Another New Orleans Saints draft has come and gone, but contrary to last year’s draft, which most draft gurus immediately called a success, this year’s draft class is a mystery and one that will not be solved until the 2003 season has passed.
It all started Saturday when the Saints struck a deal with the Arizona Cardinals and gave up their No. 17 and 18 overall picks for the Cardinals’ No. 6 pick. They also swapped selections in the second round.
So with the No. 6 overall selection in the 2003 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints select … Washington State stud cornerback Marcus Trufant, right? Or Arizona State’s athletically freakish defensive end Terrell Suggs, correct? Or maybe even Penn State’s monster defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy?
No. The Saints officially started the madness in the NFL Draft and selected Georgia defensive tackle Jonathan Sullivan. It was a very interesting and surprising selection to say the least.
There is no doubt defensive tackle was an absolute position of need for the Saints. The “lunch bunch” crew of Norman Hand and Grady Jackson simply did not get the job done last year. Add that to the lack of a pass rush, which left the cornerbacks on a huge, deserted island nearly every time an opposing quarterback dropped back, and it was obvious a defensive tackle was a position in dire need.
But no one expected the Saints to move up to the sixth pick, give up both of their first round draft selections, and choose Sullivan.
Who knows? Maybe Sullivan will end up being a stud and will solve the Saints problems with stopping the run, but moving up all the way to the No. 6 pick to nab him seems questionable. One thing is clear– he will be thrown into the fire quick after the Saints traded Hand to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth round pick Sunday.
Next came the No. 37 overall pick of the draft, and there was Maryland All-American linebacker E.J. Henderson prime for the taking.
The Saints need a hard-nosed linebacker just as much as anything, and Henderson would have fit the mold.
But the Saints, who gave up more than 20 points in 15 of 16 games last year, went with offense by selecting another Georgia Bulldog, offensive tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb.
Stinchcomb, who was rated highly on most draft pundits boards, was a bargain for where the Saints got him, but with four legitimate NFL tackles already on their roster, including recently picked up Wayne Gandy, the pressing need had to be on defense.
So instead of picking Butkus and Bednarik award winning Henderson in the second round, the Saints waited to the third round to take a much needed linebacker, making defending national champion Ohio State linebacker Cie Grant their third round pick.
Grant, who is 6-foot, 228 pounds, is a former safety and cornerback who started at outside linebacker with the Buckeyes for one year.
He has absolutely blazing speed and will be an excellent special teams player, but there is no doubt he is going to be a project for the Saints coaching staff.
The Saints then added depth along the offensive and defensive lines in the fourth and fifth rounds, taking Florida State guard Montrae Holland and Kansas State defensive end Melvin Williams in those rounds, respectively.
To the Saints credit, the sixth and seventh round produced two receivers that down the road could produce large dividends for New Orleans.
Kareem Kelly of Southern Cal and hometown product Talman Gardner of Florida State are both speedsters with play making ability.
Gardner is currently in some legal trouble, but when a player is taken in the seventh round, who really cares.
In the end, this draft is as much of a crapshoot as any other one, with the common phrase standing true as usual — only time will tell.