Looking Back at PayLoo Drafts

During the season, there was some discussion on CSC about the success of the drafts of the Payton/Loomis team. With the 2009 draft steadily approaching, this seems as good a time as any to take a look back and see how they’ve done. It is always easier to evaluate drafts the farther you are from them, so it will be tougher to evaluate the 2008 draft, but lets give them all a shot…

2006

1st Round (2nd overall) - Reggie Bush – He’s a figure of controversy here at CSC and a day would not be complete without a debate about Bush and how he’s used (right?). All that said, the events that led to his falling into our laps were greeted with universal elation and his selection at the time was an absolute no-brainer. We can, and will, continue to debate his effectiveness as a pro, but you can’t reasonably argue with this selection.

2nd Round - Roman Harper – If you remember, PayLoo had been stockpiling safeties during that offseason, so this pick was met with some surprise. Harper, however, immediately installed himself as a starter and played well in 06 until a season-ending injury. He’s been more uneven since his return, but has been a starter the whole time.

4th Round - Jahri Evans – He’s started every game in his career and by most accounts is a young star at the position

5th Round - Rob Ninkovich – Showed a great deal of promise as a situational pass-rusher before an injury ended his 06 season. He ended up with the Dolphins for parts of the 07 and 08 seasons before being re-signed by the Saints in 08.

6th Round - Mike Hass (WR) and Josh Lay (CB) – Hass didn’t make the Saints roster in 06, but was with the Bears in 06 and 07. He’s now out of the league as is Josh Lay.

7th Round -  Zach Strief and Marques Colston – Strief has become a valuable backup O lineman and the staff seems to like him. Colston, probably one of the greatest steals in draft history, burst onto the scene in training camp and had two huge years. He struggled a bit this year with injuries and some drops, but expect him back to his old self in 09.

The 2006 draft was great by almost any measure. 6 of the 8 players are still with the team (although Ninkovich will probably be cut again). The offensive players picked form the nucleus of the league’s #1 one attack. If Harper rebounds in Gregg Williams defense, this draft will look even better.

2007

1st Round (27th overall) - Robert Meachem – Struggled from the first mini-camp with injuries and has never seemed to make the impact expected. Calling him a bust might be too strong, but it is hard to argue we haven’t got value for that pick thus far. Would you trade him for Greg Olsen (picked 31st) or Anthony Gonzalez (32nd)?

3rd Round -  Usama Young – He’s played in 19 of 22 career games, including 2 starts in 2008, but I don’t have a good sense of how good he is. The fact that he hasn’t been able to break into the starting lineup in one of our areas of serious weakness probably tells us something.

3rd Round - Andy Alleman – The guard from Akron didn’t make the team this year, but ended up with Miami where he played 15 games and started 4.

4th Round -  Antonio Pittman and Jermon Bushrod – The Saints selected Pittman expecting him to be the future complement to Bush. Well, that didn’t work out and Pittman was beat out by an unknown free-agent named Pierre Thomas. Pittman did land with the Rams where he averaged 3.7 ypc last year. Jermon Bushrod is a promising young tackle who the coaching staff is apparently very high on.

5th Round - David Jones (CB) – Jones never made the Saints, but did catch on with the Bengals where he started 7 games in 2008.

7th Round - Marvin Mitchell – The LB from Tennessee has been a valuable backup and special teams player for the Saints.

The jury is still very much out on the 2007 draft. Four of the seven players are still with the team, but none of them have had a major impact. Only Young has seen significant playing time, but again has been unable to break into the starting lineup of one of the worst secondaries in the league. Meachem has struggled to be on the active roster and many have toyed with the bust label for him. This coming season may well be the year we find out for sure. The staff is very high on Bushrod, but we’ve yet to really see him play.

2008

1st Round (7th overall) - Sedrick Ellis – Immediately stepped in as a starter and had a very solid rookie year. The team will be counting on him to continue to mature and become a dominant force in the middle for years to come.

2nd Round - Tracy Porter – His physical talent became apparent quickly and before he got hurt, he looked for all the world like our best DB. Let’s hope he comes back healthy and better than ever.

5th Round - DeMario Pressley and Carl Nicks – The staff had high hopes for Pressley before an injury sidelined him for the year. A big, physical presence, Nicks stepped into the starting lineup as a result of injury and was an immediate upgrade. Look for him to remain in the lineup for the forseeable future.

6th Round - Taylor Mehlhaff – Couldn’t beat out Grammatica in preseason, then brought back after Grammatica became "injured." The huge leg we heard so much about wasn’t evident on kickoffs and he wasn’t accurate enough for Payton and was replaced.

7th Round - Adrian Arrington – Another player that Drew raved about early on before injuries ended his year.

Way to early to judge this draft. Ellis looks like a keeper, as does Porter, assuming he returns to form folloing his injury. Pressley and Arringtono showed promise, so it will be interesting to see how they return from their own injuries in mini and training camps. Mehlhaff was a waste, especially considering we picked up someone who kicked better than him and Grammatica put together.

Overall, 15 of the 21 players picked by PayLoo are still with the team (71%) and 19 are still in the league (90%). Compare that with the last 3 drafts with Jim Haslett’s input – 30% of those players are still with the team and only 45% are still in the league. For the most part, PayLoo has shown a good eye for talent. They’ve had some great picks (e.g. Colston, Strief, Evans), and some questionable ones (e.g. Meachem, Mehlhaff). Overall though, I think you’d have to give them high marks for their drafts. They have done a good job building a nucleus, especially on offense, for a successful team. Let’s hope that continues.  They have also aggressively pursued the players they want, often trading up to grabe them (i.e. Ellis).  I would say, especially compared to the last 2-3 drafting regimes for the Saints, this braintrust has been shown to possess the skills to navigate the draft and build this team into a contender. 

Now, if we can just break up a long pass, we're in business!