The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, but instead of looking forward, let's take a few minutes to look back.
On a special draft episode of Inside Black & Gold, we go back and grade the last 10 (well, really 11) first-round picks by the New Orleans Saints. There were some exceptions due to limited info, but that's broken down as well. The results? Not too shabby.
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TOO EARLY: 3 (Listen)
D: 2
C: 1 (listen)
B: 4
A: 4 (listen)
NOTE: "Potentials" are any Pro Bowl players who were selected within 32 picks of the pick being graded. "Others" are simply potential picks in that range, regardless of Pro Bowl status.
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THE TOO EARLY TO TELL
2022
No. 11: WR, Chris Olave, Ohio State … Grade: A/INC
Saints career: 15 games (9 starts); 72 receptions, 1,042 yards, 4 TDs
No. 19: LT, Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa … Grade: INC
Saints career: 6 games (1 start)
POTENTIALS
None
OTHERS
FROM 11
12. WR, Jameson Williams, Lions
13. DT, Jordan Davis, Eagles
FROM 19
20. QB, Kenny Pickett, Steelers
36. RB, Breece Hall, Jets
41. RB, Kenneth Walker III, Seahawks
NOTES: Nothing complicated here. It's simply too early to have a real grade. I'd give Olave an A based off simply his rookie season, but there's still plenty of time for that grade to drop if he fails to build on what he did well and improve where he struggled (ball security, contested catch, YAC). Penning simply hasn't been on the field enough to have a real grade at this point.
Related
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2021
No. 28: DE, Payton Turner, Houston … Grade: C-/INC
Saints career: 13 games (0 starts); 28 tackles, 3 sacks
POTENTIALS:
37. C, Landon Dickerson, Eagles
OTHERS
30. DE, Greg Rousseau, Bills
35. RB, Javonte Williams, Broncos
36. S, Jevon Holland, Dolphins
47. CB, Asante Samuel Jr., Chargers
50. DE, Azeez Ojulari, Giants
NOTES: It’s tempting to be really low on this pick, but it’s very much still early. Also, go ahead and look at the list of players picked behind PT and tell me the no-brainer alternative? I’d still have gone with Greg Rousseau (he was in my final mock), but he’s not exactly dominating, either. There’s only one pro bowler within the next 30 picks so far, and it’s at center … a position you drafted in each of the past two seasons.
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THE D's
2015
No. 32: LB, Stephone Anthony ... Grade: D-
Saints career: 38 games (20 starts); 152 tackles, 1 sack; 1 fumble recovery
POTENTIALS:
33. S, Landon Collins, Giants
43. LB, Benardrick McKinney, Texans
45. LB, Eric Kendricks, UCLA
48. LB, Denzel Perryman, Chargers
49. G, Mitch Morse, Chiefs
61. G, Ali Marpet, Bucs
63. DE, Frank Clark, Seahawks
NOTES: This is the lowest grade I’ve got in my listings, and it might surprise people … because Stephone Anthony is one of the worst picks in Saints history. But it still can’t be the floor. We have to allow rooms for names like Jonathan Sullivan and Sedrick Ellis … or Russell Erxlaben, anyone? What saves Anthony is he was actually productive during his rookie season. He actually led the Saints in tackles with 112. He’s still a bust, but it’s enough to keep him on the D line and ahead of some other guys, even if they’re not technically on this list.
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2018
No. 14: DE, Marcus Davenport, UTSA … Grade: D
Saints career: 63 games (32 starts); 142 tackles; 21.5 sacks; 1 fumble recovery; 4 forced fumbles
POTENTIALS:
FROM 14
16. LB, Tremaine Edmunds, Bills
17. S, Derwin James, Chargers
18. CB, Jaire Alexander, Packers
19. LB, Leighton Vander-Esch, Cowboys
20. C, Frank Ragnow, Lions
FROM 27
32. QB, Lamar Jackson, Ravens
35. RB, Nick Chubb, Browns
36. LB, Shaq Leonard, Colts
40. WR, Courtland Sutton, Broncos
41. LB, Harold Landry, Titans
OTHERS
47. WR, Christian Kirk, Cardinals
49. TE, Dallas Goedert, Eagles
54. S, Jessie Bates, Bengals
55. CB, Donte Jackson, Panthers
NOTES: Davenport is a weird case, because he’s definitely a bust in terms of draft value … but we’ve seen the talent. It’s there. It’s still mostly untapped. Had this been the No. 27 pick, I’d probably have it in the high C range, but it wasn’t. That extra first it took to get up to No. 14 is really hard to stomach based on the results, and the looong list of Pro Bowlers that could’ve been had. Can you imagine a defensive backfield of Marshon Lattimore and Jaire Alexander? Saints would’ve still had to trade up … but it was possible.
Related
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THE C's/B's
2013
No. 15: S, Kenny Vaccaro … Grade: C+
Saints career: 68 games (67 starts); 385 tackles; 8 interceptions; 7.5 sacks; 3 fumble recoveries
POTENTIALS
18. S, Eric Reid, LSU
20. G, Kyle Long, Bears
21. TE, Tyler Eifert, Bengals
22. CB, Desmond Trufant, Falcons
25. CB, Xavier Rhodes, Vikings
27. WR, DeAndre Hopkins, Texans
29. WR, Cordarrelle Patterson, Vikings
31. C, Travis Frederick, Cowboys
35. TE, Zach Ertz, Eagles
36. CB, Darius Slay, Lions
39. QB, Geno Smith, Jets
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2016
No. 12: DT, Sheldon Rankins, Louisville … Grade: B-
Saints career: 63 games (33 starts); 116 tackles; 17.5 sacks; 3 forced fumbles; 1 interception
POTENTIALS:
13. OT, Laremy Tunsil, Dolphins
17. S, Keanu Neal, Falcons
18. C, Ryan Kelly, Colts
27. DT, Kenny Clark, Packers
34. LB, Jaylon Smith, Cowboys
38. CB, Xavien Howard, Dolphins
NOTES: The Saints also pulled Michael Thomas out of the second round of this draft … so you could argue they ended up with the best player and filled an always present need with a big bodied player whose only real issue was injuries. But I'll ding any high first-rounder who doesn't land a second contract in New Orleans, and that was the case here.
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2015
No. 13: G, Andrus Peat, Stanford … Grade: B-
Saints career: 95 games (90 starts)
POTENTIALS:
15. RB, Melvin Gordon, Chargers
18. CB, Marcus Peters, Chiefs
24. OT, DJ Humphries, Cardinals
27. CB, Byron Jones, Cowboys
28. G, Laken Tomlinson
NOTES: I'm probably higher on Peat that many across Saints nation, but I won't deny the injury woes are highly aggravating. When he's been on the field, he's been a competent starting guard who has excelled in run blocking and struggled at points in pass protection. Still, he's above replacement level and that justifies the grade for me.
Related
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2014
No. 20: WR, Brandin Cooks, Oregon State … Grade: B
Saints stats: 42 games (31 starts); 215 catches, 2,861 yards, 20 TDs
POTENTIALS:
21. S, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Packers
23. DE, Dee Ford, Chiefs
25. CB, Jason Verrett, CB, Chargers
32. QB, Teddy Bridgewater, Vikings
34. DE, DeMarcus Lawrence, Cowboys
35. OT, Joel Bitonio, Browns
36. QB, Derek Carr, Raiders
NOTES: Cooks is a good player. The value made sense. You ended up bringing a first-rounder back when he was shipped out of town. There are worse results. What really hurts is this is also the Stanley Jean-Baptiste draft. If you had gone a different direction at 20, Allen Robinson and Jarvis Landry were right there. Not a banner year.
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2020
No. 24: G/C, Cesar Ruiz, Michigan … Grade: B/INC
Saints career: 46 games (40 starts)
POTENTIALS:
41. RB, Jonathan Taylor, Colts
45. S, Antoine Winfield Jr., Bucs
51. CB, Trevon Diggs, Cowboys
53. QB, Jalen Hurts, Eagles
OTHERS:
25. WR, Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers
26. QB, Jordan Love, Packers
28. LB, Patrick Queen, Ravens
33. WR, Tee Higgins, Bengals
34. WR, Michael Pittman Jr., Colts
36. S, Xavier McKinney, Giants
NOTES: Ruiz is another player that still has something to show before a grade becomes official. If you had asked me after Year 2, I'd have gone in the low Cs, but he took a major step forward in Year 3 and at points looked like the best OL player on the roster (particularly when Erik McCoy was out). He's got a chance to bump this grade up into the A range if he builds off of that and ends up being the long-term starter at guard.
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THE A's
2017
No. 11: CB, Marshon Lattimore, Ohio State … Grade: A-
Saints career: 80 games (80 starts); 327 tackles, 14 interceptions; 5 forced fumbles; 5 fumble recoveries
No. 32: RT, Ryan Ramzcyk, Wisconsin … Grade: A
Saints career: 89 games (87 starts)
POTENTIALS:
12. QB, Deshaun Watson, Texans
13. DE, Hasaan Reddick, Cardinals
16. CB, Marlon Humphrey, Ravens
17. DE, Jonathan Allen, Commanders
23. TE, Evan Engram, Giants
27. CB, Tre’Davious White, Bills
30. DE, T.J. Watt, Steelers
36. S, Budda Baker, Cardinals
41. RB, Dalvin Cook, Vikings
48. RB, Joe Mixon, Bengals
62. WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers
63. G, Dion Dawkins, Bills
NOTES: Both of these picks were very, very good. Still, I can’t give them a perfect grade for one simple reason: The Saints got leapfrogged on both of them. They were set to take Mahomes at 11, but the Chiefs traded ahead and selected the greatest QB of a generation (at least to this point). That’s a miss, even as good as Marshon has been. That said, under the circumstances I’d argue you grabbed the best possible option left on the board. The same happened at 32, but the 49ers saved the Saints from themselves by trading ahead for Reuben Foster. The Saints came away with a cornerstone of the OL in Ramczyk. You could argue they missed on some potential star RBs, except this is the year they came away with Alvin Kamara.
Summary: Both guys are A+ players, but the grade is for the pick … and in both cases the Saints didn’t get “their guy.”
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2011
No. 24: DE, Cam Jordan, California … Grade: A+
Saints career: 192 games (191 starts); 639 tackles, *115.5 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions
No. 28: RB, Mark Ingram, Alabama … Grade: A
Saints career: 123 games (69 starts); 1,451 carries, *6,500 yards, *52 rushing TDs; 264 receptions, 1,804 yards, 5 TDs
*Franchise records
POTENTIALS:
30. DE, Muhammad Wilkerson, Jets
31. DE, Cam Heyward, Steelers
35. QB, Andy Dalton, Bengals
43. TE, Kyle Rudolph, Vikings
55. G, Rodney Hudson, Chiefs
NOTES: Do I really need to explain these grades? When you draft a guys who end up setting new franchise records, there's probably an auto-A in this grading methodology. What's notable is Cam, who I'm willing to top out the scale on with the only A+ of the first-round players graded. You will not find a better pick marrying value at 24 with production and availability. He even went on to sack Matt Ryan 22 times, the most by a player on any single QB in NFL history. He is the ceiling.
Related
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WORTH MENTIONING
2019
*48. C, Erik McCoy, Texas A&M … Grade: *A+
2012
89. DE, Akiem Hicks … Grade: A-
The Saints did not have a first-round pick in either season, but landed a high-caliber player in both instances. The grading rubric for non first-round picks is a lot different, but it's still worth noting in this list.
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