Tag: Re-Draft

Saints go same position but different player in B/R 2024 re-draft

The Saints were in desperate need of an OT in this year’s draft. In Bleacher Report’s do-over, they select a player who wasn’t originally on the board:

The New Orleans Saints entered the 2024 NFL draft desperately needing to address their offensive line, and that’s still true in this Bleacher Report re-draft. B/R’s Matt Holder kept the Saints’ theme of selecting an offensive tackle. This time the Saints went with Penn State’s Olu Fashanu opposed to the actual pick of Taliese Fuaga, who went to the Seattle Seahawks a few slots later. Fashanu was available because the New York Jets selected former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabors instead.

This re-draft was based on buzz coming out of minicamp and organized team activities. Players rose and fell in this draft based on how they performed in their first taste of NFL practices.

The New Orleans Saints were looking to find a new left tackle when they took Fuaga during the real draft in April. While that could end up being a good pick, Fashanu is available in this exercise and is the better pass protector of the two. Also, the Penn State product has more experience on the blind side and received rave reviews in minicamp.

Fashanu wasn’t an option in the actual draft. He was selected by the Jets at 11. Holder decided to have New York skip on the rookie tackle because he is slated to sit for a year behind Tyron Smith. There’s no one for him to sit behind on the Saints so Fashanu is headed to the Big Easy instead of the Big Apple.

But Fashanu and Fuaga have one clear advantage over the other one. The former is a true left tackle. Though it may seem simple, changing sides on the offensive line isn’t easy for everyone. The acclimation period is non existent for Fashanu in that specific aspect.

Fuaga’s advantage is he is used to this scheme because he ran a wide zone system in college. While he’s changing sides, he is still used to these types of run fits. That should ease his transition. The Saints needed an offensive lineman in the draft. Whether it was the real NFL draft or Holder’s re-draft, the mission has been accomplished.

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Saints get the player we wanted all along in 2021 re-draft

The Saints got the player we wanted all along in this 2021 re-draft, but would Greg Newsome II have been a better pick than Paulson Adebo?

It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints botched the start of their 2021 NFL draft. They opened the event by drafting defensive end Payton Turner, a surprise pick who many experts didn’t see going off the board so early. And Turner’s career to this point has mostly been frustrating.

The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher has the Saints moving differently. Going into  the draft, cornerback was an obvious priority for the Saints. But when top targets like Caleb Farley and Greg Newsome II were taken ahead of them, the Saints chose to go in a different direction, selecting defensive end Payton Turner ahead of Georgia corners Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell, who were both taken in the next five picks.

Using the benefit of hindsight, Mosher redid 2021’s first round, and in his do-over he has Newsome falling to New Orleans. He was the cornerback we wanted all along, having traded up to get him in our final Saints mock draft. Here’s Mosher’s take on why Newsome would be a great fit:

Marshon Lattimore has struggled to stay on the field during the last few years, and the New Orleans Saints have a weakness at cornerback.

Greg Newsome would help fix that need, giving them a cornerback who can play in the slot and on the outside. He falls here due to some injury concerns, as he’s missed at least two games each season. Still, this is a massive value for the Saints at No. 28.

Injuries have limited Newsome to appearing in 42 of the Browns’ 52 games since he was drafted (starting 39 of them, including the playoffs), and he’s intercepted just two passes in his NFL career without forcing or recovering a fumble. So it’s a little wild to see him still being drafted in the first round when Paulson Adebo, who the Saints picked in Round 3, has started 44 of 45 games while intercepting seven passes with two forced fumbles and as many recoveries. Adebo has broken up 33 passes compared to Newsome’s 30.

We should acknowledge that takeaways aren’t everything, and Adebo has drawn three times as many penalties for defensive passing interference or holding (21) as Newsome (7). NFL teams liked Newsome enough to draft him 50 spots higher than Adebo back in 2021, so they clearly saw something special. Either way, the Saints picking him here would have addressed their most important need at the time.

As for Turner? He wasn’t picked at all in this draft do-over, but the pick was a reach when the Saints called it in even at the time. The Saints rightly saw a run coming at the position but they picked the wrong player. All three of the pass rushers drafted after him have bagged at least 13 sacks while playing in at least 45 games. Turner has only suited up for 15 games while recording just 3 sacks through three years, and one of those came against Derek Carr when he still played for the Raiders. It’s a shame they can’t get a real-life do-over, but hopefully Turner finds his way from here while the players the Saints drafted after him find more success.

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Saints pass on Bryan Bresee in this 2023 re-draft

The New Orleans Saints passed on Bryan Bresee for Tuli Tuipulotu in this 2023 re-draft, which would solve one problem but create another:

With NFL draft season in full swing comes more people going back to old drafts and considering how things could have been different. That’s what Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon did in his redraft of the 2023 event. In this alternate reality, he has the New Orleans Saints passing on Bryan Bresee and instead going with USC defensive end Tuli Tuipulotu. So they still take a defensive lineman, but go after an edge rusher instead of an interior player.

Here is Kenyon’s reasoning behind the decision:

The reality is New Orleans would face a Catch-22 here. If the Saints don’t select Bresee, their need at defensive tackle rises. But, whew, did this defense lack pass-rushing danger. A second-round pick of the Chargers, Tuli Tuipulotu generated 22 pressures, which would’ve only trailed Carl Granderson in New Orleans.

I think that given a second go at things, the Saints still take Bresee. He was not drafted for his year-one success, instead for having a very high athletic ceiling they can coach him up to reach over his career. Even then, Bresee still broke the franchise record for sacks by a rookie defensive tackle. Switching out Bresee for Tuipulotu doesn’t fix the Saints’ pass-rush issues, as it would have left the interior even weaker.

And it’s not like they reached on Bresee. In this re-draft, Kenyon has Bresee going to the Philadelphia Eagles immediately after the Saints picked Tuipulotu. New Orleans got a good one. Let’s see where his career goes next.

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Broncos select OL Quenton Nelson in B/R’s 2018 re-draft

Bleacher Report went back in time for a 2018 re-draft. The Broncos took Quenton Nelson over Bradley Chubb (Josh Allen went No. 1 overall).

The 2018 NFL draft helped launch the careers of Saquon Barkley, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. But not all careers pan out the way they want to, and Bleacher Report just released their re-draft of the 2018 NFL draft. 

The Denver Broncos drafted Bradley Chubb in the first round of the draft, and he began his career in the Mile High City with a strong start, totaling 12 sacks in his first season. But injuries would plague his tenure, in which Chubb would only register 16.5 sacks in the next four seasons. Injuries and a drop-off in play would allow Denver to trade Chubb to the Miami Dolphins mid-season last year.

In Bleacher Report’s redraft, they believe the Broncos should have drafted Indianapolis Colts lineman Quenton Nelson. They explain why below:

In each of his five NFL seasons, Quenton Nelson has been named a Pro Bowler. He’s also a three-time first-team All-Pro. Nelson allowed five sacks last season, per PFF, but that may say more about quarterback Matt Ryan than it does about Nelson given that he surrendered four sacks over the first four years of his career combined. He’s also missed only four games in five seasons, all in 2021.

Nelson is arguably the best offensive lineman in the NFL. If that doesn’t merit a top-five pick, what does?

Many fans in Denver regret that the team picked Chubb over quarterback Josh Allen in the actual draft. In B/R’s re-draft, Allen goes No. 1 overall and Lamar Jackson goes No. 2 overall (Chubb goes No. 21 overall).

Hindsight is always 20/20. 

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Full seven-round Patriots’ 2023 NFL re-draft

How did the Patriots make out in our 2023 NFL re-draft?

The New England Patriots didn’t miss much in the 2023 NFL draft, which should be considered a major success for the organization.

Granted, there are no certainties until the rookies actually back up their hyped potential on the football field, but the Patriots meticulously worked their way up and down the board with great effect.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t missed opportunities for the team to capitalize on. There were plenty of potential game-changers left on the board by a Patriots team that made some bold moves in this year’s draft, including moving up to take a kicker in the fourth round.

Now that mock drafting season is over, it’s time to start exploring a 2023 re-draft for the Patriots. In this seven-round re-draft, we’re going to pretend like the board unfolds the exact same way in terms of where players are taken. A couple of the trades remain, but there is another trade thrown in that enables the Patriots to come away with a major offensive weapon.

Here’s how the draft do-over panned out:

ESPN’s 2022 re-draft lands quarterback Kenny Pickett with the Saints

ESPN’s 2022 re-draft landed quarterback Kenny Pickett with the Saints, who missed out of on Chris Olave and passed on Trevor Penning:

A burden of success is that others tend to take notice. ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters collaborated on a do-over of the first round in the 2022 NFL draft, which cost the New Orleans Saints their top prospect but brought them a hopeful franchise quarterback in Kenny Pickett, who they passed on twice last April before the Pittsburgh Steelers called his name at No. 20 overall.

Young star receiver Chris Olave was picked by the Saints last year when they traded up on draft day to No. 11 overall, but they didn’t have that mobility in this exercise and were forced to watch him go off the board to the Houston Texans at No. 13. With the Saints stranded at No. 16, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell chose to select Pickett. Here’s what she wrote of that match:

“The Saints have struggled to find the right quarterback for the past two seasons and, with no 2023 first-rounder plus limited salary-cap space, their options aren’t great. With Chris Olave off the board, they could use the first of their two picks on a quarterback instead of starting over for the third straight year. Pickett’s numbers aren’t great — seven touchdown passes, nine interceptions — but he and the Pittsburgh offense improved down the stretch.”

Pickett was one of the worst starters in the league last year, but much of that blame goes to ineffective play-calling by his offensive coaching staff. But he did beat the Saints head-to-head and he led the Steelers into four game-winning drives, finishing the year with a 7-5 record as a starter. A stronger supporting cast could see his stock improve.

What about their other first-round pick? New Orleans bet big on left tackle Trevor Penning at No. 19, but the hole at receiver was too big to ignore, so Terrell took the best pass-catcher available in Jahan Dotson. He isn’t Olave, but he still had an impressive rookie year and he’d be welcome in New Orleans:

“Penning has a lot of potential, but injuries at the beginning and end of the season delayed his progress and limited his playing time. With Chris Olave already taken in this scenario — and with Michael Thomas‘ future in question — this team needs to add a receiver. Dotson’s seven touchdowns were tied for the lead among all rookie wideouts and would have tied tight end Juwan Johnson as the Saints’ receiving leader.”

Pickett and Dotson might be an effective combo to build an offense around, but the Saints are betting differently in searching for Olave’s quarterback. That might lead them to veteran starter Derek Carr, or to an option in the 2023 draft (one scenario, unlikely though it may be: trading up for Olave’s college quarterback C.J. Stroud). Hopefully Penning can heal up and prove New Orleans was right to invest such a high draft pick in him.

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Saints aren’t able to get Chris Olave, pass on Trevor Penning in Bleacher Report’s 2022 re-draft

The Saints weren’t able to get Chris Olave in Bleacher Report’s 2022 re-draft, but they wound up with a rock-solid left tackle in the first round:

How different would the 2022 NFL draft’s first round look if everyone had the benefit of hindsight? That’s a premise explored by David Kenyon at Bleacher Report, where he recently conducted a re-draft to reevaluate every team’s needs and considered how various rookies performed around the NFL. And it brings major changes for the New Orleans Saints.

For one thing, the Saints missed out on Chris Olave in this run. The star wide receiver didn’t make it to their pick with the New York Jets selecting him at No. 10 overall, just one slot ahead of where the Saints picked Olave. In reality the Saints were going to move up the board as far as needed to get Olave — they traded up from No. 16 to 11 on the night of the draft to pick him. But in this scenario they weren’t able to make it happen, and he’s playing elsewhere.

So who did the Saints get instead at No. 11 overall? Kenyon has left tackle Charlie Cross falling to them, which would’ve been a good get. Here’s what he wrote of the match:

“While continuing the run on receivers might be appealing, the Saints should be thrilled to grab Cross. He started all 17 games at left tackle for the Seahawks and did an admirable job of holding down the position. New Orleans later picked Trevor Penning, who endured a rough preseason and a foot injury before managing just 124 offensive snaps.”

Cross would’ve given the Saints more of a sure thing at left tackle than Trevor Penning, and he probably starts ahead of James Hurst, too. That changes the look of the Saints offensive line for sure. But the ripple effect of this move is that New Orleans passes on Penning at No. 19 in Kenyon’s re-draft, instead picking wide receiver Treylon Burks:

“Treylon Burks closed his rookie season with 33 receptions for 444 yards and one touchdown. Two injuries limited him to 11 games, and Tennessee’s instability at quarterback didn’t help. However, it’s easy to imagine Burks’ production would rise in a still-not-great-but-moderately-functional passing game in New Orleans.”

I’m not sure I can sign off on this pick. Burks validated some of the concerns teams held about him before the draft between poor conditioning early in the season and some inconsistent hands as a pass catcher. Is Andy Dalton really a better quarterback option than who the Titans trotted out last year? Maybe, maybe not. For now, let’s just be happy the Saints got Olave, and hope Penning can develop into the starter they’re expecting him to be.

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ESPN’s 2020 NFL draft do-over shakes up the Saints

The New Orleans Saints passed on C/G Cesar Ruiz to pick Ohio State Buckeyes CB Jeff Okudah in ESPN’s re-draft of the 2020 NFL draft.

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Let’s celebrate Groundhog Day by rewinding the 2020 NFL draft. ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters shared a re-draft of last year’s event with a fresh perspective on every pick in the first two rounds, with plenty of changes thanks to the value of hindsight.

That means Cesar Ruiz didn’t land with the New Orleans Saints, which makes sense. The rookie guard couldn’t win the starting job from journeyman backup Nick Easton, who ended the year on injured reserve after a series of concussions. If Easton remained healthy, Ruiz probably doesn’t see the field much at all. And if the Saints didn’t draft Ruiz, they likely keep Larry Warford, a three-time Pro Bowl alternate.

Instead, Ruiz wasn’t picked until late in the second round — by the Miami Dolphins, who owned New Orleans’ second-round pick at No. 59 owing to a trade (which brought Erik McCoy to the Saints in 2019). And the Saints ended up picking another prospect in free-fall: Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Jeff Okudah, the real-life third overall pick by the Detroit Lions. Here’s what ESPN’s Mike Triplett wrote of the change:

“I considered some guys who had better rookie years. But Okudah has fallen far enough after battling inconsistency, injury and what he called “dysfunction” in Detroit. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder was the No. 3 pick for a reason. He has outstanding traits that could be maximized in Dennis Allen’s scheme, and he could be a long-term successor to Janoris Jenkins.”

Cornerback could be a position the Saints target this offseason; Jenkins might be a salary cap casualty, as could veteran backup Patrick Robinson, and Marshon Lattimore is entering the final year of his rookie contract with an expensive $10 million cap hit. Versatile corner/safety hybrid P.J. Williams is a free agent. The position is probably going to look different very soon, and having a young, developmental prospect like Okudah as an understudy would be nice.

Instead, the Saints have Ruiz, who should return to his natural center position in 2021 with the benefits of a full offseason. His struggles were due to an abbreviated summer schedule because of COVID-19 adaptations and, frankly, not being suited as well to guard as working the middle of the line. McCoy has played well but could be even more of an asset from the right guard spot. It’s just one more question the Saints have to answer this year.

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Chiefs select Aaron Donald in Round 1 of PFF’s NFL re-draft

The Kansas City Chiefs score premier pass-rushing talent in the first round of PFF’s NFL re-draft.

Re-drafting the entire NFL seems to be a new trend going around the internet. ESPN was the first to take a shot at it. Their re-draft was widely criticized, with some questionable selections in the first round. Now, the folks at Pro Football Focus have taken a crack at it, adding some unique analytics-based insight.

PFF appears to be using Super Bowl odds for their draft order, which puts the Kansas City Chiefs at a big disadvantage, picking at No. 32. Still, the Chiefs managed to come away with the best player in the NFL who is not named Patrick Mahomes. After 31 other teams made their picks Kansas City was able to grab Los Angeles Rams DT Aaron Donald.

Mahomes, of course, went No. 1 overall to the Bengals and perhaps surprisingly he was the only Chiefs player taken in the first round. 26 consecutive picks in this draft were quarterbacks, which tells you just how valued the position is. But for Kansas City to get Donald at Pick No. 32, that feels like a big win.

Just recently, PFF ranked Donald at No. 1 in their list of the NFL’s 50 best players entering the 2020 season. Yes, Donald was ranked one slot higher than Mahomes on the list. Here’s what PFF’s Sam Monson had to say about Donald for that list:

“No matter how good you think Aaron Donald is, you’re underselling it. He is the best player in the NFL by a distance, and only the fact that his position doesn’t impact a game as heavily as quarterback or even receiver makes that in any way a debate. Since entering the league, Donald owns the best pressure rate, the best pass-rush win rate (factoring in wins at the line that don’t result in pressures), the best PFF pass-rushing grade and the most total pressures. He has done all this from an interior alignment on the defensive line, where pressure is harder to come by than on the edge. The gap between Donald and the next-best interior player is bigger than it is between any other player and the rest of his peers, and he remains atop this list for the fourth-straight year.”

How would Chiefs Kingdom feel if Donald suddenly became the face of the franchise? It’s obviously incredibly difficult to fathom Mahomes playing for another team, but in this alternate reality, I feel like it’s hard to be upset with the outcome. Let us know your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter and the Chiefs Wire forums.

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Jags take Dak Prescott, several other stars in ESPN re-draft

The Jags were able to land some consistency at the quarterback position in ESPN’s re-draft where all players where eligible.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans often wonder where the team would be had they hit on a franchise quarterback early in Dave Caldwell”s tenure, which is exactly why the team went with a quarterback in the first round of ESPN’s re-draft. Under the direction of Jags ESPN beat writer Mike DiRocco, the team took Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott in the first round.

In this particular draft done by ESPN Nation as a whole, there wasn’t a particular draft class that was being looked at as every player currently in the NFL was available. Also, the rules allowed each general manager to pick a quarterback, a non-QB offensive player, and a defensive player. Their fourth pick was allowed to be a wildcard pick, which meant any player of choice was eligible at that point.

When explaining his first selection, DiRocco liked Prescott’s mix of age and production over his first four seasons.

I wanted players who are 27 or younger. Taking Prescott at No. 9 might raise some eyebrows, but he has averaged 3,944 yards and 24 TD passes in his first four seasons and is coming off his best season.

Admittedly, I was one of the people raising their eyebrows with this pick, however, Prescott’s production and consistency would be better than what the Jags have had at quarterback for the past decade. When comparing him to Blake Bortles especially, Prescott would be a significant upgrade, with a 65.8% career completion rate to Bortles’ career completion rate of 59.3%. Most importantly, Prescott has proven to be better with taking care of the ball with 36 career picks to Bortles’ figure of 75.

In the next three rounds, DiRocco added some more underrated star power, selecting defensive end Danielle Hunter, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, respectively.

Smith-Schuster is only 23 and will be a top-five receiver as long as he’s not catching passes from Devlin Hodges.

On defense, it’s all about elite pass-rushers and corners, and only Aaron Donald and Chandler Jones had more sacks than Danielle Hunter (29) over the past two seasons. Lattimore was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and has made two Pro Bowls in three seasons. Good young players form a fantastic nucleus in the quest to win a Super Bowl within five years.

While they aren’t super popular names (aside from Smith-Schuster), fans certainly shouldn’t complain about the young nucleus DiRocco was able to snag.

Danielle Hunter would actually give the Jags a better sack producer than Yannick Ngakoue as he’s accumulated 54.5 sacks in five seasons. While Hunter (six) isn’t nearly as good at causing turnovers (Ngakoue has 14), getting a player of his caliber in round two is definitely a plus.

Smith-Schuster is no slouch either as he’s garnered nearly 3,000 receiving yards over the span of three years and has been to a Pro Bowl. With a consistent quarterback like Prescott by his side, there wouldn’t be a reason to think both could have one of the top connections in football.

Lastly, Lattimore would be a steal in the fourth round. While Jags fans will immediately point to Jalen Ramsey as the best corner to play for the team in recent times, Lattimore is on a similar path to the Florida State product as he was named the Associated Press’ NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and is a two time Pro Bowler. While making the annual all-star game doesn’t necessarily mean much sometimes, Lattimore is a player that has earned his nominations by routinely locking elite receivers.