Triplett says Saints Interest in Chris "Beanie" Wells is "Bona Fide"
Payton is a smart guy. He made his mistake with Meachem in 2007. They took a trip to LA last week and they like the LB prospects. They wont take Wells. Even if Maclin fell they wouldnt take him they would try to trade. OF course I am playing GM again. :9:
Okay. Then there is nothing left to say as I have said in previous posts...err, threads.
well, the thing is you are trying to compare wells to deuce as far as versatility goes. yeah he may not be completely horrible at catching the ball but deuce was lauded as a faulk type back and some pundits even went so far as to say that deuce had the ability to be a starting wr in the league. thats where the problem is. do you really believe wells will bring that versatility? compared to thomas who has shown that he can easily catch 40-50 balls (possibly more) a year in this offense....
You want to talk about injuries? beanie wells has been beat up alot. thomas has been beat up a little bit. thats the nature of the position. the issue is that on the defensive side of the ball we have no depth. who is our depth at safety if someone gets injured? who is our depth at lb if someone gets injured? how about DT? thats not to mention the 4-5 starters on defense that we could really use an upgrade. we just dont need to spend so much at the rb position, especially when you consider the production we got out of stecker when he started a few games and also thomas as a starter. there are plenty of guys that can step in this offense and put up decent numbers in a crunch. that isnt going to happen on the defensive side of the ball.
No question, Deuce was a very versatile back coming out of Ole Miss who was considered to have some of the best hands in the entire drafting class. Deuce is much more advanced in that regard than Wells and most backs coming into the league not named Reggie Bush. At the same time, that does not mean that Wells cannot be a guy who can catch 30 balls in your offense as Deuce did in 2006. I think you are in agreement with me that Bush will get the bulk of the receptions of any back in our offense barring injury. So that's about 80 to 100 balls. I am also sure that Pierre Thomas will catch a lot of passes as well. As long as Wells is competent in the receiving game, he will catch passes as well. He does not have to be Reggie Bush just as Reggie Bush does not have to be Chris Wells or Pierre Thomas. You want guys who can catch. Gil Brandt, Todd McShay and several others said that Wells showed natural receiving ability at his pro day. Even if that's an exaggeration, it does suggest that Wells does not lack the versatility needed to succeed in our offensive scheme.
Beanie Wells has been injured. And he has played through those injuries. He's missed three games due to injury. Thomas has missed two and would have missed a third if we had to play a team the week after that game against Chicago his rookie season. Part of the reason for drafting another back, whether it is in the first or later, is to be able to keep your guys fresher. Wells and Thomas would both benefit from having each other on the team as would Reggie Bush in terms of staying healthy. The worst thing that can occur is that you lose a back and no longer have any viable option for running the football. Thomas, Bush, and Wells (if they choose to take him) would give us three viable options.
Safety? There is NO safety worst a first round pick in this draft. Now, that said, I am a huge fan of Malcolm Jenkins. He's my top choice in this draft. If he is there, he's a guy who offers versatility and can play safety for you. If he is not there, can you tell me what safety you draft in the first round?
DT? The Saints will not go this route in the first round. They are very committed to Sed Ellis at the 3-tech. With Raji expected to be off the board, the next best guy is Peria Jerry. I doubt you see that happen. Also, they do have some depth at DT right now.
LB? The position has depth. You have Shanle, Vilma, Fujita, Morgan, Mitchell, Dunbar, Evans, etc. What the position lacks, outside of Vilma and possibly Morgan depending on how he comes along, is impact talent. It's a steady group, not a spectacular group. They can stand an upgrade. The draft is very deep at LB despite being a weak draft overall. I think there is much better chance of getting a solid LB who can add depth to your club in the fourth round than there is the chance of getting the right sort of back to add to your offense. People clamor of Rashade Jennings, Andre Brown and Shonn Greene. But chance are those guys will all be gone when we select again in the fourth. Also, the Saints feel pleased with their LBs. Sure, they feel they could stand an upgrade. But if they had to go into the season with this group, they are more than comfortable doing so. In any other draft, linebackers without the surname of Curry or Maualuga are all second rounders. This year, however, you got those guys going in the first. Is Cushing at better prospect, for instance, than say, Paul Posluszney? Is Clay Matthews, Jr., a better prospect than, say, Demeco Ryans? I am not comparing the LB position they play as much as the overall talent/value of each player.
And here's the REALLY interesting thing. Again, as much as there is a call to upgrade the linebackers, the Saints are MORE inclined to addressing the secondary and defensive end in the first round than they are committed to taking a LB.