New Orleans gets some much-needed help on the offensive line in round one.
The New Orleans Saints are completely focused on their head coaching search, but with some bad weather hitting the New Orleans area on Tuesday, they’ve had to hit pause on some of their interviews.
Since we’re in a bit of a lull right now, I figured we could briefly turn our attention to the NFL Draft and have some fun with a little three-round mock draft while we wait out the snow. The Saints have a top-10 pick for the first time in over 15 years, so this should be an exciting draft for the fans.
With all that said, let’s hop into my first mock draft of the year:
Round 1, Pick 9 – Will Campbell, OT, LSU
Photo by Gus Stark/LSU/Getty Images
There were a lot of different places I could’ve gone with this pick. In my mock draft I used Pro Football Network’s simulator, and my top options on the board were Will Campbell, Mason Graham, Kelvin Banks and Will Johnson. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of those four, but I chose Campbell.
The former LSU offensive tackle is a great prospect because he could play both tackle and guard at the next level. His wingspan is a bit short for tackle, but he’s talented enough to overcome that. Luckily, the Saints need both a guard and a tackle, so he can slide in wherever they feel necessary. It’s also hard to find a 21 year old with more experience than him in this draft. In 2,500+ snaps, Campbell has allowed just four sacks and 49 pressures in his career.
I think he’s the best OL available in this draft, and I would take him at pick nine if he’s still there in April.
Round 2, Pick 40 – Tre’ Harris, WR, Ole Miss
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Once again, I found myself with four players, I really like on the board with the 40th pick. Tre’ Harris, Kenneth Grant, Harold Fannin Jr. and Omarion Hampton were all sitting there, and if this were real life, I think that is a great problem to have if you’re the Saints. I ultimately picked Harris, because I think the Saints really need to add some talent at receiver incase Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed go down again.
Harris, who played just eight games this season due to injury, still recorded 60 catches for 1,030 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s gone over 900 yards the past three seasons and has over 3,500 career receiving yards. He’s 6-foot-3, 210-pounds and gives them a big, bodied target they desperately need.
It may be smarter to go with Grant just because of the need at defensive tackle, but it’s hard to pass up on a player like Harris in the second round.
Round 3, Pick 74 – J.T. Tuimoloau, ED, Ohio State
Set Number: X164668 TK1
If I hadn’t gone offense-offense with my first two picks, this would’ve been a much tougher decision. Matthew Golden (who I think is going to shoot up draft boards in the coming months) and Quinshon Judkins were both sitting there at pick 74 and it took everything in me not to select one of them, but I made the wise decision and went with the best pass rusher on the board in J.T. Tuimoloau. I could’ve gone with Denzel Burke or Zy Alexander at corner, but defensive line is a much bigger need in my opinion.
In four seasons with the Buckeyes, Tuimoloau totaled 23.5 sacks, 12.5 of which came this season, and 76 pressures. He and Jack Sawyer wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all year as they helped lead the Buckeyes to the national championship.
I view Tuimoloau as one of the best edge rushers in the draft, and I don’t know if he actually slides down to pick 74 in the real draft, but I just went with what the simulator gave me.