Saints Draft Review: Needs addressed early, often

When the picks were all made on the first night of the 2018 NFL Draft, 22 of the 32 first round selections were underclassmen. There were 81 total underclassman drafted in the seven rounds.

I like the first and last Saints picks the best while the five selections in between are developmental hopefuls.

Marcus Davenport, the physical specimen out of Texas San Antonio, comes at a steep price, but defensive end pass rushers are hard to obtain. He was the second- best pass rushing defensive end in this draft. His up-side is off the charts.

The Saints seemed to draft for need/scheme fit instead of taking the best player available. I think they really needed a wide receiver, and Tre’Quan Smith out of UCF taken in round three has talent but I didn’t like the way he was jammed at the line at the Senior Bowl. He is currently not very effective in press coverage. Smith does run well after the catch, coming off a big season with just under 20 yards per grab for the unbeaten Golden Knights.

Rick Leonard, the offensive tackle from Florida State taken in round four, looks like a bit of a reach. He is athletic and very tall at 6-foot-7 plus he has the frame to add more bulk. I thought I may have had him rated too low as the 31st tackle overall but checking other draft sites and analysts, the best I could find was rated 27th best. Most rated him as a free agent but I though he was a sixth round talent.

A former defensive lineman still learning the position, Leonard lacks consistency which is to be expected. A developmental prospect, he lacks body control and balance to play regularly at tackle as a rookie. However, he could be used as a third tight end.

I like 5th round selection Natrell Jamerson, who played both cornerback and safety for Wisconsin. He is fast (4.40 in the 40 yard dash) and versatile. The Saints will look at him as a cornerback prospect but expect his first big contribution to the team to come in core special teams work.

Drafting for need again, New Orleans tabbed another corner – Kamrin Moore of Boston College – with the first of their 6th round picks. He will need to make it on special teams and lacks the speed to play outside at corner. Moore looks like an inside nickel cornerback or perhaps an off-ball safety convert.

The fans should like running back Boston Scott, drafted in round six out of Louisiana Tech. I projected him as an undrafted free agent due to being only 5-6 and 200 pounds, but he is exciting and elusive. If he can return punts and kickoffs, he may secure a spot on the team. Scott catches the ball well and has been a good receiver in college. The Zachary High product also protects the football well, but he may have problems blocking and picking up bigger blitzers in the NFL.

Will Clapp, a center and offensive guard out of Brother Martin and LSU, was someone I thought would go higher. He is versatile and a solid run blocker who played consistently well against top SEC talent. He needs some technique work, but Clapp again fills a need for the Saints who lost Senio Kelemete in free agency.

This Saints draft looked to me like it had a lot of Sean Payton’s fingerprints on it and not as much of front office executive Jeff Ireland’s. Needs on the back half of the roster were clearly targeted.

I have faith in my ability to scout and rank players but we know it is far from an exact science. The Saints have done well of late in the draft so I have to trust their thinking this year as well.

Across the entire draft, here are players that stand out as one who fell and were selected considerably lower than projected:

Offensive tackle Connor Williams (Texas), projected round 1, drafted early round 2
Running back Derrius Guice (LSU), projected round 1, drafted late round 2
Defensive end Arden key (LSU) projected early in round 1 (last year), drafted round 3
Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (Notre Dame), projected round 2-3, drafted round 6
Wide receiver Deon Cain (Clemson) projected round 3-4, drafted round 6
Defensive end Josh Sweat Florida State), projected round 2-3, drafted round 4