Saints will roll the dice to fill their primary needs

It was early on a Saturday morning in the spring of 1997. Back then, the NFL draft was a TV event, but not a three-day TV extravaganza.

A call came from radio partner Ken Trahan.

“The Saints have made their decision on a first-round pick,” said Ken.

“Yeah, who is it?”

“Chris Naeole?”

“Chris Naeole? He’s a third-round pick.”

“Not today, he isn’t,” said Trahan.

The Saints and first-year head coach Mike Ditka were maligned for that selection, but Naeole turned out to be a solid NFL offensive lineman. He played 11 years.

That 1997 draft was filled with talent. Naeole was the 10th pick. The 12th pick, to Atlanta, was running back Warrick Dunn out of Baton Rouge and Florida State. The 13th pick by Kansas City was a future NFL Hall of Famer, tight end Tony Gonzalez.

For the exhaustive work done by NFL teams on draft prospects, the process can very much be a hit-or-miss endeavor.

The Saints have had marginal luck in the first round. Only one of the team’s first-round picks in the Payton/Loomis era has played in a Pro Bowl (defensive end Cam Jordan). Only one of Payton/Loomis’ first four first-round picks are still with the team – wide receiver Robert Meachem, who left in free agency for San Diego and then returned.

But the Saints have had uncanny success in the middle rounds. Tight end Jimmy Graham was a third-round selection. Fourth-round picks include guard Jahri Evans and tackle Jermon Bushrod. First-rounders were punter Thomas Morstead and guard Carl Nicks.

In the seventh round in 2006, the Saints selected offensive tackle Zach Strief and wide receiver Marques Colston.

What will the Saints do in next week’s draft?

Wide receiver is certainly a position of need. But the Saints also likely will choose at least one offensive lineman and at least one defensive back. Doing so is a sound philosophy.

In free agency, teams often overspend on the outstanding lineman or the cover corner or safety. The Saints’ philosophy on the offensive line is clear. Develop talent within, and if the talent gets too expensive to retain, let it walk and replace it with a young player who is groomed in the
system.

A year ago, the Saints drafted Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro, knowing that veterans Roman Harper and Malcolm Jenkins were likely in their final seasons.

While the speculation about who is doing what in the draft will escalate to ridiculous proportions this week, it is worth going back and reading previous evaluations.

Like this one on a certain NFL cornerback:

“Size prospect with some good intangibles,” says NFL.com.

“Contributor as a backup corner for a press-heavy team.”

“Does not possess the natural coverage instincts, fluidity or burst to be considered a future starter.”

The player is Seattle’s Richard Sherman.

He’s on the verge of signing a very lucrative deal with the Seahawks. My guess is he didn’t pay too much attention to his evaluation.

Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].