Tag: Tommy Stevens

Saints have more Washington 2020 draft picks than the Commanders do

There are more players from Washington’s 2020 draft class in New Orleans than on the Commanders’ roster. But they outnumber the Saints’ own 2020 draft picks, too:

Don’t look now, but the New Orleans Saints have rostered more players from the Washington Commanders’ 2020 draft class than Washington themselves. There isn’t a single player that the Commanders picked in 2020 remaining in Washington. Two of them landed with the Saints this offseason: defensive end Chase Young (a first-round pick) and linebacker Khaleke Kudson (a fifth rounder). The Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Matthew Paras, a former Washington beat writer, first shared this observation.

But here’s the twist. There are more players from Washington’s 2020 draft class now suiting up for the Saints than New Orleans’ own 2020 draft haul. The Saints went into the 2020 draft talking up a quality-over-quantity approach, trading up three times and coming away with just four players: right guard Cesar Ruiz, linebacker Zack Baun, tight end Adam Trautman, and quarterback-turned-tight end Tommy Stevens.

That plan blew up in their face. The Saints cut Stevens early in the season after initially stashing him on their practice squad. They traded Trautman during the 2023 draft (to the Denver Broncos, reuniting him with Sean Payton). Baun left in free agency last month to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. The only player remaining from that four-man band is Ruiz, who signed a contract extension last September.

So the Saints have two players from Washington’s 2020 draft class and just one of their own. That’s not the best of resources by either team. Regime change has already come for the Commanders (plus a change in ownership), and it might be on the way for New Orleans if the Saints miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row and the third season with Dennis Allen as head coach. Hopefully they can turn things around, one way or another.

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Every Round 7 draft pick the Saints have chosen since 2002

NFL draft: Every New Orleans Saints seventh-round pick since 2002, highlighted by Zach Strief and Marques Colston in 2006

The seventh and final round of the annual NFL draft has brought mixed results to the New Orleans Saints — they hit home runs on both of their seventh-round picks back in 2006, giving fans hope that every subsequent seventh rounder could be the next Zach Strief or Marques Colston. But more often than not these late-round fliers haven’t panned out. The drop in prospect quality from earlier in the draft is often just too tough to overcome.

Still, with the Saints picking twice in the seventh round this year, it’s worth looking back on past results to set a realistic expectation for the upcoming rookies. Here’s the Saints draft history in Round 7 and every other phase of the draft under longtime general manager Mickey Loomis:

Saints’ 2020 draft class entering make-or-break season in 2023

The Saints’ 2020 draft class is entering a make-or-break season in 2023. Cesar Ruiz, Zack Baun, and Adam Trautman can still change the narrative, but they’re running out of time:

Much of the attention on the New Orleans Saints’ 2020 NFL draft class has centered on right guard Cesar Ruiz, and for good reason — the former first-round pick struggled mightily through the first two years of his career before turning things around last season, and now he’s going into what could be a career-year with plenty of momentum behind him, despite an unfortunate season-ending injury in rearview. If the Saints don’t choose to exercise his fifth-year option after this year’s draft (which would cost them more than $14 million in 2024), he’ll be a free agent next year.

His other 2020 draftmates don’t have the luxury of a fifth-year option ahead of them, and they also haven’t quite met expectations up to this point. At the time of the draft, general manager Mickey Loomis and the team’s decision-makers like assistant GM Jeff Ireland told us they were going for a quality-over-quantity approach by drafting just four players, and trading up for three of them — linebacker Zack Baun, tight end Adam Trautman, and quarterback-turned-tight end Tommy Stevens. That strategy was met with skepticism at the time, and history hasn’t exactly justified the idea there.

Stevens was waived and kicked down to the practice squad within six months, and the Saints cut him for good 199 days after they picked him. Baun has been limited to special teams for most of his Saints career. Trautman hasn’t developed as hoped and the team was actively looking for his replacement in hosting Foster Moreau on a free agent visit.

So the way things stand right now, it’s hard to look at the 2020 class as anything but a failure. The Saints either took the wrong approach, picked the wrong prospects, or had the wrong vision in mind for them. Draw your own conclusions there.

That’s not to say there isn’t a scenario where things turn around. If Ruiz continues playing well and earns a long-term extension with the Saints, that does a lot to salvage the 2020 draft for New Orleans. So too would Baun taking a step forward in the role Kaden Elliss flourished in last season. He excelled as a pass rusher in college but the Saints overcomplicated things by making him play out of position and off the line of scrimmage. Elliss lined up closer to the ball and experienced great success because of it. Maybe that’s the proof-of-concept the coaches needed to let Baun do what he’s done best.

But that’s still just two players out of an entire draft class, and they each need to meet those expectations. Whether they can change the narrative or not is undetermined. Let’s hope they can go the distance. These players haven’t met expectations yet, but there’s still some time left on the clock for them to get there.

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Penn State photo archive: 2016 Big Ten Championship Game

Let’s take a look back at some of the best photos from Penn State’s 2016 Big Ten championship game win

After scoring a surprising upset of Ohio State in 2016 with a blocked field goal returned for a game-winning touchdown, Penn State changed the entire outlook of the Big Ten championship race. Michigan, who had dominated Penn State earlier in the season, took the inside track to the East Division race but stumbled a few weeks later against Iowa, leading to Penn State having a path to its first Big Ten championship game appearance. As the Nittany Lions closed out its regular season without a loss, and with Ohio State handing Michigan a second conference loss, the Nittany Lions advanced to Indianapolis as the East Division champion thanks to their head-to-head upset of the Buckeyes.

Penn State faced Wisconsin, the Big Ten’s West Division champion, with a spot in the Rose Bowl up for grabs. Penn State was an underdog against the Badgers, who wee ranked just ahead of the Nittany Lions in the College Football Playoff rankings going into the game behind a strong defense and running game. And to their credit, Wisconsin flexed early on Penn State with their ground attack and some big plays from the defense. Penn State wasn’t rattled, however, and stormed back and came out on top of a back-and-forth game in the second half with [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag] and [autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag] electrifying the offense.

Here is a look at some of the images from Penn State’s first Big Ten championship game.

Giants activate TE Rysen John, waive TE Tommy Stevens

The New York Giants have activated TE Rysen John from the COVID-19 list and LB Ryan Anderson (back) from NFI, and waived TE Tommy Stevens.

The New York Giants made a series of in-house moves prior to practice on Tuesday, announcing that tight end Rysen John had been activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

John signed with the Giants last year after going undrafted out of Simon Fraser. He was also a third-round pick in the CFL draft but opted to play NFL football instead.

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John was waived/injured last September and ultimately reverted to injured reserve after going unclaimed. He was later waived with an injury settlement before being re-signed in late October.

In early January, John signed a reserve/futures deal with the Giants.

In addition to activating John, the Giants also announced that linebacker Ryan Anderson (back) had been activated from the non-football injury (NFI) list.

Anderson was waived on Monday and re-signed on Tuesday as procedural move related to his contract, reports Dan Duggan of The Athletic.

Finally, in order to clear room for the returning John and Anderson, the Giants have also waived tight end Tommy Stevens, who had signed with the team last week.

With Tuesday’s moves, only rookie cornerback Aaron Robinson and tight end Kyle Rudolph remain inactive. Both players are currently on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

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Ex-Saints draft pick Tommy Stevens trying out for Packers

Tommy Stevens wasn’t able to make the switch to tight end with the Saints or Panthers, but the Packers are giving him his next shot in the NFL:

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One former New Orleans Saints draft pick is still chasing his NFL dream. Tommy Stevens has scheduled a workout with the Green Bay Packers, as first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, where the 2020 seventh rounder will try out at tight end. Maybe Green Bay hopes to find some payback against the Saints for poaching Taysom Hill a few years back.

A college quarterback at Penn State and Mississippi State, Stevens unsuccessfully tried to convert to tight end with the Saints and Carolina Panthers, who released him earlier this year. He’s got a chance at 6-foot-5 and 236 pounds, having pioneered “the Taysom Hill role” with Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady when they were both members of the Nittany Lions.

Stevens was the subject of a draft-day controversy when Saints coach Sean Payton drew up a trade in the event’s final minutes, spoiling Stevens’ shot of teaming up with Brady again after he worked out a verbal agreement to sign with the Panthers. But if Stevens can’t stick on his third NFL roster a little over a year in the league, his time in the pros could soon come to an end.

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Report: Panthers were tipped off about Saints wanting WR Terrace Marshall in the draft

That’s a nice victory for the Panthers over the Saints, who have won four straight and eight of the last nine meetings between these teams.

The Panthers and the Saints have shown interest in many of the same players this last year and a half since Joe Brady was hired as offensive coordinator. Brady previously served as an assistant for Sean Payton and runs a similar scheme, so it’s natural that their interests collide – and they certainly have.

Last year there was the whole Tommy Stevens saga. Additionally, the Panthers have brought in a number of former Saints players like Tommylee Lewis, Keith Kirkwood and Teddy Bridgewater. A couple months ago the Saints poached long-time Panthers fullback Alex Armah, signing him to a one-year deal.

The intrigue continued in the 2021 NFL draft, where apparently both teams had their eye on LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall. According to Darin Gantt at the team website, the Panthers were tipped off via phone call that New Orleans was targetting Marshall with the No. 60 overall pick. The Panthers changed course and decided to snag Marshall one spot earlier.

“(BYU left tackle Brady Christensen) was probably going to be the guy at 59, and there was a deal cooking that could have moved them back on the clock within a few spots to take LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.. Marshall was quickly becoming one of those guys whose name was beginning to stick out on the board, with not much space above him, but a lot of space below at his position. He was becoming a value guy. Then someone got a call that the Saints were about to take Marshall 60th overall, and the Panthers shifted gears, taking Marshall in the 59th spot instead.”

That’s a nice victory for the Panthers over the Saints, who have won four straight and eight of the last nine meetings between these teams.

As for Marshall, we’re projecting he will be the WR3 on the roster behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson. During his college career, Marshall lined up both outside and in the slot. Tight end Dan Arnold should offer competition, but it’s not hard to imagine Marshall becoming Sam Darnold’s go-to option in the red zone once he’s up to speed.

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The jury is still out on a frustrating 2020 Saints draft class

The New Orleans Saints got neither quantity nor quality out of their 2020 rookie draft class, picking a part-time starter in the first round

Here’s the final entry in our 2021 NFL draft countdown, recapping last year’s rookie class with just one day left before the cycle starts over. The Saints took a quality over quantity approach in 2020’s pandemic-impacted offseason, but they didn’t get either virtue based on their initial performance. Here’s hoping things improve in 2021. In the meantime, let’s review what happened last year:

Saints met with Mississippi State QB prospect K.J. Costello

The New Orleans Saints are one of several NFL teams to contact Mississippi State QB K.J. Costello, a prospect in the 2021 NFL draft.

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Here’s another name for the list of 2021 draft prospects contacted by the Saints: Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello, who has been picking up steam after recent throwing sessions in front of NFL scouts. LSU Wire’s Crissy Froyd reports that Costello has also spoken with the Chargers, Eagles, and Patriots in addition to his meeting with New Orleans.

Costello transferred to Mississippi State after three years at Stanford, but an initially-impressive start against LSU in the season opener didn’t quite set the tone. Five of his six touchdown passes on the year came in that upset against the defending national champs, and he ended up missing four weeks between a concussion and COVID-19 exposure. He wasn’t allowed to do much within the constraints of Mike Leach’s limited Air Raid offense, which SEC defenses figured out in a hurry.

So where is he projected to be drafted? Costello has good size (6-foot-4 and 225 pounds) but poor athleticism, along with inconsistent college performance. While he has the profile of a late-round flyer like his predecessor Tommy Stevens — cut from the Saints practice squad after failing to convert to tight end — the priority teams feel to acquire quarterbacks and maybe some optimism that he can flourish in a better situation could see him go higher, maybe earlier on the draft’s third and final day.

Right now, the Saints have a vacancy at the end of their depth chart. Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill are slated for a training camp battle to start. Adding someone like Costello to compete with Trevor Siemian to back them up as the team’s third-string quarterback makes sense. Keep an eye out for him on draft day.

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Report: Panthers offered Dwayne Haskins a reserve/futures contract

According to the Charlotte Observer, Carolina offered him a reserve/futures contract. Jeremy Fowler at ESPN had it first.

Former Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins signed a deal with the Steelers today. The Panthers had hosted him for a visit last week but he left without signing.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Carolina offered him a reserve/futures contract. Jeremy Fowler at ESPN had it first.

 

So, Haskins is off the board. Expect the Panthers to continue searching for options at quarterback, though.

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