Saints Draft Debate: Should they go with LB Queen or LB Murray?

HogsNSaints said

Anthony was far from a bad prospect coming out and I remember him being considered by almost every data source to be the highest ceiling ILB prospect in the class. He was a splash player. Even as a rookie it was apparent that if he could process quicker, he could mold into a pro bowl caliber LB. It’s just not an easy task.

I would say Murray is going to be the better player because he was more productive in college, but from the prototype size/measurables to the strength/weakness traits, Anthony is the cautionary tale for him as a player for sure.

Don’t get me wrong, those athletic traits and what I view as his pros/cons don’t make him a sure-bust in my eyes. Anthony was highly touted because of Alec Ogletree a few years before him being a similar mold that was crushing it. I feel like diagnosing quickly is not an unlearnable trait. Sometimes it clicks and if it does, Murray can be great.

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Murray has been an established prospect for years. Going into last season, Murray was the LB #1, even ahead of Simmons who was thought of more as a SS prospect. Queen wasn’t even on the radar as a first round pick. If anyone fits the profile of Stephone Anthony...a guy who rose quickly very late in the process (especially after the combine) it’s actually Queen. With that said Queen is a better prospect than Anthony. I don’t think that anyone saw us taking Stephone Anthony in the draft. Kendricks was seen as the much better, established prospect. I think the Saints front office was one of the few people in the planet who had Anthony as a first round prospect. He was essentially Martez Wilson all over again. When will the Saints learn that looking good in a pair of shorts might be really important for many positions but at the LB it’s all for nothing unless the player has intelligence and instincts.