Rookie report card: Grading the Saints 2024 Draft (2 Viewers)

Previous Next
MikeyF

MikeyF

VIP Contributor
Joined
Jan 8, 1998
Messages
2,768
Reaction score
2,500
Location
Walker, LA
Offline
saintswire.usatoday.com

Rookie report card: Grading the Saints 2024 draft class at season's end

Rookie report card: Grading Taliese Fuaga, Kool-Aid McKisntry, Spencer Rattler and the New Orleans Saints 2024 draft class at season’s end:
saintswire.usatoday.com saintswire.usatoday.com

IMG_4741.jpeg

We had an outstanding draft this past year!

LT Taliese Fuaga A-
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry A-
QB Spencer Rattler B-
WR Bub Means C+
LB Jaylan Ford C
DT Khristian Boyd D
OT Josiah Ezirim n/a

WR Mason Tipton D
P Matthew Hayball B+
TE Dallin Holker C
 
Last edited:
Taliese Fuaga- Unquestionably was a great pick for us and should be a high end OT for years to come

Kool Aid Mckinstry- I thought he looked a little lost and a step behind at times in some of his initial appearances (not uncommon for a rookie), but really finished the season strong and looks like he could potentially be a quality starting CB for us.

Spencer Rattler- Been some growing pains, but has also shown a ton of flashes of his potential. Thought he played well in 3 of his past 4 appearances for us (Green Bay game was rough). If he continues to develop in the offseason, he has all the tools to be a good starting QB in the NFL. He's type of player that if he "hits" and reaches his potential, could not only make this draft class great, but also turn this franchise around. Still too early to claim he's "the guy", but there certainly has been some signs that he "could be".

Not enough of a sample size to really draw any conclusions with the rest of the players we drafted. However, we may have found starting players with our first 3 picks. Not only that, but starting players at 3 of the most important positions with a QB, LT, and CB. If Rattler doesn't pan out, I still feel good about hitting on Fuaga and Mckinstry.
 
Man there is just something about Kool-Aid McKinstry that I really like. He has an ego that all great players, especially CB's have. He is ultra confident and you could see that in the Tampa game over and over. If he can stay healthy he has the chance to turn into a really good NFL player.

Of course, Fuaga was great for a rookie and the rest of the class has an opportunity to be solid to good.
 
Here are the snaps played and PFF grades for our rookies, it looks like Fuaga finished as the 3rd best rookie T from the class (behind Joe Alt and Roger Rosengarten). Keep in mind that a grade in the 60's means "average NFL starter", so it's a solid grade for a rookie player.

1736362832025.png
 
Fuaga A+ - Everything you could ask for.
Kool-Aid A+ - Rookie starter on the cheap.
Rattler B+ - Future starter at QB.
Means D - Eh. Camp body so far.
Ford D- Double Eh. - Not a lot of talent ahead of him and nothing.
Boyd D - Potential still.
Ezirim D- Made the practice squad.
 
I was reviewing the draft earlier with an eye toward who the Saints might draft in place of the players they got. I honestly can't make a strong case for changing any of them. Fuaga and McKinstry look to be good building blocks for the next few years. The jury is still out on Rattler but he's definitely showed some potential. The only regret is the lack of 3rd and 4th round picks.
 
MikeyF said:
Kool-Aid's grade is definitely base on how he ended the season.
He stepped up after the Lattimore trade!

1736362130404.png
Click to expand...

He played a pretty good game Sunday, but his last few starts we solid but not great. I would hope that he gets significantly better next year. Although, I will say that he often looked better than Taylor as an outside CB. I really hope they can work out a new deal with Adebo so they can move Taylor back into the slot and let Kool-Aid develop at outside CB. Taylor might be able to play boundary CB, but he was starting to look really good in the Slot and I think that may be his best position.
 
Best case scenario for the next few years is to string at least two or three drafts together where the top two guys grade out as an A. Then we can look back and say, "Well, we didn't win as often from 2024-26, but those drafts added up to something big later...."
 
I'd upgrade Means grade to a B-, I know injuries limited his getting on the field, but he produced well when he was on the field.
 
St. Widge said:
He played a pretty good game Sunday, but his last few starts we solid but not great. I would hope that he gets significantly better next year. Although, I will say that he often looked better than Taylor as an outside CB. I really hope they can work out a new deal with Adebo so they can move Taylor back into the slot and let Kool-Aid develop at outside CB. Taylor might be able to play boundary CB, but he was starting to look really good in the Slot and I think that may be his best position.
Click to expand...
I'm on the fence about Kool-Aid and Taylor on their spots.

I saw, what looked like lacksidasical play from Kool Aid at times on the boundary. Sometimes he looked like he made business decisions on tackles, etc. When he's in coverage however, I liked what I saw from him technique wise. I just didn't always like that he looked lazy.

Meanwhile Alontae in the slot to me is a missed tackle waiting to happen. I feel like on the boundary his propensity for bigger hits are less exposed when he misses because the sideline is an extra defender. When it happens in the MOF it usually results in longer gains.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Previous Next

Users who are viewing this thread

    Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)

    Share this page

     

    Twitter

    Back
    Top Bottom