Saints subplots were flying just before NFL Draft 2008, where the team was scheduled to pick no.10 overall. We knew the Saints’ two biggest needs (Defensive Tackle and Cornerback), and pretty much the 1st-round caliber talents the team was interested in, both of whom the Saints would have to trade up for: USC DT Sedrick Ellis and a player New Orleans coveted most of all, LSU DT Glenn Dorsey. If a trade couldn’t be made, the speculation was that the Bengals, picking immediately before the Saints, would take Ellis and the Saints would be left to take an excellent LB, USC’s Keith Rivers. Other rumors swirled: would the Saints trade their second round pick (no.40 overall) to the Giants for TE Jeremy Shockey? Would they trade with the Eagles for starting CB Lito Sheppard, made available after Philly signed Asante Samuel but who wants a new, big contract?
Local station WDSU reported the Saints were interested in moving all the way up to the no.2 pick (in a trade with the Rams that would’ve given starting LT Jammal Brown to St. Louis) to grab Dorsey, but that didn’t materialize. It was also strongly rumored that either the Rams or the Falcons, who owned the third pick, would snatch Dorsey. When the Rams instead chose DE Chris Long and Atlanta instead took their QB of the future, Matt Ryan, the Dorsey-lovers caught a fever. Then, the Raiders took RB Darren McFadden at no.4 and the Saints made their move, trying to trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Except the Chiefs’ brass wanted not only the no.10 pick, but also the no.40 pick and a first round pick in 2009, and the Saints wisely decided to hold off and turn their attention to Ellis. Now, with New England (already with Pro Bowl defensive linemen Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour) picking at no.7, the Saints traded up, giving up their third round pick and swapping positions in the fifth. It was a much cheaper trade and one that gave the Saints a much-needed dominant DT that can both stop the run with his big frame and rush the QB with unusual quickness, with the added bonus that his coach is already familiar with him—new Saints line coach Ed Orgeron recruited Ellis to USC.
Ellis should already be penciled in as a starter next to massive DT Hollis Thomas, and with the rest of the Saints’ ’07 line back, he allows the team to create a much more fluid rotation and the luxury of having four pass rushers on the field on obvious passing downs (it’s been theorized that the signing of Jaguars DE Bobby McCray allows a rushing line of McCray, DEs Charles Grant and Will Smith and a DT that now would be Ellis).
After the trade for Ellis, the next biggest rumor came in focus: the prospect of Shockey, the New York TE who sat out the latter part of the season and the team’s playoff and Super Bowl run with a broken leg, coming to New Orleans to reunite with Sean Payton, who was the Giants’ offensive coordinator during Shockey’s rookie year in 2000. As of Saturday morning, talks with the Giants had been on, off, on and off again. The Saints ultimately were willing to part with their second round pick (though there were reports of Saints insiders wanting to give up no more than a third, but that was impossible after that pick was traded to New England in the Ellis trade), but New York wanted more and the Saints stood their ground, as well they should have. The no.40 pick is a very high pick to give up for an eight-year veteran who’s battled leg injuries, is said to not only welcome but has all but demanded a trade, and is rumored to not be wanted by some New York teammates who believe the Giants offensive actually improved after he left the lineup. Before the draft, word was the Giants wanted Saints S Roman Harper, a rising star on our defense, and New Orleans refused. After talks stalled on Friday, the thinking was the trade would happen while the Saints were on the clock at no.40, when the Giants would realize the Saints wouldn’t budge and they needed to deal their disgruntled player. Instead it was both teams who held their ground and again the Saints did well in not giving up too much for a player at a position they have options at—after all, last year’s TEs all are back for ’08 (Eric Johnson, Billy Miller and Mark Campbell) and while Shockey would’ve been a welcome addition to our offense because of his run-blocking skills, he was still a bit of a risk and was borderline worth the no.2 pick offered. The pick was instead used on Indiana CB Tracy Porter, who grew up in Port Allen, La.
Porter will come in and provides some insurance in case Mike McKenzie doesn’t immediately return from last year’s late-season knee injury and immediately competes with recent acquisition Aaron Glenn and incumbent backup Jason Craft for a primary backup spot and gives our defense depth behind Randall Gay, Jason David and Usama Young.
Whatever you think about the first day of the Saints’ draft, you have to admit that they filled their needs while not giving up a king’s ransom to get the players they wanted. The Lito Sheppard trade never panned out and the Shockey trade remains a slim possibility, so perhaps the run of offseason acquisitions hasn’t ended yet.
The Saints picked developmental prospects on the draft’s second day, where they were left with two fifth round selections and one each in the sixth and seventh. They first traded the 7th rounder to the Lions to move up in the 5th, where they picked N. Carolina State DT DeMario Pressley, then they chose Nebraska OT/G Carl Nicks with their second pick in the 5th. In the 6th they found a potential kicker of the future in Wisconsin’s Taylor Mehlhaff before trading their ’09 6th rounder to the Packers to return to this year’s 7th round to grab Michigan WR Adrian Arrington.
Mehlhaff will compete with incumbent K Martin Gramatica and perhaps make the team as a kickoff specialist. It wouldn’t be the first time the Saints carried two kickers, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Melhaff impresses during the preseason and makes the roster. The Saints have a good track record with grooming offensive lineman, so Nicks is at the least a practice squad prospect, as is Arrington. Those two dropped in the draft due to off the field incidents, but as with Ellis the Saints had extra information as TE coach Terry Malone had a hand in recruiting Arrington and Payton is friends with Nicks’ college coach, former Oakland coach Bill Callahan.
Overall, the Saints added a couple of key components to their roster in Ellis and Porter and potential future starters on the second day. This year’s NFL Draft was certainly fun to watch, but we’ll have to wait until at least the end of the ’08 season before giving it any kind of grade. It definitely gets us primed for the preseason, though, and I can’t wait until August, when we can watch this team start to come together.
