METAIRIE, La. (AP) -They built longtime losers into Super Bowl champions, so Saints coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis could afford to indulge their curiosity in the 2010 NFL draft.
They made a few curious selections, but ones that could pay off handsomely if they pan out.
“We have to make sure we’re really paying attention to the grade and not taking a player based on need only,” Payton said. “We’re further along in the program, and that allows you to be maybe a little more specific and also a little more flexible than maybe four years ago when there were a lot of areas you had to look at.”
After closing out the seventh and final round of the draft by taking a quarterback for the first time since Payton arrived in 2006, the Saints ended up with four new players for their top-ranked offense and two new players on a defense that ranked 25th in yards allowed last season.
e an interior defensive lineman until Saturday, when they traded up seven spots to grab LSU’s Al Woods in the fourth round at 123rd overall.
They did not draft a linebacker at all, despite losing starting outside linebacker Scott Fujita to Cleveland during free agency.
“When you select for need only, you’re sacrificing a little bit of” your vision for the club, Payton said. “When you pay more attention to the grade, I think you’re paying more attention to the player that you think fits your program. … You have a vision for what you think the player can do and does he fit what you’re looking for? Does he fit what we’ve identified that we want in the locker room?”
New Orleans’ first-round choice, cornerback Patrick Robinson, plays a position where the Saints already like starters Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter. Their second-round choice, offensive tackle Charles Brown, added more depth to an already jam-packed spot on the roster, doing more to raise the prospect of a trade than fill a need. Two-time former Pro Bowl left tackle Jammal Brown, a restricted free agent, is unhappy with his contract offer and skipped voluntary workouts this past week.
Third-round selection Jimmy Graham, a tight end, entered Miami on a basketball scholarship and played only one year of college football, but has a mix of speed, height (6-foot-6), agility and “soft” hands that intrigued Payton.
added a player with formidable size (6-foot-4, 309 pounds) and athleticism, yet someone who never quite lived up to his recruiting hype in college and did not start until his senior season with the Tigers.
After sending fourth- and sixth-round picks to Arizona to get Woods, the Saints sent a 2011 fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in order to grab Boston College center Matt Tennant in the fifth round. He’ll work behind starting center Jonathan Goodwin.
The Saints closed out the draft by selecting Oregon State quarterback Sean Canfield in the seventh round.
For good measure, Saints owner Tom Benson hosted Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond at team headquarters on Saturday. Aymond said he blessed the Saints’ draft, much as he blessed the team in Miami before their Super Bowl victory over Indianapolis.
“They play and we pray,” Aymond said, smiling broadly. “It works well together.”
Loomis and Payton said they liked what they saw from Woods last year and see potential for him to improve. In 2009, Woods lost about 15 pounds in an effort improve his quickness and conditioning. He started all 13 games for the Tigers and was credited with 33 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for losses and one sack.
ibles fit what we’re looking for.”
Woods, raised in a family of Saints fans in the southwest Louisiana town of Elton, said he was jumping around the yard at his parents’ home and that he and his father cried when the phone call came from Saints chief college scout Rick Reiprish.
“My heart just kind of exploded,” Woods said. “I was so excited.”
Coming out of Elton High School, Woods was named All-American by Parade Magazine and USA Today. He played in six games as a true freshman, but could not crack the starting lineup in his first three years.
“Whenever you go to the college level, you have goals and expectations … and some of those goals and some of those expectations I didn’t meet,” Woods said. “At the same time, I learned about playing with great teammates and working together for a common goal and all those goals that I had for myself kind of went out the window because I wanted to be a person that gave it all to the team.”
Add A Comment