FanPost

10 Interesting Mid-Late Round Prospects for the Saints

Since the NFL draft is coming up in less than a week, I made a list of who have not been linked to the Saints and lesser known prospects, but would be interesting additions to the team in the mid to late rounds of the NFL Draft. I put one person per position group (Offensive line is it's own category) for five offensive and five defensive players, although I did kind of cheat in a couple places. Anyways, I hope this interests y'all in the days leading up to the draft and provokes some debate as to what everyone thinks the Saints should do after day one of the draft.

QB: Denard Robinson, Michigan
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SvnJKK4JfgQ
With the Saints not in need of a quarterback, especially in a draft where they only hold five picks and the worst defense in the league, I do not deem it wise to draft a quarterback in any round, preferably picking up someone like Jordan Rodgers or Colton Chapple up as an undrafted free agent to groom as a back up. So I will cheat here and say the Saints should select Denard Robinson, who technically is entering the NFL Draft as a running ack/receiver/return man. If the Saints had e luxury of being able to draft him, I would not mind at all, as he provides quality depth at three positions, and an explosive presence at that. Also, he could be rolled out as a Wildcat in some situations to catch opposing defenses off guard. Under Sean Payton's tutelage, he might even be made into a decent backup quarterback.

RB: Zac Stacy, Vanderbilt
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SLOBrUQQNzo
Zac Stacy is the first Commodore to rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. The fact that he could do this as a smaller back (5'8") in the SEC is simply amazing, especially considering Vanderbilt's relative weakness in their division. He also is a threat out of the backfield, averaging about 21 yards a catch on 9 catches last season. I think he would be a good complement for Mark Ingram, although it would appear we don't need a running back at this time.

TE: Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tRGgxbA1jd0 http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=uS54FxLGpkk
Kyle Juszczyk is a versatile player who can play almost any offensive skill position, having spent time as a fullback, H-Back, tight end, and receiver for the Crimson. Shows great hands and ability to catch in traffic. Produces well after the catch and contact, combining slipperiness, great balance, and power when the ball is in his hands. I feel as though he could fill the role David Thomas filled with the team, except probably be a better receiver and a good complement to Jimmy Graham.

WR: Ryan Swope, Texas A&M
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eCosoGT0beM
I fell in love with Ryan Swope during the Texas A&M and Alabama game when he got mollywhopped by a safety and stood up and roared after. In the replay, you saw that Swope looked at the safety, knew he was gonna get mollywhopped, turned and caught the ball, and held on. I love his toughness. He's faster than you think he is, and he's built and runs like a running back.

OL: Barrett Jones, Alabama
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kGpdFpp-rnU&feature=related
Barret Jones has started at three different positions for three National Championship teams at Alabama. He is the of the most versatile offensive lineman, and I believe is vastly underrated. He would provide quality depth for the Saints at all of the offensive line positions as a rookie, and may even win the starting left tackle spot, a crucial spot to secure with Drew Brees in the pocket.

NT/DT: Jordan Hill, Penn State
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=rWFZ2PKWJ8s&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrWFZ2PKWJ8s
Jordan Hill has been getting playing time at Penn State since he was a freshmen in a rotation with NFL-caliber players Jared Odrick and Devon Still. The fact that he was in a rotation with these guys as a freshmen shows the talent he has. He's short and stout, at 6'1" and just over 300 pounds, and thus has naturally low pad height, and shows explosiveness when rested. He does best when he is in a rotation, which I think would be an idea, situation for him with the Saints, as he could rotate in at 3-4 defensive end with Cameron Jordan, Akiem Hicks, and Will Smith or whoever our other ends end up being.

DE/OLB: Mike Catapano, Princeton
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcdKCG5F8Q
Mike Catapano was dominant force for Princeton this past year. He was compared to Justin Smith by his coach, who coached Justin Smith when he was with the Bengals. He also has been said to be the best pass rusher in this draft by *insert name here*, a former NFL defensive end and pass rush guru whose camp Catapano attended. The main knock on Catapano has been his lack of elite competition in the Ivy League, if the Saints draft him, they would gain a hard worker who could be a big outside linebacker and move to defensive end in passing situations.

ILB: Chase Thomas, Stanford
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=XWRV3AIvRBs&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXWRV3AIvRBs
I'm cheating here. Chase Thomas is an outside linebacker for Stanford. I would not mind the Saints drafting him as an outside linebacker, as he is a great hustle player and, at worst, could be a strong backup and pass rusher. However, I believe he has the versatility and intelligence to be moved to inside linebacker in the Saints defense. If the Saints did draft him, he could, at worst, provide quality depth, pass rush ability, and hustle for a Saints defense that can use anything it can get.

CB: B.W. Webb, William and Mary
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-CeJ2DwWXsM
B.W. Webb has been a four year starter at William and Mary, where he started his career off with a three interception game against Virginia. Throughout his time there, he has displayed great ball skills and a feisty playing style. The main knocks on him are his size (5'10" 184, average for a cornerback) and his lack of experience in a press man coverage scheme. The latter I think would be the biggest problem for Webb to overcome, as Rob Ryan is probably looking to install more man coverage into the defense, although that didn't seem it be a problem when the Saints signed Keenan Lewis, who is coming from a zone blitz scheme under Dick Lebeau. Webb would provide a good nickel corner for the Saints as well as compete for a spot in the rotation and maybe even a starting job as a rookie.

S: Zeke Motta, Notre Dame
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0EaJ73MXSYw
Zeke Motta was a member of the Notre Dame defense who got shredded by Alabama in the National Championship Game. In that game, I saw the face of Notre Dame, Manti Te'o, have a terrible game. I also saw safety Zeke Motta bring the boom on more than one occasion. He ended his senior season with 16 tackles against Alabama. He may not make plays on the ball, but he is a good tackler in space, something that the Saints could use with Roman Harper and Malcolm Jenkins missing tackles in the secondary. He is not a finished product, as the above video of him against Alabama shows.

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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