Tag: pick

Sean Payton: Saints didn’t draft Cesar Ruiz to be a backup

The Saints didn’t select Michigan prospect Cesar Ruiz in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft for him to be a backup, says Sean Payton.

When the New Orleans Saints chose to stay put at No. 24 and select Michigan Wolverines center Cesar Ruiz in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, they didn’t do so with a vision in mind of him sitting on the bench. He’s here to compete for a starting job.

Saints coach Sean Payton made that clear in a conference call with local media after the first round concluded, saying of his team’s top picks in the last two draft classes: “We have some flexibility and I think the obvious question would be, ‘hey, he’s a center, you had a center last year.’

“Obviously we think one of them is going to be a guard because we weren’t drafting someone that high to come in and be a backup.”

Last year, the Saints traded up in the second round to land Texas A&M prospect Erik McCoy. Like Ruiz, center is his natural position — they’ve each played it since high school, starting multiple seasons at the college level before entering the NFL. Both McCoy and Ruiz have also started games at guard, too. Now it’s up to the Saints to decide who fits where.

That might leave Larry Warford out in the cold. The three-time Pro Bowl right guard fell off a bit last season, and his contract status might make him an attractive trade option for the Saints now that Ruiz is in the fold, as opposed to left guard Andrus Peat, who is tied to the team through at least 2022.

When asked what Ruiz’s arrival means for Warford, Payton didn’t mince any words: the 29-year-old will have to earn his right to get on the field just like anyone else, no matter how many all-star games he’s been named to before.

“Every one of these guys is going to come in and compete,” Payton said, “and so Larry’s going to have to compete, and we feel like we will go into training camp and that’s how you improve your team.”

If Warford can’t prove he’s a better option to run with the starting lineup than Ruiz or McCoy, he’d be quite an expensive backup. His salary cap hit is the second-highest on the team behind Drew Brees, approaching nearly $13 million. If the Saints cut or trade him, they would free up more than $7 million in space beneath the salary cap. It’s something to monitor as the offseason marches on.

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2020 NFL Draft: Saints select Michigan OL Cesar Ruiz

The New Orleans Saints selected Michigan Wolverines center/guard prospect Cesar Ruiz with their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

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The New Orleans Saints made their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by selecting Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz. Initially slotted to pick at No. 24 overall, the Saints stood pat despite media chatter speculating on their efforts to trade up the board grew as the day wore on.

Ruiz started at center for the Wolverines the last two years after playing right guard as a freshman back in 2017, and should slot back into that spot whenever Pro Bowl right guard Larry Warford moves on. Warford is entering the final year of his contract and has the second-highest salary cap hit on the team, so he may be a candidate to be traded so Ruiz can contribute right away.

It’s not the glamorous pick many Saints fans may have wanted, but it’s a smart investment. Ruiz should do a lot to solidify an offensive line that struggled to hold itself together down the stretch in 2019.

Michael Thomas congratulates Joe Burrow on being picked first overall

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas is a big fan of LSU QB Joe Burrow, picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft

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LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow was picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has a big fan in New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

Thomas congratulated Burrow on his accomplishment and his arrival to the NFL, acknowledging the struggles Burrow experienced at the college level before his breakout 2019 season. Burrow once played for Thomas’s alma mater with the Ohio State Buckeyes, but transferred to LSU after losing the starting quarterback battle with Dwayne Haskins.

It’s a great gesture by Thomas, who has dealt with his own adversity before a meteoric rise into NFL history. Maybe Burrow will experience a similar surge in Cincinnati, a town that’s been hurting for someone to rally around.

However, Burrow already played a part in making NFL history — immediately after he was selected first overall, the subsequent picks were Buckeyes teammates Chase Young (to the Washington Redskins) and Jeff Okudah (to the Detroit Lions). It’s the first time in the draft’s history that three teammates made up the first three picks. And that’s something Thomas, a proud Buckeye himself, took note of:

https://twitter.com/Cantguardmike/status/1253485827541422081

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3 underrated options for Chiefs in first round of 2020 NFL Draft

These three players could sneak into the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft and the Kansas City Chiefs would make sense for any of them.

The 2020 pre-draft process has been a unique one, and with the absence of traditional pro days, much of the true NFL interests remain a mystery. Even Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is preparing for the unexpected in this draft.

Your mock draft simulators are probably telling you that these players will be available long after the first round, but that’s not a certainty. None of us know how the draft will turn out and more likely than not there will be some surprises along the way. Veach even has a history of being bold and bullish with the players that he likes.

The following three players are being underrated as potential first-round draft picks. I could also see any of them ending up with Kansas City when it’s all said and done.

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado WR Laviska Shenault Jr.

If there’s one receiver being overlooked as a first-rounder it’s Colorado WR Laviska Shenault Jr., who is on the mend from a core muscle injury. Really a big reason that he’s being overlooked is because of his extensive injury history. During the 2018 season, he dealt with a toe injury and a torn labrum, both of which required surgery. He only missed a total of three games with those two injuries.

Shenault Jr. has eye-popping production in his 31 games with the Buffaloes. During that span, he recorded 149 receptions for 1,948 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging over 13 yards per catch. The 6-1 and 227-pound receiver has been named one of the most elusive receivers in this draft class. He’s forced 44 missed tackles since 2018 according to Pro Football Focus,  and that number is good for the most in this draft class. His numbers after the catch are staggering with a total of 7.7 yards averaged throughout his career.

His versatility is something should spark the interest of Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ coaching staff. Shenault Jr. is a threat rushing the ball, with 42 career rushing attempts for 280 yards and seven touchdowns. He can line up outside, in the backfield, and even in the slot with over 28% of his catches coming lined up inside. Another 21% of his catches came on screen passes, which are a big part of Reid’s gameplan in Kansas City.

Our friends at Touchdown Wire recently compared Shenault Jr. to Sammy Watkins. It’s not a perfect comparison. For instance, Watkins was a much more polished route runner coming out of college. However, if the Chiefs are looking for their future replacement for Watkins in the first round, Shenault Jr. makes a ton of sense as an understudy in Kansas City.

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Why Seahawks’ 2nd-round 2020 NFL Draft pick from Chiefs lost value

The Seahawks’ second-round pick from the Chiefs for Frank Clark falls to No. 63 or No. 64 as a result of Kansas City’s Super Bowl berth.

The second-round pick the Seattle Seahawks received from the Kansas City Chiefs has lost its value significantly. The Chiefs were the presumed Super Bowl favorites in the AFC heading into the 2019 season, and they have made it to the NFL’s big dance for the first time in half a century.

This is not good news for the Seahawks, who traded defensive end Frank Clark to Kansas City along with their third-round selection in 2019 in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick, a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick. With the Chiefs now headed to the Super Bowl, this ensures Seattle’s pick from Kansas City will occur near the end of the second round (barring a trade deal, of course) at No. 63 or No. 64.

This is not to say the Seahawks will not be able to net a promising player at the bottom of the round as they did last year with wide receiver DK Metcalf, who went on to have one of the best rookie seasons for a wide receiver in recent memory. There is always a chance for lightning to strike twice.

However, Pete Carroll and John Schneider must prove they still know how to scout and draft because Russell Wilson still gives them a chance to compete for the Super Bowl in any given season and he will not be under center forever.

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Seahawks addressing mounting ball security concerns

After logging five fumbles and an interception against the 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks need to re-focus on protecting the football.

The Seahawks were able to narrowly escape the 49ers in Week 10 despite major issues in protecting the football. Against San Francisco, Seattle fumbled five times – including three for losses – and quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception.

Well into the second half of the regular season, ball security remains a major point of emphasis for Seahawks’ offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

“We continue to address it, do some ball security circuits and things like that,” Schottenheimer said Thursday. “The thing we talk about with our guys – the fundamentals, we’ll continue to drill that – there’s also a philosophy.”

Schottenheimer explained there is a fine line, however, between protecting the ball and playing to win. He used running back Chris Carson as a prime example.

“We don’t want them to lose their competitiveness – that’s the way Chris runs, he runs competitive – but they’ve got to understand that there’s nothing more important than the ball,” Schottenheimer said. “We talked a little bit about that this week, our guys get it. They’re aware that we need to do it better, they can do it better, and we expect that we’ll start that this week.”

But to keep a playoff berth a realistic goal, the Seahawks will need to do more than just “start that this week” – they’ll need to prove it won’t be a major issue going forward in the homestretch of the season.

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