No, I'm getting your point and I'm attempting to point out that it's potentially just your perspective colouring your outlook on this, which may just possibly not be the reality. Here's the thing I'm talking about:
Your key words here being, "to me". This whole line of thinking is based wholly on your own supposition that they had to be drafting a guy for immediate impact. And if that impact was not delivered immediately, then the whole exercise was a failure of the highest order. I think you're projecting your disappointment with his first year (which I can understand) onto any discussion about him as a draft selection or future Saints player. Which I respectfully disagree with.
I'll tell you my supposition, and it could be equally wrong: They wanted the best LT they could get and targeted the guy they could still reach in the latter first round. Rightly or wrongly, that was their guy. So they paid the cost of getting that guy, and whether you or I like the cost of doing business, that was what it cost. So then they intended to coach him up as quick as possible, likely hoping to get him in position to assume the LT spot during his first year, but having Hurst as the solid reserve option to hold down the fort. Or course, injury totally threw the plan out of the window and now he's rehabbing ready to start again in 2023.
NB. We didn't start Terron Armstead immediately his first year either. Even Willie Road played RT his whole first year before we trusted him to be the HOF player he was at LT. It. Takes. Time. Even with great coaching.