The 2022 NFL Draft approaches, and the Saints have any number of routes they can go with the No. 16 and 19 picks in the first round.
Will they pick a tackle and a play-maker? Will they pick a quarterback? Will they pick another center? It's difficult to know, and a lot will come down to one key question: Is the hype around the top several quarterbacks in the 2022 draft for real, or just a way to push teams higher on the board into taking them?
One way to look at it, go back in time to 2021 and insert this year's QBs into that field. Where would they rank among the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Mac Jones? If the answer if 6 and 7, that's telling that their draft status is more in line with strength of the class than anything else.
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The Saints could be in the market to trade up, but they might not have to if quarterback is really the position they're seeking. And in that case, it could be because they get on the clock at 16 and no quarterbacks have been taken yet. In that scenario, it'd be likely the top tackle options are already off the board.
Former Saints Head coach Sean Payton, speaking on The Great Dane Podcast with Morten Andersen, angled the team's likely first-round interest toward the offensive line, wide receiver and defensive back pools.
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"I know they want to add a receiver. ... I would definitely say they're going to look at a tackle, they're going to look at a receiver," Payton said. But it's hard to answer some of those questions when you don't know the grades of the players that are in this draft. A lot of times, most of the time, they can pull you in a direction where you're like 'we have to add this player.' "
That conversation is also impacted by having two bites at the apple, assuming the picks aren't packaged to move up or sent elsewhere to accrue more value. The Saints have been in this scenario four times since Mickey Loomis took over as GM in 2002, and the trend has been the same: OL or DL & a skill player.
Those drafts:
- 2017: Marshon Lattimore (11) and Ryan Ramczyk (32
- 2015: Andrus Peat (13) and Stephone Anthony (31)
- 2011: Cam Jordan (24) and Mark Ingram (28)
- 2002: Donte' Stallworth (13) and Charles Grant (25)
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Only six other skill position players have been selected in the first round of the 16 other drafts (two without a pick), while 12 first-rounders have been spent on offensive or defensive linemen. None have been spent at quarterback, a fact that's more indicative of Drew Brees' greatness than anything else. But Brees, when asked last week, said he felt the Saints were "set" at quarterback with Jameis Winston. The question is whether the front office feels the same way.
In the end, the trends suggest that, if the Saints stand firm at their current selections, it could be a scenario where need (OT, WR, safety) clearly meets value and opportunity.