Saints to Pick 15th in First Round of 2013 NFL Draft

Yesterday, Larry Holder posted a story on the nola.com letting us know that the Saints will have the 15th selection in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft.

Based on the "strength of schedule" tiebreaking procedures, the Saints will be the last of the five 7-9 teams to choose in the draft's first round. The San Diego Chargers' opponents' .487 win percentage, is the lowest, and gives them the 11th pick.

NFC South-mates Tampa Bay (.502) and Carolina (.516) pick right before the Saints @ 13 and 14, respectively, while the 7-8-1 St. Louis Rams will choose 16th.

This won-loss record format slotting covers the top 20 selections for now, with the order of picks numbered 21-32 determined over time as the playoffs conclude.

With this information in hand, you may now head over to walterfootball.com and espn.com (for Todd McShay's and Mel Kiper's Big Boards) to start drooling over mock drafts and player rankings both overall and by position to dig up the cornerbacks, safeties, defensive lineman, and linebackers who might be available to the Saints at #15.

In case you're wondering, Walt's first mock (just out 12/31/12) has the Saints trading down with the Giants for extra picks and going DL at 19:

New Orleans Saints: Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
TRADE: The Saints are without their second-round pick, so they will look to add more selections by moving down. Here, New Orleans finds a partner with the New York Giants. Richardson would be a great value at No. 19 and a perfect fit for the Saints.

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So, with the Saints 2012 season not yet 48 hours behind us, and the 2012 playoffs not even begun, are you ready to talk 2013 draft?