The most intriguing position in this year's NFL draft just happens to be the position where the Saints have the biggest need. Imagine that?
But just who might be on the board when the Saints pick at No. 14? And how about the rest of the field? WWL Radio's Mike Detillier has you covered with his tight end rankings.
Listen to the full breakdown in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"I’ve done this close to 30 years, it’s as good as it gets when you look at talent and depth across the board for offensive tackles," Detillier said on WWL.
━━
MORE POSITION BREAKDOWNS: quarterback | running back | wide receiver | tight end | safety | cornerback | defensive tackle
━━
So who are those players, and in what order? Scroll below for Detillier's WR rankings, his takes on several and a draft projection for each of the top 13.
━━
1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame
- Mike's take: “Tall, lanky guy, good leverage, angle-type blocker. I’d like to see him become a little bit more physical player. Now, it’s hard to believe, as a Notre Dame guy, that he’s not a real physical guy at the point of attack as a run blocker. He gets the job done, but I’d like to see him become more of a power player and throw those arms out with a lot more power than he does.”
- Draft projection: top-6 pick
━━
2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State
- Mike's take: “He’s not a lengthy guy ... but all I know is he gets the job done. He is a really good pass protector, and what I watch is his body balance and his feet and his ability to adjust to a move and that counter move. He does that really, really well. Super smart guy, picks things up right away. Similar to Alt, I would like to see him become a more physical player as a run-blocker. But as a pass-protector he does a fantastic job and I just watch his lower body, how well he moves his feet and the adjustments. He’s rarely thrown off-balance as a player.”
- Draft projection: top-10 pick
Related
━━
3. Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
Mike's take: “Fuaga is the best run-blocker of this group, a power player, comes off the snap hard. Man, and you can just see with his arms and his hands how he extends out with a lot of power, and he gets a lot of movement as a run-blocker. He’s gotten so much better as a pass-protector, when you look at his size, you saw how well can a big guy like that move. Man, he can move really well. And again, his adjustment skills, his body balance. You rarely see him on the ground as a pass-protector, and that’s what I like about him. I think there’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment period with him in pass-protection ... but as a run-blocker, he is the best of the bunch in this class.”
- Draft projection: top-10 pick
━━
4. JC Latham, Alabama
- Mike's take: “He blocks out the sun. I mean, he’s not a real tall guy ... but man, he’s a wide load, 350 pounds, outstanding run-blocker, and when you watch him in pass protection he rarely gets beat. He has played right tackle. If he was a left tackle guy, I might’ve kicked him up a little bit. ... He is a very aggressive get-after-you and then put you away run-blocker, and he is a good pass protector. Now, again, sometimes the technical part of the game with him, he’s not picture perfect, but it don’t matter. Nobody beats him, and he’s done a pretty good job. If you see how Jalen Milroe was worked in this offense, they rolled him out, they rolled him out right to Latham’s side, because they knew they weren’t gonna get much pressure there. ... If you’re looking for a right tackle and a guy that I think will play quickly is JC Latham.”
- Draft projection: top-15 pick
━━
5. Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma
- Mike's take: “Long guy, thick, again a really good run-blocker, a very good pass-protector. His footwork needs a little bit of work there, but man, listen, we ain’t sending somebody to the moon here. We can work with him on that particular part, but he has mostly played right tackle at OU. They put him at left tackle for a little while and then swung him back to the right side. He does an excellent job in both areas, run blocker, pass protector. I made an argument in the week of the Senior Bowl, he may have been the best player on the offensive side of the football, Tyler Guyton. He made him a lot of money going to Mobile, and man, he’s a guy, take no prisoners and I don’t care what you throw at me, I’m gonna give it to you. I may get beat, but I’m gonna give every bit back to you.”
- Draft projection: top-20 pick
━━
6. Troy Fautanu, Washington
- Mike's take: “He’s played mostly tackle, and ... a lot of people think he’s better off inside. ... My thing is I put you at tackle right off the bat unless I hove a hole at guard, and see how well you can handle it. We all know he can protect the quarterback really well. Michael Penix ain’t running away from people. I mean, he’s a pocket-style quarterback, and so they knew to keep it all in tight and I thought Troy was … an excellent technician. He’s gotten better as a run blocker. I thought he was a little high coming off the snap, sometimes he’d get a little high and they’d throw him off-balance, but he’s gotten much better over the last two years. He’s staying lower and finishing off a block as a run blocker, but Troy is an outstanding pass protector."
- Draft projection: top-20 pick
7. Amarius Mims, Georgia
- Mike's take: “I don’t want to play him right away, because I think there’s going to be an adjustment. Man, you talk about eight games at the college level. Eight. But those eight games, when you watch the tape on him, ain’t nobody beat him. He’s tall. He’s got long arms. He’s aggressive. He’s a stomper, what I call, as a run blocker, almost like he wants to run you over and then stomp you on the way back. He’s gotten better as a pass protector. At one time he was more of a waist bender, then a knee bender, but he’s gotten better with that. I just wish he’d had more experience, because that’s gonna come into play with him. If I don’t have to play him early, then I have no problem with that, but he’s gonna go through a growth period as a pass protector.”
- Draft projection: late Day 1 pick
Related
━━
8. Jordan Morgan, Arizona
- Mike's take: “He’s my 33rd rated guy, but he really could be 28 because of the way they all kind of worked out the exact same grade. A really good pass-protector. Man, he’s quick with his hands. I like the way he adjusts and readjusts to a move and a counter move, and he gets his hands on you and once he gets his hands on you, it’s over. You’re not beating him. He’s gotten much better as a run-blocker. I always thought he sort of played high in the saddle, like a big tall cowboy, but he’s gotten better at lowering his base and playing with that, that power that I know he’s got. Excellent pass-protector and I think he will get even better as a run blocker, especially if he has an experienced offensive line coach that’s going to say, you know what, man, get that body lower and bend your knees. Don’t bend at the waist. But Arizona, if you saw them this year, they were very good. A lot of that was quick and fast, so he’s just doing what they’re telling him to do. The NFL is going to be a little bit different game for him, but I like him as a player.”
- Draft projection: late Day 1/early Day 2 pick
━━
9. Patrick Paul, Houston
- Mike's take: “Man, he’s got a wingspan like a big condor. Three-year starter at left tackle. I’d like to see a little bit more muscle with him, physicality. He moves his feet well. He’s got a huge wingspan. He can catch it coming off the edge. He can catch you a lot of different ways. A lot of times he plays a little off-balance with his feet. Man, he’s a hell of a player, a hell of a prospect. Again, a three-year guy at left tackle.”
- Draft projection: early Day 2 pick
━━
10. Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
- Draft projection: mid to late Day 2 pick
━━
11. Kiran Amegadjie, Yale
- Draft projection: early Day 3
━━
Sleeper: Julian Pearl, Illinois
- Mike's take: “He’s 6-5, 312. He measured out with an 85 3/4-inch wingspan. He’s been a two-year starter at left tackle at Illinois, came out early, and again, the fundamental parts for him, he’s still a work in progress, but man, is he talented and athletic and can tie you up and with those long arms, OK, you think you can give him an inside move and beat him and he just sort of wheels out there and catches you.”
- Draft projection: early to mid Day 3
This article is the fifth in a draft preview series with WWL analyst Mike Detillier, check back for breakdowns of other positions leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft.