Haslett's Drafts
NOPF takes a detailed look at Jim Haslett's five draft classes

posted April 11, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com
by NOPF's William Assaf

Since becoming the franchise' 13th head coach, Jim Haslett has grabbed more and more power over personnel additions. After three drafts with Randy Mueller, Haslett is preparing for his third draft with Mueller's replacement, Mickey Loomis.

It is actually not Haslett, though, that has the most say in the draft room. Haslett himself focuses on the early picks, and sometimes hasn't heard of players being discussed on day two. For example, he had never heard of Saints 7th round pick LB Colby Bockwoldt, but was pleased with what his scouting department brought in.

The Ricks are the three biggest men in the Saints' scouting and talent evaluation department: Rick Mueller, Rick Reiprish and Rick Thompson, with college scouting director Reiprish 'running' the operations of the draft weekend. Primarily Haslett, under the watch of Mickey Loomis, has veto authority on pick decisions.

Through the years, Haslett has been the most consistent voice in the draft room. Randy Mueller left after the 2003 draft, leaving his brother Ricky and Haslett to inherit much of the talent decision-making power when Loomis was named general manager.

38 draft picks into the Haslett era, Saints fans have had their share of thrills and chills in late April. None of Haslett's draft days have been as dramatic as Mike Ditka's prolific class of '99, none have been as disastrous as, well, many of the Saints' drafts in the 1970's.

Of the Saints' 38 picks, six are not currently with an NFL team, 20 are still with the team, and nine are slated currently starters. The following is a breakdown of each draft class.

Players in bold are currently starters. Players in black are currently with the team, players in red are with another club or likely to land with a club this season, players in gray are not with an NFL team.

2000

2. Darren Howard DE Kansas State
4. Terrelle Smith FB Arizona State
5. Tutan Reyes OL Mississippi
5. Austin Wheatley TE Iowa
5. Chad Morton RB USC
6. Marc Bulger QB West Virginia
6. Michael Hawthorne DB Purdue
6. Sherrod Gideon WR Southern Mississippi
7. Kevin Houser TE Ohio State
Significant undrafted signings: LB Jamal Brooks, K Shayne Graham

Initial Draft grade: B
Draft Grade Today: C+
Body Count: Five starters, three quality reserves.

Mueller and Haslett's first draft class turned out to be more prolific for the players than the Saints. The team nearly traded up for Darren Howard but ended up waiting for him to slip to the second pick in the second round. Howard has been the best player on the Saints defensive since 20021 and had a team-record 25 sacks in his first three seasons, (a mark just broken by Charles Grant.) Howard may have played his last game for the Saints, but he was a genuine steal in the second round and was a great pick to jumpstart the franchise's rebuilding. Terrelle Smith would start for four years for the Saints before leaving for big money in Cleveland. Tutan Reyes wasn't much in New Orleans but is now a starter for Carolina. Wheatley never could stay onsides. Chad Morton had one promising season for the Saints as a third down back and kick returner, but was traded for a late round pick and CB Earthwind Moreland the next year after Deuce McAllister was added. Marc Bulger is now starting for the Rams after not getting out of training camp in 2000. Michael Hawthorne told us that he would turn into a star after we got a "glimpse of the speed," but was a frustration for the Saints and then the Packers. Gideon never got out of training camp and is now in the CFL. Kevin Houser remains with the Saints and has a new long-term contract to be the Saints' long snapper, one of the best young players in the league at his position. A pair of undrafted free agents the Saints acquired after the draft are still around. Jamal Brooks is a marginal player and was picked up by the Browns after a few years in Dallas, Shayne Graham is the kicker for the Bengals.

2001

1. Deuce McAllister RB Mississippi
3. Sedrick Hodge LB North Carolina
3. Kenny Smith DL Alabama
4. Moran Norris FB Kansas
5. Onome Ojo WR UC-Davis
6. Mitch White T Oregon State
7. Ennis Davis DT USC

Significant undrafted signings: FB Joey Goodspeed, TE Boo Williams, RB James Fenderson, S Richard Newsome

Initial Draft grade: A-
Draft Grade Today: C+
Body Count: Four starters, two quality reserves.

After positioning themselves well before the draft by addressing key needs in free agency, the Saints were able to make the gutsy and eventually brilliant move to draft Deuce McAllister. "It's Deuce," came from Kenny Wilkerson a minute before Tagliabue officially announced that the end of the Ricky Williams era was soon to come to an end. Four years later, McAllister is a Pro Bowler and the best player on the team... Williams is baking himself in sunny California. Unfortunately, the Saints followed up the sage pick of McAllister with a handful of speculative reaches and questionable characters. Sedrick Hodge was given every opportunity to start, but in four years came up with one sack, one fumble recovery, one serious injury and one NFL substance abuse suspension. Hodge hit the open market and recently re-signed for one-year. Kenny Smith had injury and consistency problems, and missed the 2004 season with a shoulder injury. Moran Norris, the strongest player in the 2001 draft, was drafted as insurance against Terrelle Smith's back injury. Unable to keep two fullbacks on the roster when Smith turned up healthy, the Saints were forced to cut Norris, a good player who is now starting for the Texans. Ojo was a fascinating prospect but a major reach and a project that never turned into more than a curiosity. Mitch White is a borderline reserve for the Bucs and Ennis Davis, who fell from a possible first day pick to the final round because of weight and discipline issues, flunked his first training camp for the same reasons. Two rookies the Saints signed after the draft have turned into starters: FB Joey Goodspeed (Rams) and Saints starting tight end Boo Williams and two more were quality special teamers for a time in James Fenderson and Richard Newsome.

2002

1. Donte Stallworth WR Tennessee
1. Charles Grant DE Georgia
2. LeCharles Bentley C Ohio State
3. James Allen LB Oregon State
4. Keyou Craver CB Nebraska
5. Melvin Mitchell S Western Kentucky
6. J.T. O'Sullivan QB UC-Davis
6. John Gilmore TE Penn State
7. Derrius Monroe DE Virginia Tech

Significant undrafted signings: G PJ Alexander, WR Derrick Lewis, K Jeff Reed, RB Ricky Williams

Initial Draft grade: A
Draft Grade Today: A-
Body Count: Five starters with two more possible, two quality reserves.

Donte Stallworth has struggled to put together a solid season but has been a real game changer when he is healthy and motivated. The Saints have plenty of patience, but Stallworth's injury problems and tendencies to disappear for entire games at a time is testing the Saints. Charles Grant has 27.5 sacks in his first three seasons, the best in franchise history. He is improving every year and is ready to become the cornerstone of the defensive line. LeCharles Bentley was starter on day one and in his first live action signaled the end of Warren Sapp's good years by beating him physically and mentally in Week 1. Is the axle of the Saints' offensive line now that he has moved to center and a stud for years to come. James Allen won the starting strongside linebacker job from Hodge in 2004 but will have to fight this August to keep it away from whoever the Saints send to challenge him. Keyou Craver had a single big play - a touchdown on the return of a Terry Glenn fumble - but injured his knee, which ruined his rookie outing. Never did much after that, except for work his way into the league's substance abuse policy. Craver lost his 2004 season to suspension and is at the mercy of the league right now. Mel Mitchell was slated to become the Saints' starting strong safety before Sage Rosenfels blew out his knee with a cheap shot chop block in the 2003 preseason finale. Mitchell is a stud on special teams and is still trying to take his job back from the rejuvenated Jay Bellamy. O'Sullivan is an exciting, fiery QB who lit up NFL Europe and was traded in October 2004 in a package deal for CB Mike McKenzie. He has his best days ahead of him. John Gilmore never did much for the Saints but landed in Chicago where he is a key reserve for the Bears. Derrius Monroe never did much with his exciting speed and bounced around the league. On the undrafted market, the Saints got the first peek at a future starting kicker in Jeff Reed, and spent a few seasons developing Broncos OL PJ Alexander. WR Derrick Lewis was another tease who never put it together. RB Ricky Williams, the little one from Texas Tech, actually was traded to Indianapolis at the end of the preseason and had a couple quality years as a backup.

2003

1. Johnathan Sullivan DT Georgia
2. Jon Stinchcomb T Georgia
3. Cie Grant LB Ohio State
4. Montrae Holland G Florida State
5. Melvin Williams DE Kansas State
6. Kareem Kelly WR USC
7. Talman Gardner WR Florida State

Significant undrafted signings: CB Lynaris Elpheage, TE Zach Hilton, G Chad Setterstrom, DT Kenderick Allen

Initial Draft grade: B-
Draft Grade Today: Incomplete
Body Count So Far: One starter with two more possible, three quality reserves.

Too many unknowns to give a grade to Haslett's first draft without Randy Mueller. Sullivan has yet to mature and Stinchcomb has yet to start a single game. Grant will try to make something of his career this season after rehabbing his knee and Melvin Williams has real potential despite recently bouncing to his third team... The Saints have made worse draft day trades in their history, but not much worse than the one they made with the Cardinals to move up to the #6 spot. After the Jets stole DT Dwayne Robertson from the Saints the day before, but the Saints still made the move to go up and get the overweight, underachieving Sullivan. They gave up the 17th and 18th overall picks in the package, and even though the Cardinals blew those two picks themselves, it doesn't help the fact that the Saints passed on CB Marcus Trufant, a young cornerstone for Seattle and DT Kevin Williams, a star for the Vikings, among others. Maturity is the only real problem for potential-packed Sullivan, but it is a huge issue that is threatening to kill Sullivan's career before he gets to age 25. Jon Stinchcomb has yet to start a game and may eventually end up at guard. Cie Grant was promising enough as a dynamic middle linebacker but hasn't seen any real field time and serious knee injuries have all but killed his career. Montrae Holland slipped from the second to the fourth round because of worries about his knees. So far, his knees are fine and his run blocking skills are excellent. Holland is easily the best pick in this draft, and one of the few second-day draft picks to make a significant contribution to the club. Melvin Williams was labeled a wasted pick after he was taken only four months after tearing his ACL. But Williams bounced back, proved us all wrong, and looked great in preseason and played a key role as rookie. Williams is now Will Smith's arrival bounced Williams off the roster. Kareem Kelly's bad attitude won him a plane ticket out of town, and he's now trying to catch on in Baltimore. Talman Gardner is a real tease and remains at the bottom of the WR depth chart. Undrafted free agents from this year include: CB Lynaris Elpheage, who has made the transition to the AFL; TE Zach Hilton, whose size and speed has kept him inactive but on the Saints' roster ever since; G Chad Setterstrom, a marginal reserve guard with some NFL Europe experience; and DT Kenderick Allen, who is now fighting for a roster spot with the Giants.

2004

1. Will Smith DE Ohio State
2. Devery Henderson WR LSU
2. Courtney Watson LB Notre Dame
5. Rodney Leisle DT UCLA
5. Mike Karney FB Arizona State
7. Colby Bockwoldt LB BYU

Significant undrafted signings: S Brent Hafford, FB Nate Schurman, G Augie Hoffman

Initial Draft Grade: B
Today's Draft Grade: Incomplete
Body Count: Two starters with two more possible, two quality reserves.

Unlike many drafts in the past, the Saints got productive playing time immediately from the majority of their picks, including a pair of late round selections that appear to be solid choices one year later. While Henderson and Leisle hardly got a sniff of the Super Dome's artificial turf, the other four picks all started games and made plays, including seventh round afterthought Colby Bockwoldt who played surprisingly well forced into the lineup. Will Smith may end up being a better player than any other defender taken by this administration. Smith should inherit the RDE job when/if Darren Howard is traded, or will at least be a top-quality part of the rotation. Devery Henderson has tons of potential, and will be thrust into the lineup with the departure of Jerome Pathon. We will see what the speedster from LSU has, and the Saints are confident he can be a real force and an eventual replacement for Joe Horn. Courtney Watson is an overachiever who started half the season at middle linebacker. He struggled with typical rookie issues and also with some conditioning issues. Watson will always be a better football player than athlete, but looks to have the middle linebacker spot wrapped up for now, as he will be given a fair shot to earn and retain the job by this administration. Not to be forgotten about this draft was giving up a third round choice in 2004 for a second round pick in 2005, allowing the Saints to give their own second round pick in the McKenzie trade and still have a high-second round pick. The first fifth-round pick Leisle appeared in only two games and appears to be fourth on the depth chart right now. Like Brian Young, Leisle's career will be carried by superior motor and effort, not athleticism. Mike Karney looks to be the latest long-term solution at the Saints' need for a one-dimensional fullback. Colby Bockwoldt has proven already that he is a good special teams contributor and a fast, crafty spot player on defense... a dynamite combination for career longevity under Jim Haslett. The Saints' undrafted rookie class was unremarkable but a few stuck on the practice squad in 2004 and will get a second shot at training camp.

As always keep here at NOPF for the latest.

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