There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic at No. 29 in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Still, it's important to be realistic, as WWL Radio Color Analyst Deuce McAllister explained on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert and Mike Detillier this week.
"You would be kind of silly to say that we’re going to go in and at 29, we’re getting a Day 1 starter," he said when discussing the pick. "When he puts that helmet on, he’s a starter for us. That’s not being fair to the player or the coaching staff if that’s what you’re looking at.”
Listen to the full conversation with Deuce McAllister in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
It was all part of a conversation regarding the goal of drafting an immediate contributor and starter, rather than a rotation player. That'd be great, of course, but it's more a goal if you're in the top 10 range. In the back half of the first round, McAllister said a player with a specified role -- IE third-down or early-down specific, would be a win.
"Look at the histories of the last 10 drafts, five drafts, however far you want to go back. How many players at 29 have stepped in immediately, Day 1, and he was a starter? It doesn’t normally happen," McAllister continues. "So I would honestly say, if he’s a part of the rotation Year 1 — I don’t need him to be part of a rotation Year 2 or Year 3, at some point he’s got to be the alpha dog and he’s got to start — but Year 1, if he’s part of the rotation, I’m OK with that."
It's just the reality of drafting in the latter stages of the first round, which is the case due to the trade of Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos. The Saints would've otherwise been without a pick due to a trade the team swung last season to add an extra selection. The Saints' 2023 first-rounder belongs to the Eagles at No. 10 overall.
That's the pick in question when it comes to potentially drafting a player that Hebert suggested might be the second coming of Deuce himself, whom New Orleans took at No. 20 in the 2001 draft despite already having Ricky Williams under contract.
"He don’t have my speed Bobby. Don’t insult me. He’s a good back. He does a lot of good things," McAllister said, at least partially in jest before adding, "I do love his game."
Should Robinson fall all the way to 29, the Saints would have an interesting decision to make. Would it make sense to add Robinson to a running back room with Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams? Would it make sense to trade forward to go get a target they love? Maybe even move back? Those are all answers the Saints will deliver on Thursday evening. McAllister would qualify the Saints' needs in the draft first at defensive line, then at the skill positions and possible the defensive secondary, where you can never have too many bodies.
"It’s a good place to pick," he continues, "and I can tell you I know Mickey talked a little bit about it today, there’s probably about six guys that they really, really like at that position, in that lower first half position, and how far they move up, if they move up, if they move back … that’s something that has to be on the table."
