| NOPF's
NFL Draft 2006 Coverage
Two more undrafted rookies: After trying out at the Saints'
rookie minicamp, three more undrafted rookies were signed to
contracts: Eastern Illinois C Pascal
Matla and and Purdue DT Brandon Villarreal. Villarreal becomes
the fourth Purdue rookie signed to the Saints' roster this offseason.
We've posted updated scouting reports of all three on our Undrafted
Rookies page.
Undrafted: The Saints have begun signing undrafted free agents. In fact, they began playing the undrafted market and making offers even both the draft was done. Check here for updates as reports of undrafted signees roll in.
Seventh Round - The first of two Saints picks in the seventh round is enormous Northwestern OL Zach Strief. The second pick, the fourth from the last at the end of the draft, is big receiver Marques Colston from Hofstra.
Sixth Round Conference Call Transcripts: Read Mike Hass' press transcript here.
Sixth Round: The Saints have two quick picks at the top of the sixth round, the second and fifth picks of the round and the 171st and 174th overall. With the 171st overall pick, the Saints chose sure-handed WR Mike Hass from Oregon State. With the 174th pick, the Saints took CB Josh Lay from Pittsburgh.
Saints' Fifth Round Pick (135th overall): up now.The Saints selected Purdue DE Rob Ninkovich.
108th Overall Pick: The Saints have selected T Jahri Evans, Bloomsburg. Read Evans' press transcript from his conference call after his selection in the fourth round.
Saints Trade Out of 99th Pick: The Saints traded out of the 99th spot with Philadelphia. The Eagles chose Georgia G Max Jean-Gilles. The Saints moved back nine picks in the fourth round to the 108th overall pick and also picked up defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.
Day Two Begins: The Texans took Wisconsin TE Owen Daniels, and the Saints are on the clock with the 99th pick.
Bush's Introductory Press Conference: GM Mickey Loomis and RB Reggie Bush spoke with the media upon his arrival. Read the transcript.
Payton Speaks: on the additions of Jeff Faine and Roman Harper. Read the press conference transcript.
Day Two: The third round is wrapping up and there are some notable players slipping. The Saints will be on the clock within minutes of the 10AM start time, as they have the second pick in the fourth round, 99th overall. Some names to look for on Sunday: Michigan DT Gabe Watson, Texas DT Rodrique Wright, Georgia G Max Jean-Gilles, Florida CB Dee Webb, Texas OT Jonathan Scott, Purdue DE Ray Edwards, Miami DT Orien Harris, Florida State OLB AJ Nicholson, Penn State CB Anwar Phillips, Michigan WR Jason Avant, Virginia Tech DT Jonathan Lewis, Tennesse DT Jesse Mahelona, Pitt WR Greg Lee, Fresno State QB Paul Pinegar, Miami LB Leon Williams, Cal OT Ryan O'Callaghan, East Carolina OT Guy Whimper, USC G Fred Matua, Louisville DT Montavious Stanley, Alabama DE Mark Anderson.
43rd Overall Pick: The Saints drafted Alabama safety Roman Harper. This is more evidence that the Saints are looking to move S Dwight Smith. Read our scouting report of Harper here, and read Harper's conference call with the media transcript.
43rd Pick Approaching: Assuming the Saints don't drop back again, some of the top rated players available are looking to be: Iowa LB Abdul Hodge, Notre Dame TE Anthony Fasano, Texas DT Rodrique Wright, Auburn T Marcus McNeill, UTEP LB Thomas Howard, Notre Dame WR Maurice Stovall, Miami DT Orien Harris, USC T Winston Justice, Michigan DT Gabe Watson, Georgia TE Leonard Pope, Ohio State CB Ashton Youboty, Miami T Eric Winston, and Miami WR Sinorice Moss.
Saints trade down, pick up veteran center: The Cleveland Browns traded up to 34 to take Maryland LB D'Qwell Jackson, a solid middle linebacker prospect that the Saints could have used. The Saints acquired the 43rd overall pick and veteran C Jeff Faine, the Browns' first round pick in 2003. Instead of acquiring a third round pick, the Saints acquired a starting player by moving back nine spots.
Saints are up: The Saints are up after BC DE Mathias Kiwanuka and Alabama OLB Demeco Ryans were taken by the Giants and Texas ahead of them. See below for a list of players the Saints will be looking at.
Saints are next up: The Texans are on the clock with the 33rd overall pick, and the Saints come up within 10 minutes at 34. A trade down is possible - since the Saints would be done on Day 1 if they choose here - but here are some more players still on the board that the Saints will be looking at (in addition to the players listed below): Iowa LB Abdul Hodge, Maryland LB D'Qwell Jackson, Auburn T Marcus McNeill, UTEP LB Thomas Howard, Notre Dame WR Maurice Stovall, Miami DT Orien Harris and Miami LB Roger McIntosh.
Six picks to go: With six picks to go, some of the top prospects available that the Saints will be looking at are: Virginia Tech CB Jimmy Williams, USC T Winston Justice, Alabama OLB Demeco Ryans, Michigan DT Gabe Watson, Georgia TE Leonard Pope, Florida WR Chad Jackson, Ohio State CB Ashton Youboty, Ohio State C Nick Mangold, and Miami WR Sinorice Moss.
Receivers, Offensive Linemen Dropping: Late in the first round (with the Bills on the clock), only one wide receiver and two offensive linemen have been taken, meaning that at #34, a better than expected value may be present at those positions.
Bush On His Way: Tom Benson's private jet is flying to New York to pick up Reggie Bush from New York. His plane will touch down tonight at 7:00 and is due for his first Saints press conference at 7:30. Earlier in the day, Bush spoke to the media: Press Conference Transcript. See also head coach Sean Payton's press conference transcript after the pick. Also read Bush's press conference transcript from New York and GM Mickey Loomis' press conference.
2nd overall pick: RB Reggie Bush: The Saints have selected RB Reggie Bush with the second overall pick. It is still entirely possible for the Saints to trade Bush to the Jets or the 49ers, much like San Diego did when they held Eli Manning hostage to the Giants in 2003. However, Payton said in his press conference after the pick that Reggie Bush will be a Saint. Read our scouting report of Bush here.
Saints Taking Bush... ?: All the talk out of Saints HQ is that the Saints will take Reggie Bush. But with trade offers ringing from half a dozen teams, what else would they say?
News over Dinner: The Saints football staff was at dinner Friday night at Emeril's restaurant when the news filtered through that the Texans had signed DE Mario Williams.
Trading Down Now A Distinct Possibility: Before, we surmised that the Saints would have trouble trading down out of the #2 overall pick. But with Houston signing NC State DE Mario Williams and poised to make him the top overall selection, the Saints now have plenty of leverage and have reportedly been contacted by at least a half a dozen teams inquiring about moving up to #2 to take USC RB Reggie Bush. The Saints, who have the richest player in team history Deuce McAllister, former first round pick Michael Bennett and key role player Aaron Stecker at the runningback position don't appear to be in need of Reggie Bush and therefore will be willing to take a good offer. New York appears to be the most interested in trading up to acquire Bush, and are also the most notable: the Jets hold the 4th and 29th overall picks, and need only to barter over what is essentially a middle-round pick to complete the trade. NOPF previously analyzed the value it would take to trade up to #2, and we also have the Draft Pick Value Chart, used by all NFL teams in determining pick value.
Mock Draft: NOPF has updated
our mock draft of this weekend's
NFL Draft. In our scenario, the Texans and Saints are unable
to find a suitable trade partner and are stuck at #2, where they
selected Virginia T D'Brickashaw Ferguson.
Jai Lewis: The Saints attended the workout of George
Mason forward Jai Lewis, but Lewis apparently struggled and teams
remain torn whether Lewis can project to anything more than a
longshot offensive tackle.
Pre-draft Visits: While the Saints weren't able to visit
with USC RB Reggie Bush because of Bush's scheduling conflicts,
Maryland TE Vernon Davis and Colorado KR Jeremy Bloom were able
to meet with the Saints.
Pre-draft Visits: The Saints will meet with Matt Leinart
after all, despite earlier printed reports. It didn't make sense
for the Saints to make any indication of tipping their hand and
thereby surrendering draft leverage. In addition to Leinart,
the Saints will meet with USC RB Reggie Bush,Virginia OT D'Brickashaw
Ferguson, NC State DE Mario Williams and
Ohio State LB A.J. Hawk. They visited with Tulane OL Chris McGee,
Tulane LB Anthony Cannon, Florida A&M LB Melvin Jenkins,
Georgia Tech LB Gerris Wilkinson, Maryland CB Gerrick McPhearson,
and Texas A&M-Kingsville K Richard Hammond. Thanks to our buddies at nextlevelscoutinginc.com for
the info.
Pre-draft Visits: The Saints will visit with 15-20 prospects
leading up to the draft. While they won't meet with Leinart (see
below), at one scout told us that Leinart is already a known
entity, and may feel it is necessary. Besides, it makes for a
good oil slick for other teams, a tactic in which Loomis is classically
trained. Included in the list of visitors to Saints camp will
be, however, NC State DE Mario Williams and Ohio State LB AJ
Hawk. Also visiting will be Albany State DB Demetrie McCray.
Pre-draft Visits: The Advocate reported on April
9 that the Saints would not bring USC QB Matt Leinart in for
a visit. That may not mean much, since the Saints run their draft
so value-based they have rarely drafted a guy with their
first pick that they also visited with. But in this draft, with
the potential selections at #2 being so finite, not bringing
Leinart in smacks of either a deliberate smokescreen or an uncommonly
clear signal that the Saints have already ruled him out. It would
be unlike Mickey Loomis to send such a deliberate signal.
Trade Down?: NOPF has analyzed
possible trades down the Saints could execute on April 29.
USC Pro Day: QB Matt Leinart did
not run the 40-yard dash at USC's Pro Day on April 2, miffing
some scouts. But Leinart is not considered a running quarterback
and his scrambling at the collegiate level was utilitarian at
best, so this is not a concern. His attitude towards the workout
may have more of an impact than his 40 time. Otherwise, Leinart
measured in at 6'5 5/8", 224 pounds, did a 9'6" long
jump and had an impressive 37-inch vertical. NOPF's
official mock draft v1.0 has the Saints
selecting Leinart with the second overall pick. RB Reggie Bush
reportedly ran somewhere between a 4.33 and a 4.4 on the fast
Astroturf surface, had a fantastic 40.5" vertical and a
10'9" long
jump. Complete results from
NFL.com here.
Official
NOPF Mock Draft: Despite our lack of resources
and the inevitable futile exercise that Mock Drafts are, we
put one together. Yeah, we know. Read
it here, and comment
about it here. posted
April 1, 2006
Pro Day Updates from NFL.com: Local colleges had their
pro days in March, here are the links: LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette,
Louisiana-Monroe,
Grambling,
McNeese
State, Southern, Northwestern
State, Southern
Miss, Louisiana
Tech, Nicholls
State, Southeastern
Louisiana.
Compensatory Selections: The Saints were awarded
a 2006 7th round pick, the third-to-last in the draft,
under the league's compensatory draft pick formula. It becomes
the sixth pick on the second day for the Saints, who also have
an extra sixth round pick from the Green Bay Packers as a result
of the Mike McKenzie trade. posted
March 27, 2006
Saints Draft 2006 Trade Summary: The
Packers owe the Saints their sixth round pick (174th overall),
as compensation in the Mike McKenzie trade in 2004. The Saints
only have two picks currently in the first day, because they
traded their 2006 third round pick to the Texans in order to
move up and select T Jammal Brown in last April's first round.
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