Grading the Draft: New Orleans Saints edition
Sports Ruckus writer Jessie Peel has graded the entire NFC South, and while some Saint fans might not like his grading, he has some very valid points. Let’s see what the Saints finished with.
New Orleans Saints Draft Needs: CB, LB, WR, DE Key Additions: FS Jairus Byrd (six years, $54 million), OT Zach Strief (five years, $20 million), CB Champ Bailey (two years, $7 million), TE Jimmy Graham (franchise tag) Key Losses: FS Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia), OLB Will Smith (cut), LB Jonathan Vilma (cut), CB Jabari Greer (cut), WR Lance Moore (Pittsburgh), Darren Sproles (trade to Philadelphia) Do you know how ugly the first version of the New Orleans Pelican’s mascot was? He was so ugly that the Saints could’ve missed every pick in this year’s draft and they could’ve blamed it on him. And it would’ve been a completely valid reason. That thing scarred my soul. Luckily it didn’t mess with the Saints because they addressed their WR need right off the bat with the 4.33 speedy WR Brandin Cooks. The man comes highly decorated out of Oregon State. How’s this for awards: Biletnikoff Award, Consensus All-American, First-team All-Pac-12-All won in 2013. Any dude nicknamed “Sonic Boom” HAS to be fast and Drew Brees just got his Christmas present early. In the second round they selected a corner with a French name that fits the French Quarter- Stanley Jean-Baptiste. His size and build is drawing comparisons to Richard Sherman but people…stop sipping on that juice-it’s making you loopy. He’s a slot corner, MAYBE a #2 at best-but that almost as big of a stretch as the Sherman comparison. Round 4 and the two Round 5 picks were just pieces to keep Rob Ryan away from the buffet table. The Cooks pick alone was outstanding, the rest were…meh…
Oh my god, I just another mental picture of that Pelican mascot again.
Draft Grade: New Orleans Saints – B
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