I know this already has been discussed, but what does everyone think about the Saints draft, overall? I was pretty dissapointed myself. 1st round-SULLIVAN(DT)= I am going to trush Haslet and Mueller on this one and call this a good pick. Although, everyone had Jimmy Kennedy rated higher, I will trust haslets scouting ability.Grade:B+ 2nd Round-STINCHCOMB(OL)-Why did we do this? E.J. Henderson was still on the board and in my opinion, we need a LB more than an offensive lineman. Our OL has been top notch the past three years but where has it gotten us? Only once to the playoffs...I am not saying Stinchcomb isn't a great player, but we needed a Defensive player.Grade(Based on our needs, not his talent): C- 3rd Round -GRANT(OLD)=I know absolutely nothing about this guy.I would have rather taken Henderson in the second round and used this pick on something else defensively. But we will see how this pans out.Grade:Incomplete 4th RoundHOLLAND(OG)=Best pick the Saints made. Many are saying this guy could step in and start right away. This was a steal.Grade:A 5th Round-WILLIAMS(DE)=Some are saying bust, but I really don't know anything about this guy except that I wish we would have used this pick to get a Tackle and used the second rounder to get a Defensive player...C'est La Vie.Grade:C 6th Round-KELLY(WR)= At first, I was furious with this pick, but a lot of people think this pick was a steal. Although we are absolutely set at WR, Kelly could one day be a contributer.Grade:B- 7th Round-GARDNER=This pick absolutely blew me away. I understand by the 7th round, you go for the best available...but serious, another WR? Plus, to boot, this guy has terrible character. I read where he was questionable stemmming froma felony gun arrest.Grade-D ESPN said B-, College Football News said we had the 12th best class. I just don't buy it. Talent wise, I would give this draft class a B,maybe even a B+. But, in my opinion, we drafted the wrong players at the wrong time. OVERALL GRADE: C+
You have to keep in mind that the Saints signed a lot of defensive players in free agency including a LB and 2 DL, so that probably made an influence on the draft choices. Secondly, it is hard to call a guy picked 155th in draft a bust if he doesn't work out very well.
A bust doesn't have to be a high-picked player. A bust is anyone who produces far less than expected. Obviously Haslett and crew think Williams will be a valued player and if he doesnt, he will be a bust. As far as your Free Agent comment, what LB did we sign that is going to help us out a whole lot? Orlando Ruff? He had 4 tackles last year....that doesn't even come close to covering Charlie Clemons(who we lost) numbers. I am not trying to argue here, we did do an A+ job in Free Agency this year. I am just saying that E.J. Henderson would have been, by far, the best pick for us in the 2nd round and another offensive lineman was just unneccesary. Go to the saints webpage and look at our linebackers. It's pretty damn thin in my opinion.
If that is your criterian for a bust, then 75% of the players drafted are busts because most of them don't make it in the league. The fact is that players actually have a better shot at making the team as free agents than do many of the players drafted on the second day. Secondly, Orlando Ruff played for the Chargers behind Junior Seau Donnie Edwards. They are two of the best LB's in the game right now. If you had looked passed the last years stats you would see that Ruff had 74 tackles in 2001 and 68 in 2000 before they acquired Edwards and drafted Ben Leber. I'm not saying Ruff is the next LT, but he is capable of playing in the league.
I'll give you the argument on Ruff, I was wrong. But as far as busts go, I didn't say "less," I said "far less." Many players will never live up to what people think, but its those who fail miserably at what people think they can do that are considered busts. If Melvin Williams never cracks the starting lineup and becomes a fixture in the 2nd or third string, I would consider that border line bust. But if he doesn't do anything in the NFL, that would be a bust candidate.
