Damn, that was fun. The 2008 draft is in the books, and it has the looks of a good one. Mickey Loomis was straight up rakin’ all weekend. While the draft might have been light on the expected fireworks (no Dorsey, no Shockey, only six picks) it was heavy on the beef, and it projects to be heavy on production, both long-term and just as importantly, short-term.

All six guys stand a better-than-fifty-percent chance of sticking. All six guys seem to fit the "value" theme, all of them fill needs (or potential needs) on the roster, one of them fills multiple needs, and at least one of them is a late-round immediate starter. A guy who helps you offensively by scoring points, and defensively by improving your field position. Now that’s value.

On first glance, this draft class sure does smack a whole lot more of 2006 than it does of 2007. And we should all be happy about that. Two perceived traits of this current regime that were beginning to become cliche (too-cute small-school infatuation and offense-over-defense-at-any-cost) were thoroughly debunked. And those who were fearing the idea of "mortgaging the future" should at least take comfort in the fact that there’s apparently a limit to how far down that road they’re willing to go. There seems to be a little something for everybody in this draft. Well… everybody who’s not a perpetually-miserable asshole, that is.

The first day was either extremely intriguing and ultimately satisfying, or a huge cocktease, depending on your perspective. It didn’t take Long (pun intended) for the Saints to be kinda-sorta "on the clock." Once the Rams passed on Dorsey for Chris Long and the Falcons helped the Saints as much as they helped themselves by taking Matt Ryan, the game was officially on. Al Davis did what everybody knew Al Davis would do, not that McFadden was a bad pick by any stretch, and it was really starting to look like all us LSU… wait for it…. OMGHOMERS!!!!!!…. were actually going to have our collective wet dream become reality.

Dee-nied.

But as it turned out,  Message Board Guy hadn’t even finished typing out his hissy fit before Loomis pulled off what turned out to be a far more prudent Plan B. Sedrick Ellis ain’t no consolation prize. Rather, given that Dorsey would have apparently cost two first round picks plus significant lagniappe, it seems pretty clear that Ellis was the better value. By a lot. A whole lot.

LSU homers (myself included) can take solace in knowing that they gave it their best shot. LSU haters can revel in the fact that it didn’t work out and the non-LSU guy is now a Saint. The win-now crowd can rest assured that this guy is going to be an absolute stud right from day one. The build-for-the-future crowd can rest easy knowing that Loomis and crew were not willing to "pull a Ditka" and sell the farm for one guy. And everybody can be happy that the Saints actually went defense.

Given what we know right now, it’s hard to imagine any way Ellis can be considered anything other than the absolute best case scenario.

Oh sure, That Guy will claim that the Saints were "saved from themselves" by Kansas City turning down the apparent offer for the #5 pick. But That Guy is the guy who’s still all too happy to remind you that "the Saints only have Drew Brees because Nick Saban and Randy Mueller allowed the Saints to have him." And… that guy? Fuck that guy.

The second round was eerily similar. Regardless of whether you were for or against the move, chances are you had come to terms with the idea that it was merely a formality. The Saints were going to trade at least their second round pick for Jeremy Shockey.

moosedenied was able to get Ronnie Ghent on the phone a few minutes prior to the pick:

Ghent:
Fuck!!!

But once again, Loomis proved that there’s only so far he’s willing to go down the road to Sellout City. Instead, the Saints told the Giants where to stick it, kept the pick (and Roman Harper) and took a cornerback. Nice.

Now I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I know much about Porter. I’m sure Message Board Guy can tell you all about how he rolls his hips, transitions from the backpedal, pivots his pancreas, all that kinda stuff Message Board Guy loves to regurgitate from scouting reports so as to dazzle you with his ability to memorize catchphrases. We don’t play that shit here at moosedenied.

All I know is that by most accounts, the guy can motor. He can stick a wideout. He plays the ball. He’ll catch more potential interceptions than he drops. He’s closer to 6′ than 5′8". He probably has a legitimate shot at the dime or even the nickel right off the bat. He’s a gunner on coverage teams. And he’s probably the odds-on favorite for return duties right from day one.

People with actual scouting credentials seem to think that he’s a potential starter at corner, maybe sooner than later. Some consider him the second best or even best straight up man corner in this draft. And that’s fantastic. But for a team in a window, what’s better is that he should be able to contribute now, even if "only" on special teams. Added value is always a good thing.

3rd round? Part of Ellis. Let’s say the left leg and maybe the spleen.

4th round? The bulk of Vilma. Let’s say everything from the nipples down.

Okay, let’s just stop for a second and really give some thought to the following: We’re in the fifth round now, and the whole damn thing has been DEFENSE. I shit you not.

TheMario Pressley, defensive tackle, THE North Carolina State University. Oh man have I made quite the ass of myself on several non-consecutive occasions on that campus. I’m pretty sure I’m on a list of "Wolfpack associates" at at least two message boards as well. So needless to say, I love this pick.

But more importantly, Coach O seems to think he can get the best out of this guy. By all accounts, he has the tools to disrupt the run and collapse the pocket. He seems to be a classic "value pick" in that he fell down the boards due to a spate of (arguably) freak injuries which derailed his senior season in college. All his negatives (aside from the injuries) are "coachuppable."

But two defensive tackles? Shouldn’t they have used that pick on another position? Maybe. But defensive tackle is an important position, one where both starters are due to hit the wall and become largely useless at any moment, there’s little upside behind the starters, and unlike corner and linebacker, the Saints were not able to address the position in free agency. Two defensive tackles is not overkill. It’s foresight.

Carl Nicks, offensive line, Nebraska. Another "value" pick. An absolute monster physically, available late due to "character concerns." Could be a steal if you can keep him in line. This is yet another example of how issues of this nature can take on lives of their own based on simplistic thought processes, hasty conclusions and sheer repetition.

If anybody really knows where this guy’s head is at, they’re not talking. For his part, Nicks insists that "it’ll never happen again." Whatever "it" is. Far as I can tell, it seems like he runs/ran with a rowdy crowd, wasn’t quite ready for the party to be over when the badges came a-knockin’ one time, and that’s about the extent of it. It could be more than that, but nobody really seems to know.

Now some will say that "lack of respect for authority" is a huge issue. Others will say that he’s not likely to be completely sloshed on the practice field and mouthing off to coaches at one of those 2am practices Coach Payton routinely runs. Some will say that that kind of guy will undermine the professionalism in a locker room. Others will say that Sean Payton ain’t Jim Haslett, and there aren’t any Albert Connells in his locker room. Nor will there be. Some will say that "one bad apple can ruin the whole bunch." Others will say that if you take the apple out of that kind of environment and surround him with grownups, professionals and coaches who don’t play that shit, you can find tremendous value where others fear to tread.

So we’ll see. Meantime, what we do know is that to date there’s been absolutely no indication that the "well, the whole ‘Character Counts’ mantra is out the window now" point of view is the least bit valid. Yeah, Sean Payton is gonna sell his soul over a 5th round offensive lineman. That makes sense. Ask Walter Thomas if he thinks Payton’s just talking out of his ass on that issue.

Taylor Mehlhaff, "pencil-necked geek kicker who isn’t a real football player" and all that good shit. Outstanding pick. Second best pick of the draft, and not just because I called it about 10 minutes before it happened.

All due respect to our friend Berto, who by no means is alone in his assessment, but I ask you…

Morten Andersen :: Olindo Mare

Point made?

It boggles the mind how, as Saints fans, we’ve been up and down the whole spectrum of this issue. We’ve had one of the greatest of all time, for a long time, yet not nearly long enough, and we’ve also been to kicker hell at least three times, even as recently as just last year. Yet for some reason, when the kicker blows, we burn him in effigy. It is an absolutely huge issue. We sit there and watch as games are lost on the foot of that crappy kicker, and we punch things and set other things on fire, and we pine wistfully for the good ole days when if all else failed, we knew there was a good chance that Morten could get us one of those 9-7 wins. He’d put us up by 2 with a minutes left, then he’d boot the kickoff right the fuck through the uprights so the opponent would have to go as far as humanly possible if they planned on beating us.

Then we watch Olindo Mare crap his pants over and over and over again, and we wonder how the Saints could possibly have given up a 6th round pick for this asshole.

But when the time comes to find an answer at the position, most of us don’t want to invest even the least significant of resources. "It’s just a kicker. They’re not even real football players. They’re a dime a dozen. Choose from 30 of ‘em off the street, you’ll be fine"

Bullshit.

We’ve been there, done that. Of all fanbases, we ought to get it. Really get it.

You’re lucky if your sixth round pick even makes the team. Antonio Pittman was a fourth. Chase Lyman? Mike Hass? And on and on?

This guy is not only going to make the team, he’s going to score points for us every single game, right from day one. He’s going to help us defensively with regard to field position. He’s going to save us a roster spot. By the way, since when did it just become a matter of course for the Saints to carry a "kickoff guy" and a "field goal guy?" Seems like most Saints fans just accept that now. Like it’s normal, like everybody does it. It boggles the mind. The position isn’t important enough to invest a 6th round pick, but it’s important enough to keep two of ‘em? One for kickoffs and one for field goals? It doesn’t make any sense.

If you need two kickers, you’re completely fucked at the position. If it’s gotten to the point where half your fanbase has gotten pretty much used to the idea of carrying two kickers, you’re just ridiculously fucked at the position. Since when is it not worthy of a 6th round pick to put an end to that kind of horror?

Just last year, the Cowboys used a 6th on Nick Folk. The Packers used a 6th on Mason Crosby. The Saints used a 6th round pick on Olindo Mare. How’d that work out for the Cowboys and Packers? How’d it work out for us?

The presence of Marteen as an excuse for taking a practice squad linebacker over Mehlhaff is a complete non-starter. Marteen is a mirage. Lightning in a bottle. Statistical anomaly based on a small sample size. Depending on Marteen is like not drafting Dulymus because Terry Allen carried the load when Ricky Williams went down in 2000.

And then there’s Adrian Arrington, WR, Michigan. The second coming of Colston??????

No. Not a chance. Don’t even start. Just… no.

That being said, I’ll bet he sticks. And for a 7th round pick, that alone makes the pick worth it.

Why does Arrington stick? Because Tracy Porter probably renders Lance Moore moot.

I’ve got nothing but love for Lance, but there’s just no upside there. Here’s hoping Lance finds himself a gig somewhere and is successful.

But from what I’ve read, my interpretation is that Arrington stands to develop into a Willie Jackson or Jake Reed type of guy. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Guys like Jackson and Reed are straight up cash money. I’m not holding my breath for that kind of thing to happen immediately, of course. But I’ll take that kind of upside in the 7th round.

Bottom line? Ellis and Mehlhaff are enough for this draft to warrant an A all by themselves. The other guys are gravy. Delicious, high-quality gravy. And lots of it.

It remains to be seen, obviously, but this might very well have been the one that puts us over the top.

Believe it.