Who Dat?

Round 1 (27th overall): Robert Meachem WR - Tennessee

- As expected with the signing of Jason David to start at CB opposite Mike McKenzie the Saints did not need to force a CB selection here and took simply the best player available in Meachem. I really thought the Titans would take Meachem leaving the Saints with Dwayne Bowe and the pressure to select the hometown kid but was pleasantly surprised when Meachem was still on the board here for New Orleans. Great size and ran under a 4.4 at the combine and will probably will finish training camp with a starting spot alongside Colston and Henderson. Great value at 27th overall.

Round 3 (66th overall): Usama Young CB - Kent

- Saints traded out of the 2nd round to pick up more picks which I believe to be a byproduct of Cleveland taking CB Eric Wright ahead of them. This is similar to last year when I think the Saints were looking hard with their 2nd round pick at either Nick Mangold or DeMeco Ryans both of which came off the board before the Saints 2nd rounder last year and they consequently traded out for more picks. I firmly believe that with Reggie Bush lobbying for Wright and confirming that his "character issues" are behind him the Saints would have taken the risk and taken Wright in Round 2 because of his Round 1 talent. With Wright off the board the Saints moved down and took Young here who has good size and speed (6ft, 4.46/40). I have not seen Young play but from my understanding the Saints worked him out a few times and specifically late in the days leading up to the draft and liked his ability to play in man coverage and with the signing of David and McKenzie returning off a pretty good season, he will not be expected to step in right away and start which bodes well for his development.

Round 3 (88th overall): Andy Alleman G - Akron

- The Saints addressed their offensive line depth in this draft most notably with the selection of Alleman in the 3rd round. Alleman has decent size and quickness and with Jahri Evans stepping into a starting spot surprisingly last year and performing well, this selection gives the Saints good youth on the interior at both the starting and backup guard spot. Alleman is a guy with tremendous upside and with the Saints track record drafting and developing along the offensive line of late, Jammal Brown, Evans, Jon Stinchcomb, etc...there is no reason to think he won't be a contributor in the near future. Depending on his camp I would think he would have a shot at challenging Jamar Nesbit for the starting LG spot as well.

Round 4 (107th overall): Antonio Pittman RB - Ohio State

- Certainly not a need area for the Saints but a great value situation the Saints saw in the 4th round and traded up to take advantage of. Pittman had a big career at Ohio State and ran a flat 4.4 at the combine. He runs tough but not as tough as Deuce and he has good speed but not Reggie Bush speed so it's unclear to me as to where Pittman will fit in this year aside from providing good depth in the backfield. I can see him being used this year on 3rd down situations occasionally but I doubt he sees any extended looks this season unless something unfortunate happens. Still a solid value in the 4th round that can only help the depth behind Deuce and Reggie both of which were banged up during periods of time last year.

Round 4 (125th overall): Jermon Bushrod OT - Towson

- More O-line depth for the Saints addressed in the 4th round, Bushrod was an All-Atlantic 10 1st teamer for Towson and has plenty of experience as a 3 year starter on the line. Very nice measurables with good size at almost 6'5/315lbs and decent quickness as he ran almost a flat 5/40. I didn't get a chance to watch many Towson games this season but with his size and speed and the Saints track record with grooming offensive line prospects he has the computer numbers to be successful.

Round 5 (145th overall): David Jones CB - Wingate

- The Saints visit another small school in round 5 plucking Jones from Wingate. Jones has good size and speed 6ft, 4.49/40 and was pretty versitile playing special teams, returning kicks and playing receiver in addition to his normal secondary position. I imagine he will immediately be playing on special teams and maybe return kicks depending on Michael Lewis' health. The Saints are pretty thin in terms of backups in the secondary so any depth will help, his measurables are good but obviously he wasn't playing against the best competition in the world. Nonetheless if he can make some sort of impact on special teams it will be good value here.

Round 7 (220nd overall): Marvin Mitchell LB - Tennessee

- Meachem's teammate and another guy with good size but not the fastest guy in the world, 6'3 4.87/40, but comes from a big time program and is another guy that will probably step into a special teams role from the LB spot. Was only a 1 year starter at Tennessee due to injury and legal problems but in round 7 you roll the dice with high risk/high reward projects and Mitchell is one of those guys. There's not a whole lot of depth at the ILB/OLB spots so if nothing else Mitchell can lend some depth here.

Summary:

All things considered I think the Saints had a productive if unspectacular draft. Because of the signing of David they did not need to reach for a CB in round 1 with a Chris Houston for example and took the BPA much like they did with Donte Stallworth some years back. I think the organization was as suprised as I was that Meachem was sitting there at 27 and were happy to select him. The Saints addressed some depth issues at CB and O-line in the subsequent rounds with guys from small schools with good measurables that I assume they can try and develop because while you can teach technique you can't teach the athleticism. We'll see how it pans out but I have no reason to doubt their front office/coaching staff after their recent success via the draft. I would have liked to have seen them draft QB Matt Moore out of Oregon State in Round 7 for some young depth/upside behind Brees (Jamie Martin doesn't exactly instill the most confidence) as well as I think it would be nice for Brees to have a project to teach but that's really nitpicking. All in all I was pleased with the draft and especially pleased with their offseason signings such as Brian Simmons, David Patten, Jason David, Eric Johnson and locking up Charles Grant long term to bookend with Will Smith. Looking forward to next year but Carolina looks pretty scary coming off this draft. Good luck to all.

TheGWH

It was a fair draft for the Saints, nothing too big, but they certainly filled the hole at WR by getting Meachem, great pick there. Running a 4.35 is absolutly amazing. The only downside Meachem has is that he doesn't play to his timed speed and is not a true vertical talent. He's not used to alot of deep routes so that'll be a good area to work on with him.

Antonio Pittman was a brutal decision by the Saints. Completely uneeded and I actually feel sorry for Pittman because I'll be surprised if he gets much playing time in the next 3 years. He's not very good at running through the tackles and he doesn't have great size, but he's got great speed and doesn't show wasted motion (which also could hurt him at breaking tackles).

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Who Dat?

It wasn't brutal really, with the injury history Deuce has and with Reggie wearing a little bit last year and being in and out with a few minor ailments it never hurts to have depth at that position especially grabbing it on day 2 and not using a high draft choice to fill that depth. He immediately passes Aaron Stecker, it's a good insurance policy. RB's have a propensity for going down at various times throughout the season.

hit_'em88

all in all it was a good draft pittman might not play much but he provides great depth and was a steal in rd.4 other than meachem and pittman i haven't really heard of these guys we'll see how this turns out

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Gzus

Why draft Pittman??? They have Deuce and Reggie, why would they want a true RB? They can't move him into the slot and he ain't the best of pass blockers. All he is is a fast RB who can't fight through tackles, the first defender to get a finger on him will take him down. In my opinion it was a waste of a pick.

Meachem should be a good replacement for Stallworth and Horn, and shoul dog well with Colston.

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GzusJuice (15-1) 2007 FBB.com Fantasy Football League Champion
I may have not gone undefeated, but I won it all, cause I ain't no Patriot *grin*.

Who Dat?

As stated many times above it is a depth BPA choice. He immediately moves into the 3rd slot on the RB depth chart. If either Deuce or Reggie go down next season, Aaron Stecker steps in. Now if either Deuce or Reggie go down, Pittman steps in. Upgrade. Injuries happen in the NFL.

hit_'em88

as much as i like stecker he probably wont be a saint next year with pittman now in there

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Who Dat?

Yeah that was kind of my point, Pittman becomes the 3rd RB on the depth chart by default which ain't such a bad thing.

gridmonster

Who Dat? your write up on NO's draft is much appreciated, good stuff. Your analysis is clear and helped me get a non-subjective purchase on things, thanks.

I concur with you that it would have been nice if they'd've added a
youthful QB to their pipeline as they did at RB. Also agree with your note on Carolina's draft which augurs inter-divisional challenge for Peyton and Co.