New Orleans Saints

Some of the names tied to the Saints for the 2017 NFL Draft

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:45 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Roy Anderson/FanSided via Who Dat Dish

Well, New Orleans Saints fans. It’s that time of year again. From December through to the actual 2017 NFL Draft, April 27-29, everybody with a keyboard, TV show, podcast, etc. will be posting mock drafts.

To date, a number of players have been selected by the New Orleans Saints in these mocks. Currently all of the picks this reporter has seen have been on defense. The mock drafts will change numerous times over the course of the next three months. Today, WhoDatDish.com will take a look at the four names most often mentioned in these make-believe scenarios.

It needs to be remembered that the Saints frequently eschew common wisdom and go for the player they see as the best player available, or BPA. Remember Andrus Peat and Brandin Cooks. Most mock draftniks and media sources never guessed those picks. Yet again, in 2016, the Saints went with the player, Sheldon Rankins, who a large number of media outlets and online sources mocked to them.

Though the list will likely change a few times as we lead up to the big day, here are the four players most often linked to the Black and Gold.

Derek Barnett

Barnett is the name most frequently linked to the Saints in recent mock drafts. The defensive end out of the University of Tennessee, in his three year run there, broke former Vol Reggie White’s collegiate sack record with 33.

At 6’3″ and 263 lbs, the Nashville native certainly looks the part. He’s fast, aggressive, and hungry. If you were to have a lab for creating a pass rusher for the New Orleans Saints—like the kids did in the movie Weird Science—you might very well come up with Derek Barnett.

But the problem is that Barnett has been trending upwards in recent mock drafts. That sometimes means that NFL scouts are talking more and more about a player. There’s a chance Barnett will go before the Saints pick at number 11.

But, should he be available, the Saints would be foolish to pass on a player that so readily meets what many consider to be their greatest need: someone to get after opposing teams’ quarterbacks.

Jalen “Teez” Tabor

Teez Tabor, out of the University of Florida, pops up all over mock drafts for a number of teams. Sometimes he is also interchanged with his teammate Quincy Wilson. It’s certain that cornerback is a need for the Black and Gold, so either might be a good fit.

On the field, Tabor is a legit gamer. He’s posted eye-popping numbers through his collegiate career in Gainesville. He had ten passes defended and four interceptions in his 2016 campaign and was a First-Team Freshman All-American in 2014.

At 6′ and 191 lbs, Tabor is thick and athletic. But the knocks on him are his speed and off-field issues. He’s described as quick rather than fast. But we likely won’t know much about that until either the NFL combine or a Florida pro day.

He’s been suspended a number of times throughout his career at Florida and that may ultimately be the deciding factor in whether he’s chosen to suit up for the Saints. But with after a drop off in production from Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams being a question mark at this point, cornerback is a position the Saints will need to focus on in free agency and the 2017 NFL Draft.

Reuben Foster

Reuben Foster, 6’1″ 228 lbs., out of the University of Alabama is seen by many to be one of the most NFL ready middle linebackers to enter the draft in the past few years. He’s been mocked as high as number 5 and as low as number 23. But few have him falling out of the top 10. Those that do have him falling out the top 10 typically don’t have him sliding past number 11 where the Saints pick.

If you follow the draft, it’s hard to not go on Twitter and find numerous clips of the 2016 Butkus Award winner hitting people. His stock in trade is in knocking the stuffing out of opposing teams’ running backs and quarterbacks foolish enough to try to run against him. Want someone to lay the leather? Then Foster’s your man.

He’s also had the opportunity to lead perhaps the best collegiate defense in the nation over the past year under Alabama head coach Nick Saban. As captain of that unit the experience he gained is immeasurable.

The Saints haven’t had a solid starting middle linebacker since the departure of the great Jonathon Vilma. A lot of the blame for that has been placed on now departed linebackers coach Joe Vitt. But free agency gambles and bad drafts have played a part as well. Reuben Foster looks to be the surest bet to come along in the NFL Draft in quite some time.

Solomon Thomas

In the lead up to every draft, there is always a player who quickly slides up and down the draft board. And most recently some mocks have Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen sliding into the top 5. But Allen has yet to declare, and wasn’t even on the radar two weeks ago. Another player whose stock is rising and has declared is defensive lineman Solomon Thomas out of Stanford.

Much of the talk regarding Thomas is due to his single-handedly winning Stanford’s bowl game against North Carolina with a jaw-dropping sack of Tarheel quarterback Mitch Trubisky on a last gasp 2-point conversion attempt. And digging deeper on YouTube, you can see the obvious draw to Thomas.

He’s physically in the mold of current Saint Cameron Jordan. 6’3″ and 280 lbs., Thomas is also capable of sub 4.6 40 yard dash speeds. He can play on the interior of the defensive line or as an edge rusher. He’s smart, intuitive, has great football instincts and a high motor.

Many compare him to J.J. Watt. The Saints could do much worse than adding a player of that caliber to the 2017 version of the Black and Gold.

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