Here's my 2017 Saints mock.
Don't look for a QB in my mock. The Saints just signed Chase Daniels to return as backup to Drew Brees. With immediate help needed at other positions, I wouldn't waste a pick on a QB. Besides, the 2018 draft is loaded with them.
So here we go:
Round 1, pick #11. Christian McCaffery, RB, Stanford. 5'11" 202lbs. I know, I know, "the Saints need an edge rusher! Eleven is too high for McCaffery. Yeah I don't care. All I know is this guy, in this offense, would be nuclear. Fast. Elusive(48 forced missed tackles in '16), Explosive. Athletic. Great vision. Maintains speed off cuts. Excellent hands. Can take over a game. Great PR/KR. The match-up(or mismatch) opportunities are too much for Sean Payton to resist. And he won't be there at 32.
Why no edge rusher? Meh. You can run away from, double-team or chip a good pass rusher. Also this draft has depth at DE/OLB.
But, to me, the big issue is this. In six of their nine losses in '16, the Saints lost by an average score of 21-16. However the offense averaged 29.3/game overall, 2nd in the NFL. Had they scored their average in just three of those losses, they're 10-6. They only needed 17 points to beat the Giants and Buc but sputtered. That means the O underachieved dramatically in those losses. Yet they were only one big play away from stealing a couple. I think McCaffey makes those big plays.
Round 1, pick #32 Charles Harris, DE Missouri 6'3" 255lbs Built of granite and possesses tremendous speed off the edge and a wicked spin move. Great motor. Can drop into coverage if needed. Needs improvement against the run but right now the Saints need a pass rusher.
Round 2, pick #42. T.J. Watt, OLB, Wisconsin 6'4" 252lbs. Long, strong and edge acceleration. Excellent football instincts. Works fast as a blitzer, sheds blocks and takes good angles. Good, physical tackler. 15.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in '16. Scott Fujita type. Always in the right place and makes that play you didn't think he could make.
Round 3 pick #76. Ahkello Witherspoon, CB, Colorado 6'3" 200lbs. A good cover corner with size. With the likes of Julio Jones, Kelvin Benjamin and Mike Evans in the NFC South, the Saints need a tall CB. Witherspoon has the ability to high point the ball and tighten that tall WR catch radius.
Round 3, pick #103 Trey Hendrickson, DE, Florida Atlantic 6'4" 265. One of the best small school prospects in the draft. Big and fast, 4.65 forty time. Can get the jump on OTs with his first step and put pressure on the QB opposite Cam Jordan. He and Harris can compete for that spot It'll push both to be better which could provide the Saints with good cheap labor for the next four years at an essential position.
Round 6, pick #196 Bug Howard, WR, North Carolina 6'4" 220lbs 4.6 Big receiver with sure hands. Just four drops in four years of college ball. Hell, that's a half for Brandon Coleman. That alone makes it worth the pick. He's also willing to go over the middle and presents a big target for Brees.
Round 7, pick #229 Jeremy Clark, CB, Michigan 6'3" 220lbs Coming off ACL injury his senior season. Another big DB to compete in a division stocked with big WRs. Nice combination of size and speed. He will be hotly pursued as an undrafted free agent so why not pick pull the trigger here. Tremendous upside and value at this spot.
Those are my picks and I'm sticking with them. The draft is just a month away. Then mini-camp. OTAs. Before you know it training camp.
Bring it on!
