New Orleans Saints Sophomore Spotlight: Davis Tull (1 Viewer)

[Dan in Lafayette]

<img src="http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/15/files/2016/07/terron-armstead-nfl-new-orleans-saints-training-camp-3-850x516.jpg" width="650" /img>


New Orleans Saints Sophomore Spotlight: Davis Tull

by Zach Leto -- FanSided


The youth movement on the New Orleans Saints roster is in full effect. Since the hiring of Jeff Ireland to the front office staff, the team has taken a more measured approach to free agency and put emphasis on drafting quality players instead of banking on upside.

In last year&#8217;s draft, the Saints selected Davis Tull in the 5th Round &#8211; a player who offered both quality performance and significant upside. It may not be completely fair to compare different draft classes, but the Tull choice compared to the Ronald Powell selection in 5th Round in the 2014 Draft marks a complete turnaround in draft philosophy.

Powell was the top NATIONAL recruit of the 2010 class when the Florida Gators snagged him all the way from California. Lackluster play and a career derailed by multiple injuries &#8211; including several serious knee injuries &#8211; kept Powell from reaching his potential.

The Saints took a flier on him as a fifth-round pick with only hope that he might be able to reach that potential. Two years later, Powell is a free agent in a league desperate for edge players.

Tull, however, was an unheralded player coming out of high school. On National Signing Day, he didn&#8217;t even get a phone call. He was a walk-on at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and was on the brink of giving up football altogether.

And he never missed a game.

MORE -- FanSided


EDIT: The article linked within this article is a good read about Tull from 2014:

Chattanooga's Davis Tull: At first few believed, now fewer doubt

 

[Eman5805]

Tull is so awesome he can hold off Armstead with one arm and terrible technique.

 

[AARPSaint]

The last time the Saints picked a player who broke his leg his senior year in HS and wound up at a small school, it turned out quite well. That was Jahri Evans.

 

[GilFinnerty]

He has good overall athletism,,functional strength. Also one upper tier trait. A very quick first step. He comes off the ball very fast. Do you wish he is arms were longer yeah but he has the makings of a good football player. I think he can be a 8-10 sack guy. Gallete was a average athlete with a great first step. Tull is stronger and more athletic with that same upper tier trait. He Can bend and angle and disrupt. His first step will more times then not put him in a position of leverage to make a play or disrupt. I would be disappointed in our staff if he doesn't see a high snap count this season. Playmaker traits don't grow on trees

 

[Meachemdat]

He has good overall athletism,,functional strength. Also one upper tier trait. A very quick first step. He comes off the ball very fast. Do you wish he is arms were longer yeah but he has the makings of a good football player. I think he can be a 8-10 sack guy. Gallete was a average athlete with a great first step. Tull is stronger and more athletic with that same upper tier trait. He Can bend and angle and disrupt. His first step will more times then not put him in a position of leverage to make a play or disrupt. I would be disappointed in our staff if he doesn't see a high snap count this season. Playmaker traits don't grow on trees

I wonder how he'll look once a lineman gets a hand on him. I think that's what everyone is anxious to see.

The good thing is, you were bringing up Junior, Junior never had a Rankins or a Fairley or a Laurinaitus. So if Tull can bring what Junior did and everyone around him is playing at a high level, we should get a good bit of production out of that line this season.

 

[bobad]

I love young players because they haven't learned their limitations. These Sophomores are a main reason I have such a good feeling about the 2016 Saints.


Allen
Anthony
Breaux
Coleman
Davison
Dixon
Euells
Grayson
Gwacham
Kikaha
Murphy
Peat
Richardson
Tull
Snead
Steward
Swann
Virgil
Williams, PJ

Each and every one of these Sophomores will play better this year than last.

We have 28 players that are 23 years old, and most will make the cut.

We have 8 players ages 21-22, and 4 are a lock: Cooks, Peat, Rankins, Bell.

I don't recall ever having such a large Sophomore class, or of such quality.

 

[diehardfan]

Damn, that's the best thing I've read in a a while. Praying we stay healthy.

 

[ANKOMA33]

Praying we stay healthy.

^^^ This ^^^

 

[Nightshade]

You can really see the difference in arm length in that picture, if Tull had longer arms he would have been drafted a lot higher. With his explosiveness I can see him used in a wide 9 formation to utilize his speed and and minimize any disadvantage from his shorter arms.

 

[AARPSaint]

If you draft well and sign good UDFAs, your team will improve. The Saints have not drafted well for a while until last year.
There are enough veterans to solidify the team. Anyone who starts a new job needs mentors.
A lot of us, myself included, thought that resigning Harper was curious. But he's there for obvious reasons. Byrd's status is tenuous, which explains the drafting of Bell. The only other seasoned vet DB is Keenan Lewis, who has a poor recent injury history. Laurinaitis for the LBs? Nuff said. The DL leadership is taken care of by Jordan. OL? Easy answer there: Strief and Unger. Armstead is already elite. Backfield is kind of fluid--but there's no maturity problem there with Ingram and Hightower. In short, all the areas but one have veteran leadership: WR.

Eventually, these younger players will take over the leadership roles. Cooks may be ready to do that even though he's still very young. That's why the Boldin speculation made some sense. I'm on the fence about signing Boldin, but it's possible that another veteran WR will shake loose. Boldin would be good because he doesn't seem like a prima donna type.

 

[asmodeus01]

I love young players because they haven't learned their limitations. These Sophomores are a main reason I have such a good feeling about the 2016 Saints.


Allen
Anthony
Breaux
Coleman
Davison
Dixon
Euells
Grayson
Gwacham
Kikaha
Murphy
Peat
Richardson
Tull
Snead
Steward
Swann
Virgil
Williams, PJ

Each and every one of these Sophomores will play better this year than last.

We have 28 players that are 23 years old, and most will make the cut.

We have 8 players ages 21-22, and 4 are a lock: Cooks, Peat, Rankins, Bell.

I don't recall ever having such a large Sophomore class, or of such quality.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Obum Gwacham is the guy we should be rooting for to start as he has the physical size as well as the athleticism to start and contribute on all 3 downs. Not to take anything away from Tull but being this is his first year getting on field reps his role in my eyes would be situational rusher coming in.

 

[bobad]

I know Kikaha has a knee. His injury broke my heart.

He was an honorable mention out of respect for his rookie performance. I underestimated how persnickety some fans can be. I figured some OC fan would call me on Breaux and Snead, but Kikaha was too obvious.

 

[IceHot]

I am excited about Tull as well and overall like the article, but I dont get why they have to knock on Powell to make a point about Tull.

Powell was a good pick he was a 5th round pick that played special teams for a season and then got an injury that pretty much did him in.

We seem to be grading our drafts these days on hopeful optimism and unfulfilled pessimism.

If you think Powell was a bad pick then you shouldnt be saying Tull is a good pick. With Injury, which is what Tull started camp with last season, comes risk and sometimes that risk precedes a short career. You cant call it bad drafting when you take risks and the back side of the risk plays out within the percentages and then turn around and say drafting an injured player who has yet to perform is a good draft.

Still I am excited to see what Tull has this camp.

 

[Bartyboy]

Im sure he knows how to make up for his short arms.
This D-line has so much depth now. Keep those big guys fresh.