Repaired: Defensive draft 07 (1 Viewer)

[diehard]

I definitely feel with all the offensive talent "emerging" from our roster this season the FO will use this offseason to infuse the D.

My vote is for LB although I can't find fault with a young DT or CB. I'd rather a veteran free agent CB though as a rook would have growing pains and we're ready to win now.

 

[Forest]

MLB. Shutdown CB in the offseason, not the draft.

 

[Surviving Saint]

We def. need Cb. Ours are getting old and the depth behind our starters needs a huge upgrade. We also need a big DT cause H. Thomas wont be with us for 3 years. I also hope LB P. Polusny falls to us. H might not be AJ. Hawk but he is no slouch either.

 

[HouDat]

It just depends on two things:

-what happens to our personnel group in the off-season - specifically, which players do we lose & who do we gain in free agency?

-which players do we project as being available in the mid-late 20s in the draft?

Signing Grant is a top priority, obviously. I'm fairly sure Faine and Thomas are in their contract years as well, and both obviously need to be brought back (though not over-paid in the process).

Beyond that, with the draft in mind, I say we key in on four positions - CB, DT, LB, plus a possible upgrade at either LG or RT - with our first pick. Taking FA into consideration, whichever amongst these remain, you draft the highest rated kid remaining at the position, as long as you aren't reaching.

I really like what Loomis did with the last draft: trading down a few spots, acquiring contract-year talent, and still getting a good draft pick in the process. I fully expect to see the Saints employ a very similar strategy this draft, as it worked like a charm last go 'round.

 

[NorfolkedSaint]

I think depending on what we target in FA will obviously lead to who we draft...that being said I still think our biggest area of concern is CB/LB. It's really a toss up but if I had to pick one I'd go with a CB but wouldn't be upset if we went LB.

Regardless our defense needs to be the focus with a possible TE or WR later in the draft but DEFENSE FIRST!!!

 

[JAG11]

I'd go with Buster Davis.

Seen a few FSU games and that guy is a beast!!

 

[SaintKenn]

I really want Patrick Willis in Black and Gold. Although, other positions of concern are cb and dt. We definately need to upgrade those 3 positions through free agency and the draft. I'm really confident that we can get Nate Clements in here and possibly Donnie Edwards to shore up the mlb spot for a couple of years. Its going to be a very interesting offseason seeing as how this team is going to be able to draw in FA's. The draft is still months away and no telling who is going to drop to the 32nd overall pick

 

[Marlboro Man]

Right now I would have to say that due to age, CB is our most pressing need. If we can fit a young quality free agent CB in under our cap I'm all for it, but when looking at players that the Saints may take either in FA or the draft we must take into consideration the character of that player and the football intelligence of that player. I don't believe that after all the work that Payton and his staff have done to put together the type of players that are on this team, that they will all of a sudden start signing "ME" type players and ruin the chemestry he has created on this team. Next to that, I believe our greatest need would be MLB. At first, I didn't believe what people were saying about Simoneau not making plays because I felt that Payton and staff wouldn't have him starting if he wasn't playing well, but after specifically watching Simoneau over the last few games and seeing him out of position, standing around, and not mixing it up and getting in on tackles, I don't understand why Clark isn't getting more of an opportunity. Sadly though, MLB isn't our only weakness in the LB corp and we will see how the front office and coaching staff adress those issues as well. Next up I believe is the DL. While I'm not at all overly impressed with either Charles Grant or Will Smith, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and see if getting a better player at DT than Young will help this unit get better. 7 or 8 sacks a year by your DE's people does not indicate quality players, 10 sacks or more per year does. As for the O-Line, while I'm not in the least impressed with their run blocking, I am impressed with how they have come together so quickly and done an exceptional job of protecting Drew Brees this year, and I know that to get better at run blocking, you have to run the ball which we don't do a lot of. Earlier though, I was thinking that we really did need help on the O-Line, then, when Jamal Brown went down and Zack Streif came in and replaced him at LT of all positions for a rookie RT to start and kept Simeon Rice's name from being called, I was in shock and actually had to reassess my thoughts on the O-Line and still I feel like we could use a really good G but it's not as important as the defensive needs. Looking at this draft, I could actually see us going totally defensive in all of our picks, but the question of Joe Horn is the only sticking point in that scenario but I guess those are good problems to have.

 

[Ruprict]

I like LB Patrick Willis, but he most likely will be gone by the time we pick.

LB Jonathan Goff may still be around. He's gonna be a player in the NFL.

He reminds me of Demeco Ryans.

 

[Danchrism]

If we pursue Nate Clements with any kind of seriousness, I think he'll sign here - wrap him up, and a HUGE burden is lifted off our shoulders.

Next I actually agree with the DT stance more than the LB stance. Patrick Willis is a top 15 talent. No way he falls to us, we would have to somehow move to him. I'd like to get Tank Tyler at 25 - he's the fourth member of that NC State defensive line, three of whom were taken in the first round of last season's draft (Williams, McCargo, Lawson, then Tyler).

Either way, this is a huge defensive draft, and we will be able to address our shortcomings early and often.

 

[ThaMain1]

Right now I would have to say that due to age, CB is our most pressing need. If we can fit a young quality free agent CB in under our cap I'm all for it, but when looking at players that the Saints may take either in FA or the draft we must take into consideration the character of that player and the football intelligence of that player. I don't believe that after all the work that Payton and his staff have done to put together the type of players that are on this team, that they will all of a sudden start signing "ME" type players and ruin the chemestry he has created on this team. Next to that, I believe our greatest need would be MLB. At first, I didn't believe what people were saying about Simoneau not making plays because I felt that Payton and staff wouldn't have him starting if he wasn't playing well, but after specifically watching Simoneau over the last few games and seeing him out of position, standing around, and not mixing it up and getting in on tackles, I don't understand why Clark isn't getting more of an opportunity. Sadly though, MLB isn't our only weakness in the LB corp and we will see how the front office and coaching staff adress those issues as well. Next up I believe is the DL. While I'm not at all overly impressed with either Charles Grant or Will Smith, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and see if getting a better player at DT than Young will help this unit get better. 7 or 8 sacks a year by your DE's people does not indicate quality players, 10 sacks or more per year does. As for the O-Line, while I'm not in the least impressed with their run blocking, I am impressed with how they have come together so quickly and done an exceptional job of protecting Drew Brees this year, and I know that to get better at run blocking, you have to run the ball which we don't do a lot of. Earlier though, I was thinking that we really did need help on the O-Line, then, when Jamal Brown went down and Zack Streif came in and replaced him at LT of all positions for a rookie RT to start and kept Simeon Rice's name from being called, I was in shock and actually had to reassess my thoughts on the O-Line and still I feel like we could use a really good G but it's not as important as the defensive needs. Looking at this draft, I could actually see us going totally defensive in all of our picks, but the question of Joe Horn is the only sticking point in that scenario but I guess those are good problems to have.

Great points MM!! I posted an offensive draft poll as well and plan to take the votes from each and combine for an overall draft outlook!!

Great posting by all!! It has opened my eyes to the more pressing concerns with our DL!!

 

[Farb]

CB are serviceable right now, that being said, yes, we need to bring in some more talent to groom to replace Freddie and to replace Craft. That being said, I really expect them to handle that in FA.
But for the sake of argument, there is no FA. To me, the point of need is DT, LB, CB in that order. We are one injury to Thomas from being awful, and I mean awful against the run.
I think we can address CB, OL, TE, and WR in the later rounds but I think the first couple of picks should focus on DT and WLB or MLB (depending what is available at our pick and what is still projected to be on the board at our next pick).
We could get through another year with the CB we have, if we had to. We would struggle with the LBs we have now next season, but we could not survive without DT help/depth.

 

[David Robbins]

Corner, followed by MLB>

 

[DownWithDisease]

I would say DT and CB should be the top priorities in the offseason. Our LBs have been pretty solid, but we could still use another good one or two.

 

[LSSpam]

-which players do we project as being available in the mid-late 20s in the draft?

Patrick Willis!

Linebackers historically drop in the draft and Patrick Willis won't be a combine warrior (he'll run solid but not spectacular numbers). So he may slide past the teens into the 20 to 30 range where we can get him. And he's a Payton type player.