Canal Street Chronicles
Four picks that could bring in massive upgrades to New Orleans.
The New Orleans Saints season was rocky, and the roster is in a worrying spot going into the offseason. Veteran players are getting very close to retirement, some of the young talent has had a disappointing season, and the roster is missing talent. With the current cap situation the team is in, free agency will not be a place where the Saints find significant upgrades, so that leaves the NFL Draft as the only option. The prospect rankings are still very fluid and depending on who the next Saints head coach is, specific prospects may be prioritized higher than others. However, with the Saints season concluded, now would be a great time to see who New Orleans could select in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.
In the first round, the Saints are at a very interesting spot at pick 9. Going with the best available prospect makes a lot of sense here, and depending on the number of quarterbacks selected before this spot, the Saints can have some of the top prospects in the draft drop to them. In this mock draft, I only had two quarterbacks selected, so the options at 9 were more limited, but LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell was still on the board and had to be the selection. At LSU, Campbell was named the starting left tackle and captain as a true freshman. Doing this in the SEC is unbelievably impressive, and since then, Campbell has vastly improved, was given the number 7, and has been a dominant force. If you are not familiar with the number 7 at LSU, this number is given to players who are top talents and leaders of the team, and Campbell was the only offensive lineman in LSU history to do this. At tackle, Campbell is an amazing pass protector. Per PFF, he has only given up four sacks in his college career. His run blocking needs to improve, but Campbell has shown the ability to learn and improve, so this should not be an issue in the NFL. His communication before the snap is also extremely impressive. The main issue with Will Campbell is going to be the arm length. This may affect his chances of playing tackle in the NFL, so a move to guard/center may be best for his future in the league.
New Orleans selecting Campbell at 9 would mean they have gone with offensive line in the first round for a second straight year, but Campbell was the best player available, and they need improvements in the trenches. Trevor Penning has made strides this past season, but not enough for his spot to be a sure thing next season. If the Saints do view Campbell as an OT, they can either move Taliese Fuaga back to his college position of RT or put Campbell there and move Penning to LG. The...
