Why the low draft grades? (2 Viewers)

[MLU]

Unless it’s smoke (and it very well could be) Allen says Taylor will be a CB, not safety. As others have pointed out that’s how Jenkins started out too, so we shall see.

I think we got fleeced on the Eagles trade, don’t feel as bad about the WFT trade.

DA said they will start him at CB and go from there.

 

[ShortFuzed9]

I'd give it a C+. I like the 1st round. Round #2 is a scratcher but if he can ball let him ball I wanted another pass catcher TE or WR.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

And people on here were saying we’d trade up for him and yet have the nerve to bash anything the saints did in the draft

Damn...that's mean

 

[ASaintFerLife]

My views are largely those of Guillermo's. We both have been critical of the organization's penchant, if not obsession, to trade away draft picks in the current or a future draft to move up in the draft or obtain more picks in the draft taking place. But my stated views seemingly go a level beyond my friend's.

Regarding the actual players we drafted, I give us a B. We desperately needed a wide receiver; however, when we traded up to 11, I thought the target was Penning or Williams, not Olave. I liked--indeed, was relieved by--the selection of Penning at 18. I do not know much about our second-round pick, so I cannot comment on his selection and will hope for the best.

But beyond the actual selections, I am critical of the approach this organization continues to take. It arguably made sense when Sean was the coach, Brees was the quarterback, and the Super Bowl window was open, though closing a bit each year. Our Super Bowl window is now closed. Our over-under win number is Las Vegas is at best nine. We are essentially a 9-8 team. Yes, we will be competitive. Yes, we could be in the playoff race. Yes, if we stay healthy and get breaks, we might even play in a playoff game. But we are not close to being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. And in our striving so hard to stay competitive or relevant--that is, to stay at a high mediocre level--we continue to hurt our chances of becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender. We are like a family that has a nice lifestyle, but famously lives beyond its means and has to borrow money each year at increasingly high interest rates to maintain its lifestyle.

The original sin was the trade with Philadelphia several weeks ago. Without that trade, we could have Penning, our second-round selection, three middle-round picks this year in a deep draft that we traded away, our first-round-round pick in 2023, and our second-round pick in 2024. We paid an absurdly steep price to pick Olave.

Judge this draft in four years. But to be fair, judge in four years our cumulative draft efforts in 2022 and 2023 when we won't have a first-round pick. If our draft seems relatively unproductive in 2023, a reason will be that we traded away our 2023 first-round pick to Philadephia. But then next year we will probably trade away our second-round pick, our 2024 first-round pick and other picks to get a 2023 first-round pick.

I cant argue with anything you wrote.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

My views are largely those of Guillermo's. We both have been critical of the organization's penchant, if not obsession, to trade away draft picks in the current or a future draft to move up in the draft or obtain more picks in the draft taking place. But my stated views seemingly go a level beyond my friend's.

Regarding the actual players we drafted, I give us a B. We desperately needed a wide receiver; however, when we traded up to 11, I thought the target was Penning or Williams, not Olave. I liked--indeed, was relieved by--the selection of Penning at 18. I do not know much about our second-round pick, so I cannot comment on his selection and will hope for the best.

But beyond the actual selections, I am critical of the approach this organization continues to take. It arguably made sense when Sean was the coach, Brees was the quarterback, and the Super Bowl window was open, though closing a bit each year. Our Super Bowl window is now closed. Our over-under win number is Las Vegas is at best nine. We are essentially a 9-8 team. Yes, we will be competitive. Yes, we could be in the playoff race. Yes, if we stay healthy and get breaks, we might even play in a playoff game. But we are not close to being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. And in our striving so hard to stay competitive or relevant--that is, to stay at a high mediocre level--we continue to hurt our chances of becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender. We are like a family that has a nice lifestyle, but famously lives beyond its means and has to borrow money each year at increasingly high interest rates to maintain its lifestyle.

The original sin was the trade with Philadelphia several weeks ago. Without that trade, we could have Penning, our second-round selection, three middle-round picks this year in a deep draft that we traded away, our first-round-round pick in 2023, and our second-round pick in 2024. We paid an absurdly steep price to pick Olave.

Judge this draft in four years. But to be fair, judge in four years our cumulative draft efforts in 2022 and 2023 when we won't have a first-round pick. If our draft seems relatively unproductive in 2023, a reason will be that we traded away our 2023 first-round pick to Philadephia. But then next year we will probably trade away our second-round pick, our 2024 first-round pick and other picks to get a 2023 first-round pick.

Great post imo. Spot on about our window.

Many folks here think we are still a Super Bowl contender, so swinging for the fences is good with them. There’s also a group here who won’t question a single move the team ever makes, as if they’re on the payroll.

Which is fine, do you, but many from that group like to pounce on folks who choose to have their own opinion.

At the end of the day it’s all just entertainment, so, be entertained however you choose to be.

 

[stooge]

We achieved quality, but forgot about much needed quantity.

Seriously?

 

[saint_drago]

We never get good grades because we always move up and end up with 4 players. But we get our guys.

This is very true. I'd also add that the Saints like to take lesser known/small school players. They hunt for diamonds in the rough. In the middle rounds they don't draft "name" players that are high on Mel Kiper's list. They go for upside instead of drafting guys who were good in college but might've peaked.

Seems like the Browns, Jags, Jets, and Bengals used to "win" a lot of drafts. Didn't always translate to wins.

 

[TooDopeGoldRope]

Seeing pretty much grades of “C” across the board on all the sites.

Main criticism is we gave up too much- but haven’t seen any real criticism of the actual picks.

Considering we got 3 key pieces - it feels like a huge success.

1) We now have 2 WRs with vertical speed to stretch the field (Olave, Harris) and will free up Thomas in the slant game. Winston will have a much easier time with this.

2) 2 mean mauling tackles with Ram and Pennington, protecting Winston

3) A solid S replacement after losing Marcus Williams.

Love the picks so far. I clearly remember prior drafts where we cut half our picks or more anyways…so I say 3 potential starters is a win

There is a difference in opinion on how we fans and members of the media see this team.

According to them , we are a pathetic team now that Drew and Sean are gone.

To them , they expect us to be " rebuilding " , when we are reloading.

We feel we were a couple players and a healthy season away from making a deep run.

Only time will tell.

 

[guillermo]

Seriously?

Seriously. There has to be a balance.

I would not having drafts like this one, if it is not the norm.

We do need to make our roster younger, and clean are cap, and that is done by using draft picks.

Think about the best draft we had, in 2017. We had 6 picks in the first 3 rounds, that is the way we were able to bring back a competitive team after years of mediocrity.

I love the players we got in the first round, both blue chip players. But in the near future we will need to draft at least a couple of interior offensive linemen. Onyematta is at the list year of his contract, I can go on.

I don't have a problem trading up, but we need balance and find ways to get more picks on the second and third round. Those picks are the base to re-build a roster.

 

[SuperSaint]

Teams with fewer picks will always get lower grades

 

[BikesBurgersBeer]

The consensus I've seen has been a B to an A.

I feel like we did well and Im happy with both my teams..

B+ For the Saints.

 

[perret318]

Compared to last year's draft, this year's draft was just as efficient and impactful if not more so. Let's look at 2021:
1-28: Payton Turner: We all knew this was a reach in the first round. He's shown some flashes, but hasn't been on the field enough to prove 1st round value. Plus, picking him after immediately signing Mr. Two-Firsts to a long-term contract keeps his playing time limited, regardless of health. Forced depth.
2-28: Pete Werner: Solid LB in 2021. Could be really good. Scouts did their job on this pick
3-12: Paulson Adebo: Looks like he could be great. Again, really good pick
4-28: Ian Book: Sigh. Moving on.
6-22: Landon Young: Started one game. Good depth maybe? Otherwise, nothing special.

So we got two great players in Werner and Adebo, and the jury's still out on Turner.

This year, we can fairly confidently say Olave and Penning will start from Day 1. Taylor looks to be a much-needed plug for the gaping hole left at safety, and will also most likely start. The others, like any late-round pick, who knows. So the point is, the Saints used their draft capital to get guys who should immediately be impact players at positions of need, with the usual try-em-out picks at the end.

 

[Geldo]

Draft grades issued immediately following selection are utterly meaningless. The only thing they tell you is how closely the team's selection reflects the views of the expert giving the grades.
So if PFF give you an A it just means you picked the guy 'never wrong' Sam thought was the best player in the draft.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

I debated whether to start a new thread with this theme, but at the end decided to contribute again to this thread. What is missing in both the Saints' fundamental approach to the draft--in my opinion--and the immediate post-draft grades of those in the media is humility.

I repeat what I have said often: Drafting is really hard. It's like being a really good golfer at a major. On a rare occasion, you win. Often you play well and shoot under par. At times, you don't play especially well and shoot over par. And every so often, you don't even make the cut.

At times, trading up to select a targeted player is the smart play. But it depends on some many variables--what is the likelihood of your drafting the player if you don't move up, what is the price of moving up, what are your other options if you don't draft that player. But the argument against constantly trading up is that there is always a substantial chance that a targeted player, even one picked high, will not meet expectations. Historically, there is a real possibility that Olave or Penning will not start in 2022, will not contribute significantly in 2022, and even will never prove to be a quality starting player, even if the injury is the reason, though in all probability a player picked at 11 or 19 should be successful. And again, every NFL team has the statistical data showing the likelihood of several levels of success at every draft position for every position. I actually have such data going back 30 years ago.

Underlying a habitual practice of constantly trading up in the draft is the team's belief that the team can beat the odds and can draft better than most other teams, much like those in the financial field who think they can often time the market. Our 2016 draft was good. Our 2017 draft was generational. Our last four drafts--if we consider overall production regardless of the number of picks--ranged from poor to slightly above-average, though a reason in some years was having fewer draft picks because we had traded them away.

And the media's post-draft grades, especially those expressed in a nearly dogmatic tone as PFF nearly always does, also reflect a lack of humility. I don't mind the evaluations--I read them, and find some interesting and even informative. But the certitude in some is at best irritating.

 

[Saint Greg]

Because we spent a 1st, 2nd, two 3rds, 4th, 7th on Chris Olave and the media didn’t have Alonte Taylor rated as high as we picked him.