MVN - Most Valuable Network

LSU draft class full of potential Saints

The LSU Tigers and New Orleans Saints are almost synonymous for me.  As an LSU student, I love the Tigers.  They gave me the thrill of a national championship season that I will never forget. 

But if someone made me choose between the two; if someone threatened to blow up Tiger Stadium unless I picked the Saints or LSU as my favorite football team, there’s no doubt in my mind who I’d pick. 

It would be the Saints.  Of course it would. Who dat baby!

That, of course, is not the topic of my post today.  The reason I bring it up is because there might be a situation — as we linger on the eve of the Super Bowl of NFL offseason this weekend — in which I might have my cake and eat it too.

You see, this year’s graduating class of Tigers is ripe with talented players. And it just so happens that these athletes play the exact same positions the Saints need to address.

With the exception of Early Doucet (wide receiver) and Jacob Hester (fullback), every draft-eligible Tiger this year plays a position of need for the Black-and-Gold.

Here’s a look at a few possibilities:

Defensive Tackle: Glenn Dorsey

This is the obvious one. Help on the interior of the defensive line is currently the Saints biggest need.  Dorsey is priority No. 1 for the Saints draft camp and should be. He would provide instant production at a position where the Saints are undermanned and would immediately become the most beloved Saint on the roster.

Linebacker: Ali Highsmith

Highsmith’s stock plummeted fast after the NFL combine where he ran a 5.0 forty time. He said he was battling a groin injury, but I think he just forgot to take off his ankle weights.  Nevertheless, Highsmith is now projected as a late third, early fourth round pick.  The Saints could get incredible value in Highsmith if they grabbed him in the fourth round.  This is a guy who played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2004 (the year after LSU won the national championship) and became a full-time starter as a sophomore.  In the SEC, that’s hard to do.  New Orleans needs to add depth at linebacker and Highsmith would be a great fit to come in and develop himself as a backup with the potential to become an impact player two years from now.

Cornerback: Chevis Jackson

The only reason Jackson isn’t being touted as a second-round pick is because of his speed.  He didn’t run as fast as people thought he could in the forty, so his stock took a nose dive.  Let me say this: if Chevis Jackson is available in the fourth round when the Saints are on the clock, they’d be stupid not to take him.  Trust me, Jackson has NFL starter written all over him; he’s one of the most athletic players to come out of LSU in a while. 

I remember watching him work out at LSU’s pro day last month and just being astonished at how high he leaped in the high jump.  He hung in the air so long, I wondered if I had enough time to go eat a sandwich and be back before he came down. It was remarkable.  The Saints need all the help they can get at cornerback and Jackson would be a steal in the fourth round. 

Safety:  Craig Steltz 

I am of the opinion that the Saints hurt just as bad at the safety position as they do at corner.  Josh Bullocks is undeniably the worst starting safety in the league and Roman Harper, while he is getting better, still blows way too many coverage assignments. 

Steltz is a high-energy guy who the Saints should really look at if he’s around in the fourth or fifth round.  The former Rummel star isn’t the best athlete around, but he’s got incredible instincts and a nose for the ball like you wouldn’t believe.  Plus, he’ll knock the snot out of you if he gets a good opportunity.  The Saints need a hustle guy like Steltz on the roster—if only to replace the dearly departed Steve Gleason’s hustle.  RIP Steve Gleason’s hustle (and wild-flowing hair), you will be sorely missed.

So if New Orleans is smart, they’ll look long and hard at what’s coming out of their own back yard in this year’s draft.  They could find some serious talent in the later rounds and make me a happy man in the process.              

         

   

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.