The New Orleans Saints are far from the only NFL team that rolls deep at events like the Senior Bowl and pro days around the college landscape, but they're hard to miss.
The Saints had four assistant coaches dotting the field at the annual showcase in Mobile, leading multiple position groups. The same was true at the LSU pro day, where LBs coach Michael Hodges, secondary coach Marcus Robertson, DC Joe Woods and WR Kodi Burns could all be spotted leading drills, with multiple others in attendance either looking on or participating as well.
It's all part of the process, which is geared toward getting as much data possible on all players before the Saints get on the clock. But it's more than just skill, as Hodges explains when asked how important the idea of "character" is to the evaluation.
“It’s incredibly important," he said. "We won’t draft a player unless that checks out. Before we talk about them as players, we talk about their makeup. And it is something that I learned when I got here and it has been extremely important. It can make or break a draft class.”
The amorphous concept of character always seems to crop up during draft season. In this year's class, the ultra-talented Georgia DT Jalen Carter appears to be the biggest wild card in that arena due to off-field issues. Hodges wasn't speaking to Carter's situation directly, but he explained what the Saints will do when they identify legitimate character concerns.
“We’ll put a different color tag on that player and not draft him," Hodges said, "even if he’s elite.”
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That said, a character question doesn't end things for the Saints on a prospect. There are multiple opportunities to dig deeper, and that can be done at a player's pro day, or even through an in-person visit and workout, of which each team gets 30. The Saints also held a local player's workout day to get a closer look at some in-state prospects.
But time and availability is limited, so facetime as scouting events and pro days can be vital. As Hodges spoke to the media, he explained that he had been to six schools in the past five days for various scouting events. Not all carry the same level of prospects, but you can't find the diamonds in the rough unless you're looking for them. One example is LB Kaden Elliss, whom the Saints drafted in the 7th round of 2019 after Hodges was prompted to take a trip to the University of Idaho's Pro Day.
"I would not have gone to probably watch that guy if they didn’t make me, and I came out of there saying ‘we’ve got to talk about this player’ and sure enough," Hodges said. "So that was my lesson early on when I got here, and it’s paid dividends for sure. And so anything you can be around these guys, talk to them, get to know them a little bit, it helps us kind of grade the makeup, which is a big deal for our process. It’s just important to be around them as often as possible before we make some of these decisions.”
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Hodges lamented the loss of Elliss this offseason, who departed for the Falcons on a lucrative 3-year deal.
“I think he should be an example to anybody that gets drafted on Saturday that thinks he should’ve been drafted on Thursday or Friday. ... If people aren’t paying attention to that and think that only the guys drafted in the first three rounds are important, they are completely missing the boat," he said. "And that’s why going out to these things and those draft picks on Saturday are incredibly important.”