Spending Picks Wisely is Key For Saints in 2015 NFL Draft

There are two sayings when it comes to cash: “A fool and his money are soon parted” and “Spend wisely.”

I wonder if the same can be applied to draft picks?

As of right now the New Orleans Saints currently hold a wealthy nine picks in the 2015 NFL Draft which is the most they’ve had in close to a decade.

Five picks are actually in the Top 80 which should guarantee a strong draft class.

Well I guess “should” being the operative word here. Looking at recent history, “might” is better suited for this scenario.

The 2006 draft class was arguably the home run that had the Saints shedding the old label of “Aints” and into contenders. Looking at it again there were a few misses but not many:

1st Rnd-RB Reggie Bush

2nd Rnd-S Roman Harper

4th Rnd-G Jahri Evans

5th Rnd-DE Rob Ninkovich

6th Rnd-WR Mike Hass

6th Rnd-CB Josh Lay

7th Rnd-G Zach Strief

7th Rnd-WR Marques Colston

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Hass and Lay were released before the season began.

Ninkovich would find himself waived twice by the Saints from 2006-2009 before catching on with the New England Patriots as a top defender.

Aside from those three though the Saints hit the mark with five of the eight being contributors to their eventual run to a Super Bowl win.

The rest of the Saints drafts up to this point leave much to be desired.

Dec 26, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (98) in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derek E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

(2007–7 selections) Hits: WR Robert Meachem (1st Rnd) and OT Jermon Bushrod (4th Rnd). Both developed into players that contributed to a Super Bowl championship.

Misses: RB Antonio Pittman (4th Rnd). Never made the final roster due to the emergence of Pierre Thomas and the other four picks never made huge contributions or were released.

(2008–6 selections) Hits: CB Tracy Porter (2nd Rnd) and OT Carl Nicks (5th Rnd). Once again the Saints found contributors to a championship with these early to mid-round selections.

Misses: DT Sedrick Ellis (1st Rnd). Ellis is the biggest miss since the Saints actually moved up three spots to select him 7th overall. His best year was in 2010 when he recorded 30 tackles and 6 sacks.

(2009–4 selections) Hits: CB Malcolm Jenkins (1st Rnd) and P Thomas Morstead (5th). Jenkins would eventually slide to safety and become a starter while Morstead would become part of the the legend in Super Bowl XLIV known as “Ambush”.

Misses: S Chip Vaughn (4th Rnd) and LB Stanley Arnoux (4th Rnd). With only four picks in this draft the Saints really tanked here.

Both missed the 2009 season on injured reserve and Vaughn was released in 2010 with Arnoux not far behind being released in 2011.

(2010–6 selections) Hits: TE Jimmy Graham (3rd Rnd). No explanation needed here as the Saints found a dynamic pass catcher that became the catalyst for a mind-blowing trade to start off the 2015 free agency period.

Misses: CB Patrick Robinson (1st Rnd), OT Charles Brown (2nd Rnd), DT Al Woods (4th Rnd). Robinson would have up and down seasons while Brown was terrible as a tackle.

Woods was released prior to the season with little fanfare.

(2011–6 selections) Hits: DE Cameron Jordan (1st Rnd) and RB Mark Ingram (1st Rnd). Jordan developed into an immediate starter while Ingram has slowly become the back everyone has expected him to be.

Misses: LB Martez Wilson (3rd Rnd), CB Johnny Patrick (3rd), DE Greg Romeus (7th Rnd). Wilson looked the part but fizzled even as a defensive end hybrid while Patrick became the new Jason David.

Romeus was on injured reserve two seasons in a row and released in 2013.

(2012–5 selections) Hits: DT Akiem Hicks (3rd Rnd). The Saints were without a first round pick(trade with Patriots the previous year) and a second round pick (Bounty Scandal punishment) so Hicks was a great find here.

Misses: WR Nick Toon (4th Rnd) and S Corey White (5th Rnd). Toon promises in training camp but doesn’t deliver in games while the recently released White struggled at safety and as a converted cornerback.

(2013–5 selections) Hits: S Kenny Vaccaro (1st Rnd), OT Terron Armstead (3rd Rnd), DT John Jenkins (3rd Rnd), WR Kenny Stills (5th Rnd). All in all this was a pretty good haul for the Saints especially since they only had five picks.

Misses: Really the only one to put here would be DE Rufus Johnson(6th Rnd) and that’s simply because he was only with them for one season and then released.

(2014–6 selections) Hits: WR Brandin Cooks (1st Rnd) and S Vinny Sunseri (5th Rnd). Both had their seasons cut short due to injuries but looked extremely promising prior to that.

Misses: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (2nd Rnd) and LB Kairi Fortt (4th Rnd). Baptiste was a “project” and couldn’t even contribute on special teams while Fortt was released in October due reported issues with his professionalism.

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Aug 15, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste (33) during a preseason game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

After looking back, the only draft the Saints have come close to hitting on all their picks since 2006 was in 2013.

Not such a great track record.

However the Saints now have what they’ve said to be a new and fresh perspective most likely coming from Jeff Ireland their Director of College Scouting.

Ireland has been said to have hit the ground running immediately after his hiring which ironically coincided with the Senior Bowl.

As of right now there will be plenty of options to mull over between now and the start of the draft on April 30th.

Fans can only hope that the Saints have learned from their past and are wiser for it, especially when it translates to their selections.

Next: Saints Are Simply Following the Formula

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