New Orleans Saints Defense and Draft Plan (1 Viewer)

[jchap31]

Shanle just inked a 4-year extension. Simoneau stunk it up in the middle (33 solo tackles all year, WTF?) and I believe their moving Shanle back to his original position at MLB and will draft an OLB in the 1st round. He played out of position all year but proved to be a solid tackler. The only lock to start in his position from this year is Fujita.

Word here is that they want Willis and move him to the outside. I have a feeling Willis will be long gone by the time #27 rolls around. However, Poslusznky will be there at 27 and I feel he's a "Payton Player," (AKA strong work ethic, determination.)

Of course, my predictions are based on the assumption that we will sign a friggin CB (PLEASE)

Any other Saints fans care to chime in?

 

[saintfool]

I have posted in the other mock threads that the priorities for the Saints in this draft include DT, LB and CB. Going into the playoffs I would have said that LB was the #1 concern. However, with the inconsistent play of Fred Thomas, I think CB is really where they'll go. Shanle's inked and, say what you will about Simoneau's numbers, the LBs were not the overall weakness of the defense. Hollis Thomas needs to re-sign. When he was out of the line-up we struggled mightily defensively.

DT, CB and LB in that order of importance this offseason. I expect they'll re-sign Grant and Stinchcomb.

 

[guderian]

Mickey Loomis has shown a tendency to address glaring holes in free agency and then to take BPA in the draft. They screwed up a few years ago by going into the draft with a strong need at DT. They traded up and drafted Jonathan Sullivan. Big mistake.

I expect both CB and MLB to be addressed through free agency. I doubt both will be "name" players, but they will both be significant upgrades over our current starters. That would leave us with some flexibility to take BPA in the draft.

If they do decide to target a guy like Willis (to develop behind someone like Donnie Edwards, for instance), they have the ammunition to trade up. In most of the mocks that I've seen there have been alot of defensive players drafted in the #20-#26 draft slots--just ahead of the Saints. They have three 4th rounders and, I think 9 or 10 total draft picks. Most teams don't want to bring that many rookies into camp, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them package the 1.27 plus a 4th rounder to move up into the early 20s if they really want a specific player.

Still, I'd be willing to bet that we are starting 2 FAs next year at MLB and CB.

ETA: I personally think they were planning on drafting Hawk last year, but when Reggie Bush fell to them they took him and it set them back a year in developing their defense.

 

[jchap31]

I agree with you. Brian Young is undersized and can't play the run whatsoever. We need another Norman Hand-like presence to go with Hollis. Two big boys in the middle would make our LBs look respectable.

I think Stinchcomb will be re-signed just for the fact that he's solid yet unspectacular starter which means we can save a few bucks there for other priorities without sacrificing consistency.

I hope they re-sign Grant as well, just don't pay him Dwight Freeney money. He's a solid DE, but save the big money for Will Smith, the young star of the line. He will be special.

Simoneau was great against the pass, but we have no "brining the pipe" MLB that RBs fear like a Ray Lewis. Shanle is more aggressive and a better tackler than Simoneau so I believe its a slight upgrade for the switch.

I have my fingers crossed that they sign Nate Clements. I think, given that the Saints play man-to-man on pass defense, his skill set is more relevant than Asante Samuel. Don't get me wrong, either is a HUGE upgrade over Thomas.

I heard a good comment on WWL 870, where the safety play was held responsible for a good number of Thomas' big plays he gave up. Thomas assumed the safety, I'm guessing Bullocks since the FS plays his side, was back there but Bullocks bites hard on play action and was in run support instead of pass defense. Hence, Thomas looks like he's letting the WR go past him but really he thought the FS was back there to help him. I'm not saying we don't need a an upgrade, but Thomas didn't play as bad as he "appeared" to.

 

[saintfool]

Mickey Loomis has shown a tendency to address glaring holes in free agency and then to take BPA in the draft. They screwed up a few years ago by going into the draft with a strong need at DT. They traded up and drafted Jonathan Sullivan. Big mistake. I expect both CB and MLB to be addressed through free agency. I doubt both will be "name" players, but they will both be significant upgrades over our current starters. That would leave us with some flexibility to take BPA in the draft. If they do decide to target a guy like Willis (to develop behind someone like Donnie Edwards, for instance), they have the ammunition to trade up. In most of the mocks that I've seen there have been alot of defensive players drafted in the #20-#26 draft slots--just ahead of the Saints. They have three 4th rounders and, I think 9 or 10 total draft picks. Most teams don't want to bring that many rookies into camp, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them package the 1.27 plus a 4th rounder to move up into the early 20s if they really want a specific player. Still, I'd be willing to bet that we are starting 2 FAs next year at MLB and CB.ETA: I personally think they were planning on drafting Hawk last year, but when Reggie Bush fell to them they took him and it set them back a year in developing their defense.

Good post. I'm pretty sure that they were going after Hawk too. We've got some money to make some acquisitions in the off season. I just wonder how much we're going to have left after re-signing Grant, Thomas and Stinchcomb. Loomis has proven to be aggressive in the draft, so there is little doubt that we'll do something with our picks. This off season will be interesting given the fact that we have some specific needs at a number of positions.