24 April 2006

What Will the New Orleans Saints Do with the #2 Pick?


Okay, I'm taking a temporary break from election frustrations and going back to sports for a day.

We're now less than a week away from the NFL Draft. The Saints pick second, and I've seemingly heard a hundred different projections related to what they will do. Since it's the topic of debate, I thought I'd break down the most-heard scenarios and rate them in terms of likelihood (as of midday Monday):

EXTREMELY LIKELY
  1. The Saints swap picks with the Jets, and take D'Brickashaw Ferguson (pictured above) at 4: The Saints probably don't want to take one of the quarterbacks. The Jets do (possibly Matt Leinart). They may have to move ahead of Tennessee to get him. Ferguson fits into the Saints needs, but 2 is probably too high for him. He could probably be had at 4. The Jets also have 2 first-round picks (4 and 29) to offer the Saints if they want to move up. That could get them the player they probably want (Ferguson) as well as another player God knows they need.
  2. The Saints take D'Brickashaw Ferguson at 2: Like I said, 2 is probably too high for him. But the Jets could still get one of the top 2 quarterbacks (Leinart or Young) at 4. Maybe they won't make a trade at all.

LESS LIKELY POSSIBILITIES

  1. The Saints take Reggie Bush at 2: There's talk that the Texans may not take Bush at 2. There's talk that they're seriously looking at Mario Williams with the top pick. Of course, that could be a smoke screen. Or the Jets could trade with the Texans, because Mario Williams could be had at 4 too. If there is no trade, and the Texans take Williams at 1, why wouldn't they take a shot at Reggie Bush? Deuce is coming off knee surgery. I doubt, however, that Bush drops to us.
  2. The Saints take Matt Leinart or Vince Young at 2, and trade later: Suppose the deal with the Jets doesn't happen. You could probably get a lot of trade value from other teams if you create a panic. If the Saints take a QB at 2, all 3 quarterbacks could be taken in the top ten. One of the teams hoping for a QB in the middle picks (like Arizona) wouldn't get a chance. Maybe they'd make an offer that includes draft picks and players that would be interesting. Or if not, you have scenario #3.
  3. The Saints take Matt Leinart or Vince Young at 2, and keep him: The Saints have made decisions more stupid than this in the draft. Sure, he'd sit behind Drew Brees for years, but who knows if Brees' arm is completely healthy? Again, I still consider this very doubtful

LEAST LIKELY POSSIBILITIES

  1. The Saints take Mario Williams at 2: This was the hot rumor for weeks. But there are two things making this scenario unlikely. First, the Saints have two quality defensive ends in Charles Grant and Will Smith. Why would you draft to one of your team's few strengths? Second, there's that talk I mentioned earlier about Mario Williams going first to the Texans. Again, this is probably a smoke screen, but it would make the point moot if it happens.
  2. The Saints swap picks with the 49ers, and pick A.J. Hawk or Vernon Davis at 6: The 49ers have 2 first round picks too (6 and 22). They wouldn't take a quarterback at 2, but could take Williams or Bush there. The saints could still get a need player with the 6th pick, and would get a higher first-round pick with the second than they would get with the Jets. But again, this is more likely if Bush falls to 2, which probably won't happen.

Any comments, opinions, or other predictions?

By the way, for a look at what the Saints look like now, check here and here.

8 Comments:

At April 24, 2006 5:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A Good many Mock Drafters have the Saints picking DE Mario Williams if they stay at #2. They say he is an impact player (a la Julius Peppers).
I personally think the Saints need to protect their investment (Drew Brees) by picking the best lineman available: Ferguson.

 
At April 24, 2006 5:50 PM, Blogger John Blutarsky said...

What's the current linebacker situation? Have we picked up any free agents? We've been saying for years that we need some impact players at linebacker but year after year we draft a 3rd or 4th round pick that doesn't cut it. And it always seems that the linebacker draft pool is very shallow, so why don't we go ahead and get the best linebacker out there?

 
At April 24, 2006 5:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Saints picked up linebackers Scott Fujita from the Cowboys (previously Kansas City) and Anthony Simmons from Seattle. Simmons was injured all last year, but Loomis, Payton and Gibbs are confident he will be ready for the start of the season. If the Saints trade with Oakland (one of many rumors), they might be able to pick up linebacker A.J. Hawk in the seventh slot.

 
At April 24, 2006 6:33 PM, Blogger Commish said...

I've added links to my original post that look at the Saints on offense and defense. That oughta help you out.

 
At April 24, 2006 7:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I say we get Reggie, and with Deuce, Reggie, Stecker, and Mr. Minnesota, we run the Wishbone, with occasional fly patterns to Joe Horn.

Hey, we've tried everything else...

 
At April 25, 2006 9:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ashley:
What an innovative scheme. Unfortunately, this means the Saints probably don't need Drew Brees. Deuce, Reggie, Stecker and Michael Bennett can take turns lining up behind center. (And Joe Horn too).
carmiguel56@yahoo.com

 
At April 25, 2006 10:46 AM, Blogger dillyberto said...

You've nailed the realities!

Great work.

Fergie is a great choice and above all a player with a great work ethic - something in short supply on last year's squad. You just don't sell tickets with an offensive lineman.

Mario Bates and AJ could shoot the lights out. Many of us fans for selfish reasons want those guys on the Saints. Good violence does sell tickets.

We'll see how it all pans out in a few short days.

I don't think Golden Shears does a Mel Kiper haircut.

 
At April 25, 2006 3:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ESPN's TMQB (Tuesday Morning QB) has a very funny piece called "Mocking the Mock Draft..."

Here is what they have for the Saints pick at #2...

2. New Orleans Saints: Hans Brinker, Dutch 8-year-old
Alone and frightened, Brinker spent the night with his hand on a levee breech to save the town of Haarlem. If this had happened in 2005 rather than in the 19th century, Brinker would have called a press conference to deny that anything was wrong with the dikes.
Here's the URL
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/060425

carmiguel56@yahoo.com

 

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