New Orleans Saints

Saints Draft: Only Three Options at Pick 11

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:42 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Roy Anderson/FanSided via Who Dat Dish

There are really only three options for the New Orleans Saints with their number 11 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Even if they trade up or down the Black and Gold need to make a defensive pick. And it should be a pass rusher, a middle linebacker, or a cornerback.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 24: A New Orleans Saints helmet is seen during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 24, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

The NFL Draft is already an inexact science and Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and crew are gamblers when it comes to picks. Defense has been a need for the New Orleans Saints for some years now, yet we’ve seen Brandin Cooks and Andrus Peat taken in the first rounds of their respective drafts ignoring the lack of defensive star power.

The team made strides in the past two drafts by selecting Stephone Anthony and Sheldon Rankins. But the defense is still dwelling in the NFL cellar.

Though Dennis Allen’s defense appeared to be improving in 2016, 2017 will surely force the hands of the Saints brain trust.

The Saints badly need a top notch cornerback, a middle linebacker and a pass rusher opposite Cam Jordan.

Some needs will be addressed in free agency and some from the return of injured players.Bbut this draft, more so than maybe any other in recent memory, must consist of more hits in more areas of need.

2017’s crop of draft prospects is heavy on defense in the early rounds and the Saints must be smart with pick number 11.

Here are three scenarios that could play out.

The philosophy here is the ability to get after other teams’ quarterbacks will take pressure off the Saints secondary and linebacker corps. New Orleans was one of the worst teams in the NFL in sacks. If it weren’t for Cam Jordan and Nick Fairley, they wouldn’t have gotten much pressure either.

EUGENE, OR – NOVEMBER 12: University of Oregon QB Justin Herbert (10) throws the ball while defended by Stanford University DE Solomon Thomas (90) during a PAC-12 NCAA football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Stanford Cardinal on November 12, 2016, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, OR. (Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There are several possibilities for what the Saints could do in this scenario. There are several pass rushers available in round one who could be grabbed: Stanford’s Solomon Thomas, Tennessee’s Derek Barnett, Alabama’s Tim Williams.

Thomas and Barnett are personal favorites. But choosing a pass rusher here depends on what the Saints have done in free agency.

They’ll have to have addressed the cornerback position by adding one of the several free agents hitting the market this year. Someone like an A.J. Bouye, Trumaine Johnson, Logan Ryan, Stephon Gilmore, Morris Claiborne or Captain Munnerlyn.

They’ll also need to target either another cornerback in the second round or a linebacker in the second or third. With the draft being so heavy at cornerback this is a likely scenario. But there’s a heavy drop off at linebacker.

This could be one of those drafts where you see the Saints trade back up to nab a player like Temple linebacker Haason Reddick or Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham after addressing the pass rush earlier in the first.

A player like LSU’s Duke Riley could be available in the third round but he doesn’t seem to have the playmaking ability of past LSU linebackers.

If the Saints don’t nab a good free agent corner they’ll have to hope the current top two on the team, Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams, can come back injury free and perform to 2016 preseason expectations while trying to grab a diamond in the rough in round 3.

The philosophy here is that, with opposing teams’ receivers better covered, the Saints pass rush will be able to more effectively get after a quarterback who can’t find anybody open.

SYRACUSE, NY – SEPTEMBER 26: Tre’Davious White

There are some exciting corners in the 2017 NFL Draft who will be available at pick 11. But they are all question marks as to how they’ll adjust to the NFL game.

Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore will likely go before this pick but then there are some dynamic players left: Alabama’s Marlon Humphrey, LSU’s Tre’Davious White, Florida’s Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson. But none seem to be the guaranteed hits that pass rushers like Solomon Thomas or Derek Barnett seem to be.

In this scenario the Saints should have addressed the need for a pass rusher in free agency by bringing in a Calais Campbell, Melvin Ingram or Jason Pierre Paul.

They’d then need to address the middle linebacker concern in the second round with a pick like Jarrad Davis out of Florida or Northwestern’s Anthony Walker, Jr. If Haason Reddick is available in round 2 he’s a sure bet.

The philosophy here is that a great middle linebacker will be able to better diagnose an opposing teams’ offensive line ups, wreak havoc in the middle of the field and take away another team’s run game to allow the Saints to focus on getting after the quarterback.

TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 09: Quarterback Deshaun Watson

This is the least likely of the three scenarios because, after Alabama’s Reuben Foster, there’s a big drop off at middle linebacker in the 2017 NFL Draft.

If Reuben Foster is available at pick 11 the Saints have to take him. He’s one of the surest things to come along in the draft in quite a while and would make an immediate impact on the Saints defense.

After Foster, the two best available are Vandy’s Zach Cunningham and Temple’s Haason Reddick. Though Reddick played outside linebacker in college, at the Senior Bowl he showed he can adapt to the Mike. Both of these players are considered later first round prospects. Perhaps the Saints could try to trade down in this scenario with a team looking to grab one of the quarterback prospects.

Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan is wildly over hyped in this reporter’s opinion. But he could

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surprise at the pro level.

There are still a number of solid pass rushers to be picked from in round 2 in all likelihood and this scenario also depends on the Saints having addressed the cornerback position in free agency.

Pass rushers to be considered after round 1 are Auburn’s Carl Lawson, Missouri’s Charles Harris, Illinois’ Dawuane Smoot, Kansas State’s Jordan Willis, and my personal favorites, Florida State’s DeMarcus Walker and Villanova’s Tanoh Kpassagnon.

Of course, the Saints could surprise and take a different tack in the Draft. Maybe they’ll take Alabama tight end O.J. Howard or Clemson’s Deshaun Watson. If you’ve followed the Saints for a while you’re used to these things happening. But to get the Black and Gold on track and back to winning form Loomis and crew need to be wise with this draft rather than shocking.

Roy Anderson is a contributor to Who Dat Dish and host of the daily Locked on Saints podcast available on Google Play, iTunes, Audioboom.com, Stictcher and TuneIn

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