2nd Round Pick

by nola12 on Apr 14, 2008 5:15 PM CDT

Leave it to the Falcons to nab him three picks ahead of us. So much for that. I think now it comes down to a few players:

ILB Mayo: a first-round prospect who projects to be a very good middle-linebacker. The question becomes, as I said in an earlier comment was if he could work as a weakside linebacker with Vilma filling in the middle.

TE USC's Fred Davis/Purdue's Dustin Keller: Both are very much alike in that they excel at pass-catching but need to develop blocking skills to become great tight ends. Nevertheless, Sean Payton learned from Parcells that a TE is vital and can change an entire offense. Imagine Brees being able to slice and dice through the middle with a TE that can go over the top.

OLB Shawn Crable: Crable is an intriguing player who has great size at 6-5, 250. He has a lot of upside and could easily turn out to be a good starting linebacker. The issues with him are his questionable work-ethic and fact that he only had 2 years starting at Michigan.

DT Pat Sims: with Balmer going off the board, Sims can fill a huge need at DT. He has a lot of potential, but has some "pretty big character issues." The opposite, in terms of character is Trevor Laws, a DT from Notre Dame. Laws may not have the upside, but he has great intangibles and a strong motor.

In the end, I think the Saints are going to have to go defensive in rounds one and two. I think that this particular draft, and how it has worked out, would leave the Saints in an interesting predicament in terms of the fact that there is really no great defensive player that fills a major hole with balmer being off the board. Then it is a possibility that the Saints could nab a tight end, which I believe Payton wants.

This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.

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Comments

Mayo would be my pick, Crable second

Of these left, obviously Mayo is the best fit for the Saints, he's got an enormous upside that could leave a bunch of teams wondering why they passed on him in the first round. He might be an awkward fit at Middle linebacker with Vilma in town, but his athleticism should be able to allow him to adapt and move over to OLB. If he gets taken in the next couple of picks, I think Crable would be my next best option. DT and LB would still be the two biggest needs, and Crable is the best player available at those positions. I think the difference between Balmer and Sims is a lot bigger than dropping from Mayo to Crable. I'm reluctant to watch the Saints pick up a TE in this round, the receivers are extremely young as it is, and adding a rookie TE isn't really fair to Drew Brees. there's a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball as it is, and hopefully Meachem will bring something to the table this year to add to the passing game. Right now, I'd rank the players left as 1: Mayo 2: Crable 3: Sims.

by BleedingGold on Apr 14, 2008 7:29 PM CDT reply actions