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With the signing of Tyrann Mathieu and Jarvis Landry the question of why did it take so long for the Saints to acquire LSU players and some kind of conspiracy theory of franchise bias that left with Sean Payton has seemed to resurface.
I thought I would run the numbers to debunk the notion the Saints don't like or refuse to draft LSU players.
The following is a list of every first round or top LSU player drafted in the Sean Payton era, what slot they were drafted, and when the Saints picked. It shows it is not that the Saints do not draft LSU stars. It is that they haven't been on the board when the Saints were drafting or in some cases we drafted a better rated player at the same position earlier in the same draft.
(2006 Joseph Addai RB went 30th , we drafted Reggie Bush RB at 2,)
(2007 LaRon Landry S went 6th Dwayne Bowe WR went 23rd. Saints picked Robert Meachem WR at 27)
(2008 Glenn Dorsey DT went 5th, Saints took Sedrick Ellis DT 7th and probably would have taken Dorsey if they could have.),
(2009 Tyson Jackson DE went 3rd. Saints picked Malcolm Jenkins CB at 14),
(2010 LSU did not have a 1st rounder but the Saints did pick Al Woods DT in the 4th round),
(2011 Patrick Peterson CB went 5th, Saints picked Cam Jordan DE at 24 and Mark Ingram RB at 28),
(2012 Morris Claiborne CB went 6th and Michael Brockers DT went 14th, Saints did not have a first round pick)
(2013 Tyrann Mathieu S went in the third round. Saints took Kenny Vicarro S in the 15th overall and Terron Armstead OT six picks after Mathieu and did not have a 2nd rounder)
(2014 Odell Beckham Jr. WR went 12th, Jarvis Landry WR went 63rd overall (late 2nd round) Saints took Brandin Cooks WR at 20 and Stanley Jean Baptiste S at 58) If the Saints hadn't taken a WR in the first this is the first pick in this list so far where I can fault the Saints for having a chance to pick a top tier LSU player and they picked a dud. Mathieu was the other. They have now taken the advantage of acquiring both of them as lower cost past second contract players to amend that error.
(2015 no LSU first round picks but Kwon Alexander LB did go in the 4th. Saints amended that one too.)
(2016 no LSU first rounders but Deion Jones LB went in the 2nd at 52 overall. Saints took Michael Thomas WR at 47. Saints took the better player.)
(2017 Jamal Adams S went 6th overall. Tre'Davious White CB went 27th. Saints had their greatest draft in team history with Marshawn Lattimore CB at 11. Ryan Ramczyk OT at 32. You know the rest).
(2018 no LSU first rounders. Three second rounders: Donte Jackson CB, Derrius Guice RB, and DJ Chark WR. Saints took Marcus Davenport DE at 14 and did not have a second round pick. Saints took LSU's Will Clapp G in the 7th.)
(2019 Devin White LB went 5th. Greedy Williams CB went 46th. Saints first pick in the draft was 48th overall Erik McCoy C.)
(2020 Joe Burrow QB went 1st, K'Lavon Chaisson DE 20th, Justin Jefferson WR 22nd, Patrick Queen LB 28th, Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB 32nd, Grant Delpit S 44th, Kristian Fulton CB 61st. The Saints very likely would have drafted Justin Jefferson if he was there over Caesar Ruiz C.)
(2021 Ja'Marr Chase WR went 5th, Terrance Marshall Jr. WR went 59th. Saints took Peyton Turner DE at 28 and Pete Werner LB at 60 possibly missing Marshall Jr. by one pick.)
(2022 Derek Stingley Jr CB went 3rd overall. Saints took Chris Olave WR at 11 and Trevor Penning OT at 19.)
So if you look at the data the idea the Saints do not draft LSU players because of some kind of bias whether it be Sean Payton or Mickey Loomis is false.
The only year the Saints had a shot at a first round LSU player that was drafted by another team was 2020 where maybe they could have picked Patrick Queen.
You can fault every team in the league for passing on La'el Collins OT in 2015 who was expected to be a first rounder until off the field right before the draft legal questions surfaced. (Collins signed as a rookie free agent with the Cowboys.)
I thought I would run the numbers to debunk the notion the Saints don't like or refuse to draft LSU players.
The following is a list of every first round or top LSU player drafted in the Sean Payton era, what slot they were drafted, and when the Saints picked. It shows it is not that the Saints do not draft LSU stars. It is that they haven't been on the board when the Saints were drafting or in some cases we drafted a better rated player at the same position earlier in the same draft.
(2006 Joseph Addai RB went 30th , we drafted Reggie Bush RB at 2,)
(2007 LaRon Landry S went 6th Dwayne Bowe WR went 23rd. Saints picked Robert Meachem WR at 27)
(2008 Glenn Dorsey DT went 5th, Saints took Sedrick Ellis DT 7th and probably would have taken Dorsey if they could have.),
(2009 Tyson Jackson DE went 3rd. Saints picked Malcolm Jenkins CB at 14),
(2010 LSU did not have a 1st rounder but the Saints did pick Al Woods DT in the 4th round),
(2011 Patrick Peterson CB went 5th, Saints picked Cam Jordan DE at 24 and Mark Ingram RB at 28),
(2012 Morris Claiborne CB went 6th and Michael Brockers DT went 14th, Saints did not have a first round pick)
(2013 Tyrann Mathieu S went in the third round. Saints took Kenny Vicarro S in the 15th overall and Terron Armstead OT six picks after Mathieu and did not have a 2nd rounder)
(2014 Odell Beckham Jr. WR went 12th, Jarvis Landry WR went 63rd overall (late 2nd round) Saints took Brandin Cooks WR at 20 and Stanley Jean Baptiste S at 58) If the Saints hadn't taken a WR in the first this is the first pick in this list so far where I can fault the Saints for having a chance to pick a top tier LSU player and they picked a dud. Mathieu was the other. They have now taken the advantage of acquiring both of them as lower cost past second contract players to amend that error.
(2015 no LSU first round picks but Kwon Alexander LB did go in the 4th. Saints amended that one too.)
(2016 no LSU first rounders but Deion Jones LB went in the 2nd at 52 overall. Saints took Michael Thomas WR at 47. Saints took the better player.)
(2017 Jamal Adams S went 6th overall. Tre'Davious White CB went 27th. Saints had their greatest draft in team history with Marshawn Lattimore CB at 11. Ryan Ramczyk OT at 32. You know the rest).
(2018 no LSU first rounders. Three second rounders: Donte Jackson CB, Derrius Guice RB, and DJ Chark WR. Saints took Marcus Davenport DE at 14 and did not have a second round pick. Saints took LSU's Will Clapp G in the 7th.)
(2019 Devin White LB went 5th. Greedy Williams CB went 46th. Saints first pick in the draft was 48th overall Erik McCoy C.)
(2020 Joe Burrow QB went 1st, K'Lavon Chaisson DE 20th, Justin Jefferson WR 22nd, Patrick Queen LB 28th, Clyde Edwards-Helaire RB 32nd, Grant Delpit S 44th, Kristian Fulton CB 61st. The Saints very likely would have drafted Justin Jefferson if he was there over Caesar Ruiz C.)
(2021 Ja'Marr Chase WR went 5th, Terrance Marshall Jr. WR went 59th. Saints took Peyton Turner DE at 28 and Pete Werner LB at 60 possibly missing Marshall Jr. by one pick.)
(2022 Derek Stingley Jr CB went 3rd overall. Saints took Chris Olave WR at 11 and Trevor Penning OT at 19.)
So if you look at the data the idea the Saints do not draft LSU players because of some kind of bias whether it be Sean Payton or Mickey Loomis is false.
The only year the Saints had a shot at a first round LSU player that was drafted by another team was 2020 where maybe they could have picked Patrick Queen.
You can fault every team in the league for passing on La'el Collins OT in 2015 who was expected to be a first rounder until off the field right before the draft legal questions surfaced. (Collins signed as a rookie free agent with the Cowboys.)
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