Tag: results

Grading the Saints’ pick of Cesar Ruiz at No. 24 overall

The New Orleans Saints used their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to select Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz.

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So, that happened. The New Orleans Saints passed on prospects commonly projected to join them in the first round like linebacker Patrick Queen and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, instead opting to select Michigan Wolverines center Cesar Ruiz. How do you grade that pick?

The last time the Saints played a football game, their offense was destroyed from the inside out when the Minnesota Vikings defensive line outplayed their New Orleans counterparts. Neither left guard Andrus Peat nor right guard Larry Warford were up to snuff, leaving rookie center Erik McCoy in the unappealing position in-between. It was a massacre.

In light of that disaster, Ruiz makes sense. While the Saints may currently plan for him to start at center, bumping McCoy over to guard (where he’ll probably compete to replace Warford, who is highly-paid in the final year of his contract), that feels like a situation that won’t get resolved until the final weeks of training camp. McCoy played center at a very high level last season and Ruiz has experience in Warford’s spot at right guard (starting five games there as a freshman in 2017).

Don’t look at this pick as a depth move, though. That was how the Ryan Ramczyk pick was characterized a few years ago, and he was starting at right tackle by Week 3 after injuries cut down both Zach Strief and Terron Armstead. We’re one bad day away from Ruiz taking Ramczyk’s lead, by inheriting a starting job and never letting it go.

Ruiz actually has a shorter path to starting and playing often now than Ramczyk did those years ago. If the Saints can find a way to get out of Warford’s contract — possibly with a trade during the long draft weekend — it would immediately open the door for both Ruiz and McCoy to play early and often. Given the financial implications, that appears increasingly likely.

So we’re looking on this move more favorably than many Saints fans may be. Ruiz can help the Saints right now and offers long-term stability, completing the rare trick of helping extend Drew Brees’ Super Bowl window while improving the team years down the line. Still, it would be nice if the player the Saints added at this spot didn’t mean another recently-picked prospect didn’t have to get moved around.

The Grade: B

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Reviewing the Saints picks in latest Draft Wire mock draft

The New Orleans Saints picked Oklahoma linebacker prospect Kenneth Murray in the first round of the latest Draft Wire 2020 mock draft.

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We’re just a day away from the 2020 NFL Draft, and the New Orleans Saints have done a great job disguising their intentions. That said, some consensus among the media has started to emerge, with most outlets pointing to linebacker as the team’s highest position of need. It’s easy to buy into that theory considering how many starters and backups are returning from season-ending injuries.

The most recent four-round mock draft comes from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire, and here are the prospects who ended up with the Saints:

  • Round 1: LB Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
  • Round 2: No pick
  • Round 3: WR Chase Claypool, Notre Dame
  • Round 4: QB Jake Fromm, Georgia

The first two picks are solid; Murray is a popular pick as the best linebacker prospect in this year’s class, even if he has some issues to iron out with misdiagnosing plays and overrunning his run fits. He’d be a good addition, as would the other top-tier linebacker in LSU’s Patrick Queen. Either of them could help the team.

And Claypool is an intriguing player with experience at every receiver spot. He’s a big, athletic target at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, having timed the 40-yard dash in just 4.42 seconds. He’s also one of the younger players in this draft class, which is a good sign considering the polish he needs as a route-runner and his inexperience in reading coverage before the snap. He could immediately upgrade the depth chart while getting coached up over the next year or two.

Fromm would do a fine job as a clipboard holder on game days, but he’s too similar to Garrett Grayson for our tastes. He’s a sitting duck in the pocket who’s too hesitant to stretch the field. Hard pass.

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Saints pick a Clemson defender in Mel Kiper’s updated 2020 mock draft

The New Orleans Saints picked Clemson Tigers cornerback prospect A.J. Terrell in the updated 2020 NFL mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

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While the New Orleans Saints appear locked in at the top of their cornerbacks depth chart with Marshon Lattimore patrolling one side of the field and Janoris Jenkins holding down the other flank, the team could still stand to improve that part of their roster.

It’s an area that ESPN’s Mel Kiper projected the Saints to address in his updated 2020 NFL mock draft, connecting New Orleans to Clemson Tigers cornerback A.J. Terrell.

Here’s what Kiper wrote to justify the pick:

I wrote last week that there is a big drop-off after the top two corners in this class, at least on my board. I have first-round grades on only two corners. That doesn’t mean, however, that teams see it the same way, and Terrell has been getting some first-round buzz. New Orleans desperately has to upgrade with young talent at the cornerback position. Terrell is physically gifted — he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at 6-foot-1 — though he had an inconsistent 2019 season.

Kiper is one of several cornerbacks who could sneak into the end of the first round on draft day. along with Utah’s Jaylon Johnson (picked by the Minnesota Vikings at No. 25) and Auburn’s Noah Igbinoghene (landing with the San Francisco 49ers at No. 31).

After them, the next cornerback didn’t go off the board until LSU’s own Kristian Fulton was selected by the Carolina Panthers at No. 38 (reuniting with cornerback Donte Jackson, his former college teammate). Ohio State product Damon Arnette, TCU starter Jeff Gladney, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Mississippi State prospect Cameron Dantzler round out the group of cornerbacks selected after Terrell in Kiper’s two-round mock draft.

It would be an interesting direction for the Saints to go in the first round, though Terrell’s path to earning snaps is longer than, say, a linebacker or wide receiver. That doesn’t mean he would be a bad pick, it just might take longer for the Saints to enjoy the benefits of a stacked secondary. Then again, there isn’t a team in the NFL that can say it has enough healthy, playmaking cornerbacks on its roster.

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Saints stock up on Sooners in the latest seven-round 2020 mock draft

The New Orleans Saints invested in Oklahoma Sooners prospects in the latest 2020 NFL mock draft, adding both Kenneth Murray and Jalen Hurts.

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What are the odds the New Orleans Saints end up selecting college teammates in this year’s NFL Draft? That’s what happened in the latest seven-round 2020 mock draft from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire, who filled an obvious Saints roster need in the first round at No. 24 by picking Oklahoma linebacker prospect Kenneth Murray. Murray is a logical fit given his prototype size, speed, and college production for the position, as well as the lack of healthy options to start next to Demario Davis in New Orleans.

Then, when the Saints were on the clock again at No. 88, Easterling added another Sooners prospect: quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts took huge steps forward as a passer at Oklahoma after starting his college career at Alabama, where he rose to prominence based off his ability to execute plays as they were drawn up while buying time with his legs when the structure broke down. Hurts is known for his work ethic and high character, and could compete for the starting job with Taysom Hill once Drew Brees has retired.

Late-round picks in Easterling’s mock draft include LSU Tigers tight end Thaddeus Moss, Auburn cornerback Javaris Davis, and Texas A&M wide receiver Quartney Davis. That mix of options should please the many SEC fans that make up the Who Dat Nation, while also giving the Saints nice depth at a few positions that could stand to run deeper. All in all, not a bad mock-up.

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Saints pick an LSU cornerback in latest 2020 NFL mock draft

The New Orleans Saints picked LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton in the latest 2020 NFL mock draft, an unconventional selection for them.

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A busy offseason has set the New Orleans Saints up to draft the best available prospects once they’re on the clock in the 2020 NFL Draft, and most projections suggest a linebacker or wide receiver might fall to them. Some scenarios even have the Saints trading up for a quarterback once a highly-valued player is within reach.

But the newest mock draft from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire has the Saints going in a different direction. He decided to explore what sort of ripple effect could be sent throughout the first round if the Miami Dolphins traded up to the first-overall pick. That ended up pushing LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton down to No. 24, and the Saints quickly pounced to add him:

The Saints took former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins off waivers late in the season to improve a cornerback group that struggled in 2019 outside of Marshon Lattimore, and Jenkins performed well enough to grab a two-year, $16.75 million extension. But New Orleans played with five or more defensive backs on 83% of their snaps last season, and that isn’t likely to change. With that in mind, here’s new blood in the person of Fulton, who impressed against some of the SEC’s best receivers and was able to show a knack for coverage in both man and zone concepts — though at this point, he’s best off when he can take a receiver from the line of scrimmage all over the field. Fulton has some technical issues to work out, such as his pad level and footwork, but a little more coaching could turn him into a legitimate No. 1 cornerback.

Fulton would not start right away for the Saints, and maybe not even get on the field outside of dime sets (some combination of P.J. Williams, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Malcolm Jenkins, and Patrick Robinson figures to see most snaps from the slot in the Saints nickel defense). But he would be a quality backup behind Lattimore and “Jackrabbit,” and offer the team an important bridge to the future should either of them depart from New Orleans in the next few years.

At the end of the day, there isn’t a team in the NFL with enough cornerbacks, so it’s likely Fulton (or any rookie the Saints pick this year) would end up seeing real snaps at some point during the season.

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Updated seven-round Saints mock draft, with multiple trades

The New Orleans Saints completed several trades with the Seahawks, Packers, and Raiders in our latest seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft.

A lot of work went into this New Orleans Saints mock draft. We didn’t just fire up The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine to accurately simulate seven rounds of selections, though that was part of the experiment. We also referenced data from Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football to define athletic prototypes the Saints reference on both offense and defense. That helped whittle down a big board of prospect grades from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, allowing us to make decisions with a similar (but of course not equal) frame of reference to what the Saints will have. In the end, we had a pool of about 139 players to choose from out of the roughly-300 who are eligible in this year’s draft.

But this time we decided to pitch a curve ball by projecting several different trade scenarios. While the Saints have traded down in just two drafts since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team (two of the first drafts he conducted, in fact), they have traded up every single year he’s overseen the process, except for 2006. Read on to find out which moves we made, relying on our draft pick valuation chart to come up with realistic offers.

Of course, if you’re only interested in the results and not the lengthy process that went into making those decisions, you can learn what happened to each pick at our disposal in a summary at this link.

Round 1

The best players available on our draft board:

  • LB Patrick Queen, LSU
  • OT Josh Jones, Houston
  • WR Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State
  • LB Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
  • OT Austin Jackson, USC
  • RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

In last week’s seven-round mock draft, we were also fortunate to have both of the top linebackers available. In this scenario, there are several highly-rated offensive linemen on the board. With both linebackers and Aiyuk up for grabs, we decided to try and trade down.

So, we first called the Miami Dolphins, offering the No. 24 overall pick for No. 26 — picking up their fourth-round selection (No. 141) along the way. They said no dice. Then we tried the Seattle Seahawks, picking at No. 27. We suggested swapping our first-round choice for theirs, while also trading our fourth-round pick (Nos. 130) and our sixth-round choice (No. 203) for their third-rounder (No. 101). Moving down a few spots and sacrificing that late-round pick was worth it to jump 30 spots up the board earlier on.

The Seahawks accepted that deal and selected Georgia Bulldogs right tackle Isaiah Wilson, who wasn’t even on our board. It’s also kind of realistic; Wilson’s name has popped up recently as a riser in media circles, and the Seahawks have botched several first-round picks lately like running back Rashaad Penny and pass rusher L.J. Collier, who couldn’t get on the field in the playoffs last year. Good luck, 12’s.

So back to our selection. None of the five players on our board had been picked yet, so we made a few quick calls to see if we could move down again. We tried to talk each of the teams picking immediately after us into giving up a fifth-rounder so they could leapfrog the others; the Baltimore Ravens (at No. 28) and Tennessee Titans (at No. 29) each turned us down, but the Green Bay Packers (owning No. 31 after an unrelated deal with the San Francisco 49ers) accepted. That netted pick No. 175, not too far off from the selection we ceded earlier.

And the only player in our cloud to be picked was Murray. Two others further down on our board (interior lineman Cesar Ruiz, pass-rusher Yetur Gross-Matos, and wide receiver Denzel Mims) were picked, but we’ve stretched our luck far enough. Another trade down would be too risky. So we went with Aiyuk, by far the highest-rated receiver available. His run-after-catch skills and straight-line speed should add a missing element to the Saints receiving corps, and seriously push Tre’Quan Smith for playing time.

Queen was considered here, but we picked him in the first round last time. By going in a different direction, we will can explore other opportunities to add a linebacker, especially with two third-round picks to work with. Here’s what our draft picks look like after those two trades, going into the second round:

  • Round 1, No. 31 (via Green Bay Packers, from San Francisco 49ers): WR Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State
  • Round 3, No. 88: TBD
  • Round 3, No. 101 (via Seattle Seahawks): TBD
  • Round 5, No. 169: TBD
  • Round 5, No. 176 (via Green Bay Packers): TBD
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Saints double down on offense in latest NFL mock draft

The New Orleans Saints added playmakers on offense in the latest 2020 NFL mock draft, teaming up with Jonathan Taylor and Albert Okwuegbunam

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The New Orleans Saints went in a different direction than you’ll see in most 2020 mock drafts with the latest projection from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire. Easterling ran a scenario in which the Saints, able to draft the best players available after stocking their roster well in free agency, went with Wisconsin Badgers running back Jonathan Taylor. Here’s what he wrote to justify the selection:

Sure, there may be bigger needs elsewhere, and running backs in the first round aren’t exactly en vogue anymore. But the Saints need to make the most of whatever time Drew Brees has left, and Mark Ingram’s departure left a void in their ground game that left the offense unbalanced. Taylor’s skill set is the perfect replacement, and he’s the top back in the class.

It kind of makes sense if we’re thinking that the Saints might make a move in the first round with an eye looking to the future. Alvin Kamara is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and the Saints could theoretically replace him with Taylor in 2021, even if the two of them would take snaps away from veteran runner Latavius Murray (who arguably deserved more playing time last season).

Having Taylor around on another cheap rookie deal could pay off later on down the road, but in the meantime he provides a great blend of size (weighing in at 5-foot-10 and 226 pounds), speed (timing the 40-yard dash in just 4.39 seconds), and versatility (having caught 26 passes as a senior, scoring five touchdowns through the air) — all in addition to his reliable production as a runner. Taylor ran for 1900 or more yards in each of his three years with the Badgers, scoring a combined 50 touchdowns on the ground.

However, Easterling didn’t stop at the end of the first round. His latest mock draft covers each of the first three rounds of selections, meaning the Saints landed another player with their third-round pick. In this scenario, Easterling paired them with Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam.

Okwuegbunam was a player we picked in our own recent seven-round Saints mock draft, initially considering him in the fourth round. But the board shook out so that he was still available in the fifth round, and the value he presents was too good to pass up (even if it cost us our preferred late-round quarterback prospect and most of the remaining cornerbacks).

So what kind of player is he? Okwuegbunam is an accomplished pass catcher who excels at boxing out smaller defenders in the red zone. He’s caught 23 touchdown passes in his three-year SEC career. While his routes need development and he can’t really point to his blocking abilities as a strength, he’d be a nice understudy for Jared Cook during the final year of the veteran’s contract with New Orleans.

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PFF’s analytics-based mock draft throws Saints a curve ball at wide receiver

The New Orleans Saints selected Notre Dame prospect Chase Claypool in an analytics-based 2020 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Focus.

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We’re starting to see some consensus picks for the New Orleans Saints in 2020 NFL mock drafts, with ESPN analysts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. both linking the Saints to Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray. The huge free agent pickup of Emmanuel Sanders has pushed wide receiver down the list of roster needs in New Orleans, but it’s not off the board entirely.

That’s something George Chahrouri of Pro Football Focus kept in mind when he helped update the PFF Analytics Mock Draft, connecting the Saints to a pass-catching prospect. But it’s not someone commonly projected to be selected as high as No. 24 overall: Notre Dame wide receiver Chase Claypool.

GC: Claypool figures to be exactly the amorphous offensive weapon that Sean Payton loves in New Orleans. With the addition of Emmanuel Sanders and now Claypool, the Saints will make sure Drew Brees doesn’t struggle through his last few seasons without a potent offense.

Claypool broke out in his 2019 senior year with 66 catches for 1,037 yards, and an impressive 13 touchdown grabs (in 13 games). That followed a gradual rise up the depth chart throughout his career at Notre Dame, in which he progressed from just five catches for 81 yards total as a freshman to averaging 36.5 yards per game as a sophomore, and 49.2 yards per game as a junior. While he could be characterized as a late bloomer, it’s nice to see that Claypool put in the work to earn more responsibilities in the offense.

But he really turned heads at this year’s NFL combine, where Claypool tipped the scales at 6-foot-4, 238 pounds with an 80-inch wingspan and hands measuring 9 7/8 inches wide. But unlike many big targets, Claypool followed up a great weigh-in with rare athletic testing. He timed the 40 yard dash in just 4.42 seconds and jumped 40.5 inches vertically (as well as 126 inches broad). He’s an explosive athlete with great long speed for someone his size, and it’s reasonable to think his best football is ahead of him.

The question the Saints and other teams must consider is where he grades out relative to the rest of this draft class. Claypool was the ninth receiver to be picked in the first round of this mock draft, which feels unlikely once the real thing kicks off. With so many viable options, teams should be expected to wait and angle for better value in the later rounds rather than spending their first selections on a top-rated prospect. Then again, the NFL draft is wildly unpredictable. Maybe there’s a scenario where Claypool would be the best player available when the Saints are on the clock.

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Navigating a 7-round Saints mock draft after free agency

The New Orleans Saints addressed several roster needs and added some luxury picks in our post-free agency, seven-round 2020 NFL mock draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft is just weeks away, and soon the New Orleans Saints will go on the clock to make their first selection. With the bulk of free agency spending now in the books, we have a better idea of the Saints roster needs that can be addressed by this year’s talented rookie class.

We used the mock draft machine built by the team at The Draft Network to simulate a seven-round mock draft, allowing us to make informed decisions and provide better transparency about the logic of each pick. Here’s what went into the thinking behind every selection we made, as well as a five-man cluster of prospects available whenever the Saints were on the board.

Round 1, Pick 24

Best players available:

  • RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State
  • LB Patrick Queen, LSU
  • LB Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
  • LB Zack Baun, Wisconsin
  • DT Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma
  • QB Jordan Love, Utah State

As luck would have it, the Saints are on the board with all three of the top linebackers available. A run on wide receivers pushed Queen, Murray, and Baun down a bit, so New Orleans has its pick of the litter to find a starter next to Demario Davis. While they could target another position here, linebacker is their most obvious remaining need (and they reportedly aren’t high on Love, even if the Saints are still doing their homework on him).

So which one do they go with? Queen would be the pick for many fans who share support for the Saints and the LSU Tigers, but his smaller stature (6-foot-0, 229 pounds) may lead to struggles against NFL-quality blockers. He also doesn’t have as strong a body of work as other prospects, with just one year of standout production in college. There’s a lot of projection with him regarding his chances of NFL success.

Let’s consider the other two linebackers. Murray is a better athlete than Queen, having timed the 40 yard dash just 0.02 seconds slower while outweighing him by 12 pounds and performing better in both the vertical and broad jumps. He’s also made more plays for a longer time on a defense that sent far fewer of his teammates into the NFL. However, he has a tendency to overrun plays and make poor decisions when facing multiple gap assignments in run defense. There are low moments on his game tape where he’s slow to process what’s happening in front of him, uncomfortably recalling former first-round draft bust Stephone Anthony.

As for Baun: he’s more of an average athlete for the position than the other two top prospects, and he was also a late bloomer in college who didn’t break out until his senior year. But his scheme-diverse talents mean he can play with just about any defensive front alignment the Saints want to throw out there, even if he isn’t the easy fit at inside linebacker New Orleans might prefer next to Davis. It would take more time to find where he best performs in the Saints defense, so it makes more sense to choose a prospect who can slot in right away with the first pick.

We’ve chosen Murray before in this situation, but we’ll go with Queen in the first mock draft of April. Queen may need more time to develop, but the presence of veterans like Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso could give the Saints a buffer to fall back on should he struggle early in the season.

The pick: LB Patrick Queen, LSU

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NFLPA ratifies new CBA in narrow vote; how Saints are affected

The New Orleans Saints and every NFL team are affected by the NFL Players Association vote to approve a new collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL Players Association voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement on Saturday night, with the final tally clocking in at 1,019 votes for approval against 959 votes to decline — a margin of just 60 votes, or about 2% of union membership. Because this CBA proposal was already confirmed by NFL ownership, it will go into effect immediately and is expected to run through the next decade. And it’s introducing many new changes and challenges for every team, including the New Orleans Saints.

First and foremost: the new CBA removes the one-year 30% rule, which would have severely hamstrung the Saints’ usual contract structure strategies. Now that the 30% rule is abolished, the Saints can finalize contract extensions with pending free agents like Drew Brees — who may be up for accepting another below-market deal. They will also begin to negotiate in earnest with the rest of their 27 players set to test the open market.

Minimum salaries will be given a pay raise, and the NFL salary cap is expected to rise dramatically in future offseasons. Rosters will increase from 53 players to 55, and require just five inactive players on game days. Practice squads will also grow to 12 members per team.

Beyond those immediate concerns: the NFL regular season will be extended to 17 games, with just three preseason exhibition games, no sooner than the 2021 season. The playoffs will also be expanded with seven teams representing each conference, and just the top-seeded team earning a first-round bye week.

So how will the Saints respond to this? We might finally see some movement from them in regards to re-signing their own players, especially with the start of the new league year around the corner. But Saints coach Sean Payton anticipates that date to be moved back in response to the coronavirus spreading nationally, though the NFL has not yet made a decision. So check back soon for updates.

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