I’m inclined to think the Saints would ideally like to leave this draft w/ Bowers (1 Viewer)

[DSnfla]

My crystal ball says... we trade up to 12 with Denver to get Bowers (Thanks Sean) for a future 2nd (maybe a late rounder this year too) and get back future 4th round pick also (Sean takes Bo Nix at 14).... Then we use 1 or 2 of our 5th rounders to trade up from 45 to the 34-38 range in round 2 for a guy like Guyton, Paul, or Morgan.... who becomes a day 1 starter at RT, and 10 year fixture to takeover for Ram.

Saints come away with a starting RT, and a George Kittle clone...

If Bowers gets to 12 there's no reason to make a trade. It's unlikely SP takes him, he has much more pressing needs. Pretty much the same thing with LV
The biggest threat to take him before us are the Jets. So that means we'd have to move up to 9 and that would be too expensive at this point

 

[DSnfla]

Maybe, maybe not... maybe future pick swaps... maybe a 6th for a 7th... happens every year.... point is... there are going to be about 5 OTs available from 32-45 that in most other years would have a mid-late 1st round grade... It should be fairly easy for us to get one in that range... while not reaching for one at 14, and taking the BPA... or trading up if it's reasonable.... to get your future star and cornerstone blue chip player (Bowers, Rome, Alt, Turner, etc)

And in my initial list... I didn't even mention OTs like Suamataia, Rosengarten, and Mims... This draft is littered with OTs that can be starting caliber year 1 guys at LT or RT. This is not the year to need pick for one at 14....

In fact there is so much talent at OT, I'd prefer (and I can't believe I am saying this) to trade back a few spots and pick up a 3rd... then use it and some 5ths to trade back up later.... but we never do that in the 1st.... and I want a sure fire stud this year... and that's only available a few picks ahead of us more than likely. (Good thing we won that ATL game to end the season!)

Yeah but a lot of the OT's in this draft are projected to move inside. Even some in the top 5

 

[Infoman]

Yeah but a lot of the OT's in this draft are projected to move inside. Even some in the top 5

Check my video work in this thread... There are 10 or more pure OTs this year with 1st to high 2nd grades... This is the deepest draft I can remember at OT.

 

[DSnfla]

Check my video work in this thread... There are 10 or more pure OTs this year with 1st to high 2nd grades... This is the deepest draft I can remember at OT.

Morgan is a G won't make it as a OT Guyton is a looks like Tarzan plays like Jane guy. Too upright, inexperienced with too many breakdowns in tech. He rarely finishes blocks in the run game. Even Fuaga one of the top 5-8 guys is better suited for G , poor pocket range not quick on the slide, his tech is not very good, not going to come in and start even @ G. Fautanu may be another one that may be moved to G , he gets beat inside consistently and his anchor is not that firm. Also a poor run blocker. Mims has a injury history and played only 803 snaps in 8 starts so he's a ?.
My opinion is if Oduzne or Bowers is there @ 14 you take them, there's no way Nabors is there. If they are gone you take Fashanu or Latham because Alt also will not be there. Fashanu can start as a rookie and probably Latham, Latham more @ RT.
I do think it's wise to resign Peat and let him and Penning battle for starting LT. If penning wins, and I think there is every chance he will you can move Peat to LG

 

[Infoman]

Morgan is a G won't make it as a OT Guyton is a looks like Tarzan plays like Jane guy. Too upright, inexperienced with too many breakdowns in tech. He rarely finishes blocks in the run game. Even Fuaga one of the top 5-8 guys is better suited for G , poor pocket range not quick on the slide, his tech is not very good, not going to come in and start even @ G. Fautanu may be another one that may be moved to G , he gets beat inside consistently and his anchor is not that firm. Also a poor run blocker. Mims has a injury history and played only 803 snaps in 8 starts so he's a ?.
My opinion is if Oduzne or Bowers is there @ 14 you take them, there's no way Nabors is there. If they are gone you take Fashanu or Latham because Alt also will not be there. Fashanu can start as a rookie and probably Latham, Latham more @ RT.
I do think it's wise to resign Peat and let him and Penning battle for starting LT. If penning wins, and I think there is every chance he will you can move Peat to LG

Latham has the highest ceiling and biggest bust factor of any OT in the draft. Mims might be the best one out of them all when it’s said and done. Guyton and Morgan both are going to be starting RTs year 1 IMO. The only sure fire LT in this draft is Alt and he’s beyond our reach.

I assume the team will do all it can do to make Penning our LT next year. So I’m good with waiting until day 2 to find our replacement for Ram.

 

[MikeyF]

Check my video work in this thread... There are 10 or more pure OTs this year with 1st to high 2nd grades... This is the deepest draft I can remember at OT.

Only 3-4 of them can come in and start immediately...

We need immediate help & there aren't many good choices left in free agency!

 

[MikeyF]

By Jeff Nowak, WWL Radio Sports



A big issue is the difficulty involved for young tight ends to be productive right away as they attempt to learn the offense, but both as a receiver and an in-line blocker. With later-round picks they're often brought around slowly, and we've seen that development with a majority of the star tight ends like George Kittle (5.146), Mark Andrews (3.86) and Travis Kelce (3.63).


Over the past decade there are more first-round tight ends finding success for a different team than the one that drafted them. Here's that list, dating back to 2010.


- 2023: Dalton Kincaid, Bills, 1.20
- 2021: Kyle Pitts, Falcons, 1.4
- 2019: T.J. Hockenson, Lions, 1.8 (now on Vikings)
- 2019: Noah Fant, Broncos, 1.20 (now on Seahawks)
- 2018: Hayden Hurst, Ravens, 1.25 (now on Chargers)
- 2017: O.J. Howard, Bucs, 1.19 (now a free agent)
- 2017: Evan Engram, Giants, 1.23 (now on Jaguars)
- 2017: David Njoku, Browns, 1.29 (still on Browns)
- 2014: Eric Ebron, Lions, 1.10 (last with Steelers in 2021)
- 2013: Tyler Eifert, Bengals, 1.21 (last with Jaguars in 2020)
- 2010: Jermaine Gresham, Bengals, 1.21 (last with Cardinals in 2018)


If you go as far as 2006 you'll happen upon Greg Olsen (2007, Bears, 1.31) and Vernon Davis (2006, 49ers, 1.6), which would be difficult to criticize, but it still doesn't do much to change the argument. First round picks TE picks are rare (there are only 26 dating back to 2000), and when they are made, it rarely works out for the team spending the pick.

Would the Saints seriously consider TE Brock Bowers at No. 14? Here's what to know | Inside Black & Gold

The New Orleans Saints could have a difficult decision to make if star Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is still on the board at No. 14. But would it actually make sense? Here’s what you should know. See more on WWL and Audacy.

www.audacy.com

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

I would love to draft Lathan, kick Penning to RT and have Latham/Peat battle it out at LT w/ the loser playing G. Latham reminds me of the Cowboys G/T that they drafted. Will eventually play LT but you can put him at G year 1 and get something like a Carl Nicks level protector from that spot. I'd also tinker with getting Saldiveri on the field at G. Noticed the Saints have McCoy and Ruiz listed as G/C on their depth chart/roster.

With a new OL coach, new scheme...I don't think any position should be secure. If after the draft the OL looked like Lathan, McCoy, Ruiz, Saldiveri, Penning... and you let them mesh I wouldn't be upset.

 

[bobad]

Are we going to roll with rookie bookends if Penning can't play a lick and Ram is done? Are we going to count on whatever mid to late round Guard we pick up to come in and start from day one?

We don't have any idea whether Penning is a player or Ram is done, but the Saints staff knows enough to make their draft choices accordingly.

With 7 draft picks and 1 or 2 lucky UDFA signings, I'm optimistic the team can get better this year if they don't trade away their picks.

Bowers? He will be hard to pass on, but I wouldn't want them to trade up to get him.

 

[saint_drago]

We don't have any idea whether Penning is a player or Ram is done, but the Saints staff knows enough to make their draft choices accordingly.

With 7 draft picks and 1 or 2 lucky UDFA signings, I'm optimistic the team can get better this year if they don't trade away their picks.

Bowers? He will be hard to pass on, but I wouldn't want them to trade up to get him.

Exactly. We have no idea about Penning or Ram. That's worrisome. The Saints staff certainly knows more than us but these are the same people who thought Penning was ready to start last year. If they made a mistake with Penning that's fine. It happens. If he's not a starting LT in the NFL then see what you can get out of him at RT. I don't know if Guard is a viable option because of his height. Leverage would be an issue and throwing over a 6'7" Guard could be challenging. If nothing else trot him out there in Jumbo formations.

Sometimes teams put blinders on when it comes to first round picks. Obviously they don't want to give up on their investment but sometimes they refuse to admit their mistake. I'm hoping that doesn't happen here. I'm hoping the dude can actually play. It's too early to give up on him and if he can be an adequate starter at LT I'd take it. I'm just worried about the Saints putting all of their eggs in the Penning/Ram basket. In a perfect world they draft a Tackle in the 1st or 2nd and he can't even get on the field because Penning becomes decent and Ram's knee regenerates like he's Wolverine. So that highly drafted Tackle becomes depth or they try him at Guard initially. Depth up front is not a bad thing at all.

The Saints have a history of ignoring glaring problems and acting like everything will work out. That's how we end up with so many rando UDFAs starting every year. There's still time but I don't feel great about it right now.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Exactly. We have no idea about Penning or Ram. That's worrisome. The Saints staff certainly knows more than us but these are the same people who thought Penning was ready to start last year. If they made a mistake with Penning that's fine. It happens. If he's not a starting LT in the NFL then see what you can get out of him at RT. I don't know if Guard is a viable option because of his height. Leverage would be an issue and throwing over a 6'7" Guard could be challenging. If nothing else trot him out there in Jumbo formations.

Sometimes teams put blinders on when it comes to first round picks. Obviously they don't want to give up on their investment but sometimes they refuse to admit their mistake. I'm hoping that doesn't happen here. I'm hoping the dude can actually play. It's too early to give up on him and if he can be an adequate starter at LT I'd take it. I'm just worried about the Saints putting all of their eggs in the Penning/Ram basket. In a perfect world they draft a Tackle in the 1st or 2nd and he can't even get on the field because Penning becomes decent and Ram's knee regenerates like he's Wolverine. So that highly drafted Tackle becomes depth or they try him at Guard initially. Depth up front is not a bad thing at all.

The Saints have a history of ignoring glaring problems and acting like everything will work out. That's how we end up with so many rando UDFAs starting every year. There's still time but I don't feel great about it right now.

I think they thought Penning would develop snap to snap, game to game. He didn't.... part of that I feel like was on Marrone though and why he was replaced.

 

[RJS]

I think they thought Penning would develop snap to snap, game to game. He didn't.... part of that I feel like was on Marrone though and why he was replaced.

The decision making on the left side of the line the last two years has been baffling. This past year we eventually came to the conclusion that the best lineup available is Peat at LT and Hurst at LG. Where the heck was that lineup in 2022?

 

[Jesse Custer]

I think they thought Penning would develop snap to snap, game to game. He didn't.... part of that I feel like was on Marrone though and why he was replaced.

Well, they turned a guy who was universally regarded as borderline dirty and a punch away from being a psychopath into a persaycat. That kind of personality and playstyle change is coached.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Well, they turned a guy who was universally regarded as borderline dirty and a punch away from being a psychopath into a persaycat. That kind of personality and playstyle change is coached.

I've been quoted on here as saying I NEVER believe Penning was that type of guy. He did it to players he dominated in college, when I watched his senior bowl 1 on 1's, the more he got beat, the more tentative he played. He also started taking cheap shots on players....it's easy to be nasty when you're the bully, but when I saw him getting bullied that nastiness wasn't there.

I think he's salvageable, but as a RT and I think he'll forever be an up and down player unless he figures out how to be the same person when he's confident vs when he's getting whipped.

Yesterday I went and looked at his senior bowl 1 on 1's and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell we saw in him. He had guys way smaller than him running through him with long arms and power rushes. He had very little ability to anchor, does however have pretty good feet when he's not frenetic and can keep up w/ speed rushers. His hand placement is spotty as well. Perhaps they saw a guy who's biggest problems were technique....not sure but man it was annoying looking at him and realizing we traded picks to get him.

 

[meily]

Well, they turned a guy who was universally regarded as borderline dirty and a punch away from being a psychopath into a persaycat. That kind of personality and playstyle change is coached.

Dude got humbled