Saints Draft '98

The Saints' picks are:

1. Kyle Turley - OT San Diego State - 6'5 305

The Sporting News article on TurleyPro Football Weekly Profile Sporting News article on Turley Article from the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate

Turley was a good pick. There is little doubt he'll be a starter next year & should be a major contributor the the team. He is a great match for a Mike Ditka team. Tough and mean, but he also has excellent speed and agility for a lineman. He had 368 pancakes in his college career and was not called for penalty in either of the last two seasons. (boy do we need guys like that). Nevertheless I have to complain about the same thing I complained about last year - the Saints could have gotten their player a little lower. The Saints reportedly had offers to trade down with three teams - Jacksonville, New England, and Oakland. Unless the offers were really, really sweet, I wouldn't want to trade down all the way to where NE & Oakland were picking and can't fault the Saint for that. But Jax was picking only 2 spots below us and were offering a 4th round pick. The Saints should have realized that Turley still would have been available at th ninth spot. Dallas wouldn't have taken him & Jax was obviously trading up to get Fred Taylor. Ditka or someone said they were worried Philadelphia would trade up with Dallas & snatched Turley. I don't think this makes sense. Thomas is more Philadelphia's type of player; and even if they wanted Turley, Dallas would NOT have traded with them. They seemed to really like Greg Ellis at eight & were not about to help out a division rival, especially one whom they really seem to dislike. This was a very safe move to make but the Saints didn't make it. Their player WOULD HAVE BEEN available, and thus the 4th rounder (if that is what Jax was offering) was basically free since the Saints in actuality didn't have to give up anything to get it. I also think the Saints should have taken a chance on Randy Moss. He has too much talent to pass on. 6-10 teams don't usually have a chance at guys like him. That being said, Turley was my second choice for the pick, and he'll be a great player for the Saints. Beating out Clarence Jones for the starting RT position is a given. He can also play guard.

I would have: traded down & taken Moss, the 6'3 198 WR from Marshall, and with the extra 4th (if I couldn't use it to trade up into the third) would have taken CB Roosevelt Blackmon, the cornerback from Morris Brown. He's got good size (6'0 175) and speed (4.49 40) and was regarded as a good NFL prospect despite the lack of competition where he played. Even if I took Turley, which as I said was still a great pick, I got Blackmon for free. [I don't know which of their 4th's Jax was offering, but Blackmon was available for both] But I took Moss because he is exactly the type of offensive playmaker we need.

Update 9/20: Starting at left guard; also saw time at right tackel when starter Clarence Jones was injured vs. the Panthers. So far, everything we hoped for.

Update 1/1/99: Had a good rookie season at LG & RT. I was impressed enough to wonder if he shouldn't be the left tackle next year, moving Willie Roaf to RT.

2. Cameron Cleeland - TE Washington - 6'4 272

Sporting NewsPro Football Weekly

Cleeland seems like he should be a good player for the Saints. He's not a great blocker, & although he is a good receiver, not all that mobile, but was probably the best blocker/rceiver combo of the TEs in this draft. I think he'll help both the passing & running games, though I'm not sure he's an immediate starter like everyone is saying. However, having played at Washington should help him adjust to the NFL game quickly. I think he only started one year, though. But the guys he's got to beat out aren't exactly probowlers. I think he's a good player & will help the Saints, but , again, I wonder if he couldn't have been gotten a little lower. He was the first TE taken, yet generally considered only the second or third best TE in the draft by most teams. Even if Ditka thought he was the best TE out there,I can't help thinking he would have still been there 15 or 20 picks, maybe a whole round, lower. I am also not sure TE was our second largest need on draft day.

This is what I think probably happened: whomever the Saints were expecting to take in the second round (best guess: Jacquez Green, Jon Avery, or Jerome Pathon) was gone, and the Saints had pegged Cleeland for a 3rd round pick, but since we didn't have one, decided to take him in the second. Again, Cleeland was a fine pick, but also a fine choice for trading down to still get a little later & get more picks. Who knows, maybe they could have dropped down 15 or so spots, still gotten Cleeland, and picked up the 3rd round pick we didn't have.

I would have: taken Tennessee linebacker Leonard Little. He's a great pass rusher, but not big enough (6'3 235) to be a down lineman. He however, has the athletic ability to be a linebacker - outside or inside. He would have been a great replacement for Winfred Tubbs, or could have allowed either Fields or Harvey to move to the middle. When you've got athletes like Fields & Little out there, it really doesn't matter who plays what position. He was also often consided a first round talent, but dropped because he is a "tweener"

Update 9/20: After a few injuries in training camp, including a bizarre hazing injury to his eye, he has been the starter & was very impressive in the opener. Better than I expected so far.

Update 1/1/99: Had a great season. He was a lot better than I ever expected. The Saints, in retrospect, made a great pick, and TE should be set for years with Cleeland.

 

4a. Fred Weary - CB Florida - 5'9 182

Pro Football Weekly

Wearly is a good cornerback, though not spectacular at anything. He's small yet doesn't possess great speed. What you are getting with Weary is great awareness, instinct, and experience. He does make big plays. He has played against the passing offenses of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida State to name a few. In games he has covered Joey Kent, Marcus Nash, Peter Warrick, Craig Yeast, EG Green, Joe Jurevicius, Hines Ward, and probably Eddie Kennison, again to name a few. He has practiced against Ike Hilliard, Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green, yada yada yada. The competition he'll face this year will be better, but he should have little trouble getting used to it. Compared to who he's been playing in practice the last few years, training camp against the Saints current wideouts will probably be a let down for him. He's probably got good enough skills to overcome his size & speed limitations (though, remember, he DID outrun everybody on that INT return at the Senior Bowl) & should make the team & contribute. He's got a real good shot to beat out J'erod Cherry & could challenge Mickey Washington for the nickel spot. Next Year: Tyrone Drakeford watch out. I'd expect to see him on special teams as well.

I would have put off cornerback a little longer & taken an offensive lineman: Jackson State's Toby Myles, a 6'4 313 tackle. He's probabl y raw, but a good prospect. He's no Kyle Turley, but I took Randy Moss in the first. I had meant to get an OT in the second, but couldn't pass up Little. Toby would still have had a good chance to beat out Clarence Jones before too long.

Update 9/20: made the team, is 2nd string CB & plays on special teams. So far, he's been pretty good & I wouldn't be surprised if he's starting next year of not sooner.

Update 1/1/99: had a fairly good rookie season. Made a few great play & a few awful ones. He was nickel back all year, and played played in the 1st team defense a little with injuries to Molden. Should turn out to be a pretty good pick, as I think he'll have a good shot of starting next year if he gets better.

 

4b. Julian Pittman - DT Florida St - 6'2 278

Pro Football Weekly

Pittman is a pocket-collapsing defensive tackle who missed most of last season with Florida State on suspension for credit card fraud. Coach Ditka overlooked his usual reluctance for taking players with character flaws to take Pittman. The team passed up DT Michael Myers, who was taken with the next pick. Pittman should contribute next year - he ought to make the team & he'll be in the DL rotation next year as a backup DE. He'll probably get about as much playing time as Jared Tomich had last year. That is if his off-the-field troubles don't catch up with him and get him in Ditka's doghouse.

I would have taken Lorenzo Bromell, a pass-rushing defensive end from Clemson. He's tall, though a little skinny, 6'7 276, with good mobility & had been impressing scouts alot in the last few months. I also might have taken Myers. DT is probably more of a need, but I would have had Bromell more highly rated than the other two. I also already took Moss- one risk is enough.

Update 9/20: made the team, but i haven't seen much of him.

Update 1/1/99: His legal problems from violating his probation for the credit card kept him off of the field for almost the entire season ( & in jail for a little while). He hardly played & made no impression on me. I don't know if he has a fututre with the team, but this usually in a situation like this the player never gets out of the doghouse & has a short life with the team. So far, a bad pick.

5. Wilmont Perry - FB Livingstone 6'1 235 4.7

PFW

Perry is an interesting pick. He played at a real small school & dominated. Last year had 1770 yards rushing for a 9.1 per carry average. Obviously, the level of competition was pretty low. But he has the tools to be a good pro. He's big, strong, & fairly fast. He's envisioned as a fullback, though he doesn't seem to have much blocking experience. With some good coaching, he has the potential to be very good. I'm not sure what we can expect this year. Considering our other fullbacks, he has a good chance, but don't be surprised if he's on the developmental squad. There were other running backs and fullbacks the Sainst could have gone for with that pick; Chris Howard from Michigan and Harold Shaw were similarly sized players from bigger schools still available. And lets not forget Chris Fuamata-Ma'afala, the huge runningback out of Utah.

I would have taken Benji Olson, a 6'4, 324 lb. guard from Washington. Early on (before Faneca impressed at the combine, he was considered the top guard prospect & looks like he could be a solid pro. It was mostly because of other players impressing & moving ahead of him that he dropped, not really any fault of his. I had already taken one offensive lineman, as had the Saints for real, but Olson was too good to pass up here.

Update 9/20: He's on the team & though still raw, he had to much potential to risk losing to waivers if they tried to put him on the developmental squad. Hasn't seen any action with the offense yet.

Update 1.1.99: With some playing time in the last few weeks, Perry made a good showing. He runs hard & can break tackles, making him the kind of runner this team could use. He's still short on experience, but I can see him beating out Lamar Smith for the tailback spot next year. But if the team brings in another RB, Perry will probably start the year on the bench. A good pick.

6. Chris Bordano - ILB SMU 6'2 235

PFW

I like the Saints' pick of Bordano. He has been called a poor man's Chris Speilman. He is a very solid player, good mobility (not great, but good). He gives everything on every play and is very good against the run. He's had some injury problems in the past, but I think he played all of this year. A prototypical middle linebacker, he could be groomed to be an eventual replacement for Winfred Tubbs. I would expect him to contribute a little this year - he'll be behind Brian Jones and Kevin Mitchell, but could be starting a year or two down the line.

Iwould have taken WR Andy McCullough from Tennessee. I had already taken a linebacker, so although I like the selection of Bordano, I wouldn't have taken him. I wanted to get another Wide receiver, so I took McCullough who won't contribute anytime soon, but could be very good if he learns to catch. Continued below.

Update 9/20: made the team; third string MLB.

Update 1/1/99: Started a few games due to injuries and was pretty impressive. A good natural linebacker & he plays the pass well, but his run defense needs to get better to be a stating MLB. His chances are fairly good to be a starter next year. So far, a very good pick.

7a. Andy McCullough - WR Tennessee 6'3 201

PFW

I think the Saints made a good pick here with McCullough. He's got great size and speed. True, he has some problems catching the ball & doesn't have a lot of playing time (he was I believe the 4th WR at Tenn. last year), so he needs time. A lot of people don't give him much of a chance, but he could be good in the future. With that size & speed, I'll also throw out the possibility of a position change. Expect the developmental squad this year. The Saints receiving corps isn't what you'd call "good", but it is deep enough that he likely won't crack the roster this year.

I would have taken Anthony Bookman, a running back from Stanford. He's a small (5'10 185) but ridiculously fast, pretty similar to John Avery. I don't think he was drafted, but he's got gamebreaking ability, & he's a good KR. The Saints need this type of player with offensive playmaking ability. They didnt get it in the draft, save for McCullough. John Avery shot up into the 1st; I don't know why Bookman wasn't drafted, but I liked what I saw.

Update 9/20: Missed the last cut; signed to another team's practive squad.

7b. Ron Warner - OLB Kansas

PFW

I think this was a great pick. Warner is an agile , fast, pass-rushing outsidelinebacker with a good nose for the QB. He dazzled at one of the all-start games, but hurt his knee in that game. He might have gone in the second or third but for the injury - maybe even the first if he'd had a chance to go to the combine. But the injury was serious - torn ACL - & he dropped. His rehab will take him thru thr 1st half of the season, but having missed his rookie training camp, the Saints have said theywill give him the whole year to rehab. Hopefully he'll be ready for '99; if healthy it will like the Saints traded a seventh round pick this year for a third round next year.

I would have also taken Warner. I think he's a steal that late in the draft, even if he doesn't play this year.

Update 9/20: He's still injured & on the practice squad.

Update 1/1/99: Was finally activated for the last game. I'm not sure how he did, but basically missed all year to injury, which the team knew he would when we drafted him. I think he'll be good & for one of the last picks of the draft, a very good gamble.

 

 

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