Saints looking for a few good men in the draft

By Ed Daniels, Sports
Clarion Herald

It was Mark Twain who said the following: “When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”

So, the next time, as a Saints fan, you direct your ire at quarterback Derek Carr, here’s a list of the Saints’ first-round picks (or first picks in the draft) since 2018: Marcus Davenport, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Payton Turner, Chris Olave, and Bryan Bresee.

Since the 2017 draft, the one that produced Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk in the first round, the Saints’ draft ledger has been spotty, at best.

And, the Saints organization has paid the price.

The Saints’ best chance for improvement might be getting major contributions from the 2023 draft class, one that appears to be solid.

Defensive tackle Bryan Bresee had 4.5 sacks, despite taking only 49% of his team’s defensive snaps.

Safety Jordan Howden, a fifth-round pick, was a find, playing 51% of his team’s defensive snaps in 2023.

Running back Kendre Miller, a fourth-round pick, played only 112 snaps from scrimmage, but was impressive in the final game of the season, rushing 13 times for 73 yards and a touchdown in the club’s win over the Falcons.

Wide receiver AT Perry showed promise, too. He had 18 catches for 246 yards in limited work.

The Saints got little or no contribution from second-round pick defensive end Isaiah Foskey, fourth-round pick offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri, and fellow fourth-round pick quarterback Jake Haener, who was suspended six games for what the NFL called violation of its performance-enhancing drug policy.

So, there’s promise.

But, promise will only get you so far. The Saints need major production from the 2023 class and from the upcoming 2024 class.

The Saints have a glaring need for one offensive tackle, maybe two.

Do they trade up in the first round (going up is an organizational trait) for what they think is an exceptional player? Do, they make more than one selection in the first round, trading back into the round to get an impact player?

The Saints did so in 2011, and were successful, drafting defensive end Cam Jordan, and trading back into the round to draft running back Mark Ingram.

For a club that hasn’t had the salary cap space since the final years of Drew Brees, the draft is critical.

Name a great Saints draft, and then look and see what happened after.

In 2006, the Saints drafted Reggie Bush, Roman Harper, Jahri Evans, and, in the seventh round, Zach Strief and Marques Colston. They claimed a Super Bowl title four years later.

In 2017, Lattimore, Ramczyk and Alvin Kamara were part of four consecutive NFC South championship teams.

In 1986, Jim Dombrowski, Dalton Hilliard, Reuben Mayes and Pat Swilling climbed aboard. A year later, the Saints reached the playoffs for the first time.

Good players win games; great players win a lot of games and championships.

In the meantime, the odds­makers say good to great is unlikely in New Orleans this season.

The Saints’ win total is 7.5. But, there is a way to inflate that number.

And, that is by making winning selections on the final weekend in April.

Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].