With the 9th Pick in the 2025 draft, who should the Saints select? (merged) (129 Viewers)

[Infoman]

That's a cute cliche, but how are you going to fix the OL and DL without drafting players on the OL and DL while we are $60 plus million over the cap?

You are not... at least not this year... The point is... We have drafted OL and DL in every draft in the 1st and/or 2nd round for the last decade... 4/5ths of our OL are made up of those picks just since 2019....

At some point... the "fix" has to be that the guys you drafted already... ARE THE FIX! Doubling down on failures has gotten us no-flipping-where...

The cliche is that we somehow have to "keep doing what we are doing" even though it has yet to produce anything resembling a NFL offense...

 

[St. Widge]

True, but Payton also tried the rest of his career to find a Colston, but never was able to duplicate it. Colston was an outlier, not something you can count of getting latter in the draft when you've been sucking for a few years.

I don't disagree. I don't have an issue with drafting a WR or RB for that matter if they really are BPA regardless of how many times you have tried and failed drafting WR high. I mean Cooks and Olave were/are good players, but neither really turned out to be worth the picked used on them. But I don't buy the idea that you stop drafting them because you have missed before and I don't buy the idea that you stop drafting OL/DL because you have missed before and still have a sheetty OL and DL. So, if it turns out that OL or DL is BPA at #9 you take them.

The truth is that it was Payton that pushed for Marcus Williams and Payton Turner and he is gone now. And if he did it based on DA saying they would be good, DA is gone too.

The last two picks we spent on DL/OL - Breese and Fuaga - have actually worked out pretty well.

 

[Covington Saint]

The last two picks we spent on DL/OL - Breese and Fuaga - have actually worked out pretty well.

take away breese's sack production and you aren't left with a whole lot of promise. maybe breese is a guy that needs that dominant big sidekick next to him. Partly why Grant from Michigan intrigues me a bit in draft.

 

[St. Widge]

We do need to fix the O-line and D-line. But we can't ignore everything else for years on end, either. We've been focusing on O-line and D-line for years, and those haven't panned out, and we don't have any talent at other positions now either. I'm just say that we should spread out the high round draft picks to more than one position group.

And I would argue that WR, TE, and RB outside of Kamara are weaker position groups than O-line or D-line.

I didn't say we should ignore everything else for years. I'm all for BPA regardless of position. Especially for this team who needs help everywhere. I just don't think Jeanty is really a generational talent and that there is better value at RB in the 2nd through 4th rounds so I would rather trade down if Jeanty is BPA at #9.

Frankly, the player I really want in this draft is McMillian but I doubt he falls to #9.

I disagree that any position is weaker than DL. We essentially have one average player in Granderson and one good pass rushing DT that can't play the run in Breese. That is weaker than any other position group. At WR we have Olave and Shaheed (with Means as a bit of an unknown). At TE we have a solid TE in Moreau who could catch more passes if he didn't have to stay in to block to protect a weak OL and Taysom Hill. At RB we have Kamara and Miller who when healthy appears to be a very good back. I understand that people are down on him due to the injuries, but not much he can do about a concussion and when he plays he is good. Regardless Kamara is very good and carries most of the load anyway.

 

[sfidc3]

games are still won and lost in the trenches. I know we lack playmakers,but we need to start rebuilding both lines

Agreed, though I would also state with so many needs (yes, we do need playmakers at WR, TE and RB but also need DT, DE, S and OL help as well) I'm fine with drafting players at any number of positions if they are the BPA.....

There is no correct formula here, the draft is a crapshoot....you have to find the right player and hope they can stay healthy, pure luck is a factor.....

 

[St. Widge]

take away breese's sack production and you aren't left with a whole lot of promise. maybe breese is a guy that needs that dominant big sidekick next to him. Partly why Grant from Michigan intrigues me a bit in draft.

I don't disagree. Breese needs at lot of work as a run defender and yes, he needs a big NT next to him. Just saying that so far he is worth the pick used on him given that it is hard to find guys that get pressure on the QB from the DT position.

 

[Infoman]

The last two picks we spent on DL/OL - Breese and Fuaga - have actually worked out pretty well.

As individual players - Sure they have.... But neither has been able to meaningfully impact the scoreboard in any way... dictate to a defense or offense in anyway.... make another team build an entire game plan centered around them in any way... etc.

Those are the types of players this team is desperate for... right now we have exactly 2 of them on offense... a soon to be 30 Year Old RB.... and a soon to be 35 Year old jack of all trades coming off an ACL... that's it... no one else on the team fits that description.

We can talk about the trenches all day.... and I love those guys... but if we keep kicking FGs while allowing TDs every year.... we ain't winning shirt!

 

[tyler735]

I mean Cooks and Olave were/are good players, but neither really turned out to be worth the picked used on them.

In a strange roundabout way the Cooks draft pick was excellent for us. He gave us 2 seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards then we traded him away and got a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick for him, which just so happened to be 2 all pro caliber players in Ryan Ramczyk and Trey Hendrickson lol. Obviously very unorthodox and not sustainable but still.

 

[St. Widge]

You are not... at least not this year... The point is... We have drafted OL and DL in every draft in the 1st and/or 2nd round for the last decade... 4/5ths of our OL are made up of those picks just since 2019....

At some point... the "fix" has to be that the guys you drafted already... ARE THE FIX! Doubling down on failures has gotten us no-flipping-where...

The cliche is that we somehow have to "keep doing what we are doing" even though it has yet to produce anything resembling a NFL offense...

But we aren't always drafting OL/DL in the first and to the extent we very often do, that's also true of every other NFL team. We have mostly for the last 4 or 5 years because before the last 3 years all we really needed under Payton was a Guard and a DE. And for the last 3 years we have needed to rebuild the OL after losing our staring LT, RT, and LG.

And again, I want BPA. If that's Jeanty and we can't trade down, fine take him, but the better scenario for this team is for McMillian, Graham, Carter, or maybe even Campbell to fall to #9. I doubt any of them will, but I think that would be a better situation for this team.

I get that you think Jeanty is a generational talent, but I also think that your position is that the pick at #9 has to be a skill player even if he isn't BPA. I think that's a really bad way to draft.

But, maybe you truly believe that Jeanty will be BPA when we pick. And if so that's cool. I don't personally think he's a generational RB. I'd certainly rank him behind Bijan and Saquon. And if that's the case, then I don't think he will be BPA at #9.

 

[St. Widge]

As individual players - Sure they have.... But neither has been able to meaningfully impact the scoreboard in any way... dictate to a defense or offense in anyway.... make another team build an entire game plan centered around them in any way... etc.

Those are the types of player this team is desperate for... right now we have exactly 2 of them on offense... a soon to be 30 Year Old RB.... and a soon to be 35 Year old jack of all trades coming off an ACL... that's it... no one else on the team fits that description.

We can talk about the trenches all day.... and I love those guys... but if we keep kicking FGs every year.... we ain't winning shirt!

Well, Breese almost single handedly won the Giants game and cost us the #6 draft pick, but no they haven't really changed the record. But that's going to be the case given the terrible coaching we had and the number of injuries. Jeanty wouldn't have changed the record either.

Frankly, I think AK, even at his age, is a better back that Jeanty and he couldn't change the record.

And we have more playmakers on offense than you say because you failed to mention Olave and Shaheed. I know you will say they are "always hurt" and there is some truth to that, but they are both high quality NFL playmakers when healthy. Shaheed made a huge difference just being on the field. Teams could not drop Safeties in the box to stop the run for fear of him getting deep on them and Olave was leading the league in separation before he got hurt. That's a guy every team had to account for.

 

[Infoman]

But we aren't always draft OL/DL in the first and to the extent we do, that's also true of every other NFL team. We have mostly for the last 4 or 5 years because before the last 3 years all we really needed under Payton was a Guard and a DE. And for the last 3 years we have needed to rebuild the OL after losing our staring LT, RT, and LG.

And again, I want BPA. If that's Jeanty and we can't trade down, fine take him, but the better scenario for this team is for McMillian, Graham, Carter, or maybe even Campbell to fall to #9. I doubt any of them will, but I think that would be a better situation for this team.

I get that you think Jeanty is a generational talent, but I also think that your position is that the pick at #9 has to be a skill player even if he isn't BPA. I think that's a really bad way to draft.

But, maybe you truly believe that Jeanty will be BPA when we pick. And if so that's cool. I don't personally think he's a generational RB. I'd certainly rank him behind Bijan and Saquon. And if that's the case, then I don't think he will be BPA at #9.

Already addressed this Widge... we have taken a DL or OL in every draft in the 1st round since 2015... The only reason we didn't do so in 2019 is because we didn't have a 1st rounder... and we took McCoy in the 2nd.. LOL.... That's a decade of drafting at least 1 DL or OL in the 1st round sir...

I just wanted to make clear why I am firmly in the "no more fat boys" camp this year...

I think we agree on most other topics...

As for this draft... I think for the Saints it's TMac, Jeanty, or Warren - Or BUST.

And I really don't care much where we get one of those 3.... would I prefer we get one for the least amount of draft capital as possible...?

Yeah sure... but like most things... I don't always get what I prefer... and I'll take what I can get, and whenever I can get it...

 

[Hank]

The days of running the football and throwing for under 300 yard games are back in full swing. Kendre Miller should be cut, he is unreliable and the Saints need to start moving on from these kinda players, RB will be a need this year. That being said, it just depends when you wanna pull the trigger on one in the draft.

He's on a cheap rookie contract with alot of upside if can stay healthy--why cut him?

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

I have already addressed that - in fact - This team took a RB #2 overall in 2005 - And that pick was a HUGE and arguably most impactful piece that lead directly to completely transforming this franchise into winning and SB contending team...

No... that was the HOF QB that lead us to a Superbowl. Bush never lived up to expectations.

Bush never lead us to anything.

Goes back to the main point: RBs can be great compliment pieces if you have more important positions filled. They do not lead you to anything.

 

[St. Geezy]

I understand our cap situation, but we need to keep in mind that pick 9 isn’t our only opportunity to add players and fix holes in 2025.

A rookie first round lineman on either side of the ball isn’t going to suddenly make either line good.

Focus on how players are graded and trust those evaluations.

We will have opportunities for free agents and trades to plug other holes, other picks, and we are just taking 2025 for now, and guess what…we get to do it all over again next year!

Why must some people’s vision in these debates be so absolute and linear in scope?

 

[St. Geezy]

Great running backs can be found it later rounds, sure. But if the league was to do a 2017 re-draft with a crystal ball, knowing what we know today, where would Alvin Kamara be selected?

Just curious what some of your philosophical takes are on that question.

That’s what this should be based on…perceived, determined value of a player, his grade, rather than banking on getting lucky in a middle round or downgrading him solely because he plays a certain position, IMO.

Guess I am not getting an answer to this. Hurts people’s arguments too much?

Another one…Derrick Henry. Where does he now go in a 20/20 foresight re-draft?