Saints Draft Wrap-up

The 2006 NFL Draft is over, and our coverage was non-existent. Apologies. You'll just have to wait for the Extravaganza we have planned for the 2007 NFL Draft. Only 362 days to go.

A few notes on the 'Aints draft:

When I said that I would have preferred that the Saints trade the Reggie Bush pick, I meant that I would have preferred to have gotten a huge blockbuster trade (a la Ricky Williams). That never materialized. In fact, Sean Payton said that none of the trade offers were even close. The Jets weren't even offering their second round pick.

Regardless, I've changed my mind. New Orleans is actually a good spot for him. He can be in a two-back system as he was at SC, with Deuce McAllister playing the part of LenDale White. If he had gone to a team without a running back (or even the Texans with an undersized Domanick Davis), I think he might be put in unfavorable situations for his abilities: short yardage, goal line, etc. He's just not going to be able to do a whole lot of running between the tackles in the NFL. On top of the fact that he'll complement Deuce (I just got an erection writing that), New Orleans needs the kind of excitement he'll bring. The city is going nuts right now. People were high-fiving Tom Benson in the parking lot outside the Saints home office. TOM BENSON. And the Saints ticket office has been getting steady calls for season tickets, now exceeding the rate tickets were sold last year. I may be forced to attend the emotional homecoming of the Saints as they host the Falcons in the 'Dome for MNF. The place will be out of control.

Now all I've got to do is buy a Bush jersey. Apparently 15,000 have already been ordered.

As for the other picks, I'm a little underwhelmed, especially with the second round choice of Roman Harper, Safety out of Alabama. However, Mike Triplett of the Times Pic says that there's a clear theme in Payton's first draft:

The theme became more and more evident as the Saints' draft picks were announced this weekend.

Team captains. Team MVPs. National award winners and all-conference players.

It was clear that on-field production and off-the-field character meant more in the Saints' war room than 40 times and vertical leaps alone.

While I don't know how this will work out, I have a lot of respect for the strategy. The Saints have always drafted on physical potential with mixed results (see Donte Stallworth). It'll be nice to have some leaders, some good character on the team.

UPDATE: Mike Triplett, in another Times Picayune article, says: "In case you hadn't noticed, Reggie Bush is a big deal." He's kind of a big deal.