first member of their 2023 draft class to put pen to paper and officially turn pro. The Saints are kicking off rookie minicamp practices this weekend.

Miller, who turns 21 in June, starred at TCU and is coming off a career year with 1,399 rushing yards and 17 touchdown runs in just 14 games. He was held out of TCU’s national title game with Georgia due to a meniscus injury, which the Saints are said to be managing carefully in the months leading up to training camp. His four-year rookie deal is projected at $5.65 million with a $1.12 million signing bonus.

Because of the modern rookie wage scale, the salary cap impact from the Saints signing Miller and their remaining draft picks will be minimal — Miller’s 2023 cap charge will fall near $1.02 million. The team should have more than $11 million to work with over the summer even with Miller and the rest of their draft class under contract.

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Sixth-round Saints WR A.T. Perry named a steal of the NFL draft

A.T. Perry could prove a huge get for the New Orleans Saints in the years to come. Touchdown Wire named him a draft steal in the sixth round, via @crissy_froyd:

The New Orleans Saints had an overall successful 2023 NFL Draft, picking up a high value wide receiver in A.T. Perry out of Wake Forest at No. 195 in the sixth round of the event.

In fact, he’s pinned as the biggest steal of the draft for the Saints by Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire.

He noted how the fact his role in Wake Forest’s unique offense, dubbed “The Clawfense” by some, may have had a little something to do with that. Farrar wrote:

Wake Forest’s offense can be difficult to project to the NFL level, which I guess is why Perry was available for the Saints with the 195th overall pick in the sixth round… but then again, Perry caught 81 passes on 129 targets for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns last season (his second straight 1,000-yard season), and he was pretty much the Demon Deacons’ entire passing game, so I’m not sure how much “projecting” we need to do here.

I would not have been at all surprised to hear his name in the back half of the second day, based on Perry’s size (6-foot-3, 198 pounds) and explosives play ability alone. Perry had 10 catches of 20 or more air yards for 373 yards and five touchdowns last season. Moreover, he can do things after the catch with an athletic ability to separate and get things done in space.

It will be interesting to watch how things play out as Perry prepares to compete for snaps among the likes of Tre’Quan Smith, Bryan Edwards and Shaquan Davis as he projects as a potential diamond in the rough backup to Michael Thomas.

Looking forward at the longer-term projection for Perry, he’s a player that should be expected to primarily be utilized as an X-receiver/split end. According to Pro Football Focus, Perry lined up in the slot on just 9.4% of his routes for the Demon Deacons.

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New Orleans Saints schedule rookie minicamp tryouts

The New Orleans Saints scheduled their rookie minicamp tryouts for May 12-14, creating opportunity for many young players competing for roster spots:

There we go: the New Orleans Saints have scheduled their rookie minicamp practices for May 12, 13, and 14. This is a good opportunity for their 2023 draft class — both players who were picked and those who signed as undrafted free agents — to get on the field, go through drills, and begin to pick up the playbook.

It’s also an opportunity for dozens of other players to try out alongside their peers. Teams usually bring in a mix of first- and second-year free agents as well as a handful of NFL veterans, all of whom will be competing for a roster spot during the summer.

New Orleans currently has five vacancies on their 90-man offseason roster, having waived reserve quarterback Jake Luton and running back Derrick Gore after selecting other players at their positions during the 2023 draft (TCU running back Kendre Miller and Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener). So it’s a safe bet that some of those open roster spots will be filled by players trying out at these minicamp practices next weekend.

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Closer look at the Green Bay Packers’ 2023 draft picks

Player breakdowns, scouting reports, comments from the team and RAS cards for the entire Green Bay Packers 2023 draft class.

The Green Bay Packers selected 13 players during the 2023 NFL draft, including first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, two tight ends, three wide receivers and two defensive linemen.

It’s now time to dig into the draft class and find out what the Packers added to their roster during the year’s biggest roster-building event.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the entire draft class, providing breakdowns, player profiles, scouting reports from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler and comments from the Packers on all 13 selections.