New Orleans Saints 2008 Draft Class

The 2008 NFL Draft is in the books. The Saints did some wheeling and dealing with three trades over the weekend, but none of them involved TE Jeremy Shockey. They moved up in the first round, up in the 5th round and back into the 7th round.

Here's a look at the Saints draft:

Round 1, pick 7: Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
The Saints were aggressive in their pursuit of the top defensive tackles in the draft, Glen Dorsey and Ellis. When Dorsey fell to #5, the Saints contacted the Chiefs and reportedly offered their 1st, 2nd and 2009 1st round picks, but the Chiefs declined. The Saints then turned their attention to Ellis at pick 7. They moved up to the Patriots spot and got their man.

Ellis was dominant at the Senior Bowl and at the time, many believed he overtook Dorsey as the top DT in the draft, especially with Dorsey's injury concerns. Ellis cooled off a bit at the combine, but always remained a top-10 pick. Ellis is a good pass rusher from the middle, recording 8.5 sacks his senior year. He'll help shore up the Saints run and pass defense and hopefully, take some pressure off the secondary by collapsing the pocket.

Round 2, pick 40: Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana
The Saints stayed close to home with their second round pick and grabbed Tracy Porter, a Port Allen, La., native. Porter is a solid cover corner with special teams skills. He can return punts and play gunner on the coverage teams. He's not a great tackler, but his speed and ball skills make him a solid prospect.

The Saints secondary was terrible last year, so any help is welcomed. Porter will have a chance to compete with guys like Jason Craft, Jason David and Aaron Glenn for playing time.

Round 5, pick 144: DeMario Pressley, DT, NC State
The Saints moved up two spots in the 5th round to grab another DT in NC State's DeMario Pressley. There was a mini-run on DT in the 5th and with the Saints picking just behind the Bengals, they thought that Cincinnati might be targeting the same guy, so they gave Detroit a 7th rounder to swap spots in the 5th. The Bengals ended up taking the DT from Fresno State, so they may have had interest in Pressley as well.

Pressley will add depth and join the Ed Ogeron's rotation on the D-Line. Pressley joins a long list of top D-Line prospects from NC State like Mario Williams and Manny Lawson. He didn't have a great senior year and that caused him to drop to the 5th round. This pick shows the Saints determination to get younger and more athletic up front.

Round 5, pick 164: Carl Nicks, OT, Nebraska
Carl Nicks represented excellent value in the 5th round. Many draft sites had him as a 2nd or 3rd round prospect. He is a big tackle with lots of upside. He doesn't have a lot of experience at OT, having started his college career as a defensive tackle. With the Saints depth at OT, he was a surprising selection, but the value of taking him here was too good to pass up.

Round 6, pick 178: Taylor Mehlhaff, K, Wisconsin
It's no secret that the Saints have been trying to upgrade their kicking game for a few years now. With John Carney nearing the end of his career and not having the leg strength to kick-off, the Saints parted ways with him last year and traded for Olindo Mare, which was a major mistake. Mare was terribly inconsistent. He did kick off well, but couldn't make field goals. A late season injury allowed the Saints to bring in Martin Grammatica, who kicked well in New Orleans.

Grammatica will be back, but Mare was released. The Taylor Mehlhaff selection shows that the job won't be handed to anyone. These two will compete and the best kicker will win the spot, but the team is probably hoping that the rookie will show enough to get the job. Some fans won't be excited about drafting a kicker, but it's the 6th round. If you take a player in the 6th that will most likely make your team and make them better, why not do it? Mehlhaff has a strong leg and has experience kicking in bad conditions. Playing in a dome should help him look even better. He's left-footed too, so Saints fans may have visions of Morten Andersen dancing in their heads when Mehlhaff kicks.

Round 7, pick 237: Adrian Arrington, WR, Michigan
The Saints traded away their 7th round pick to move up for DT Pressley but were able to get back into the round by giving up a 2009 6th round pick to Green Bay to select Adrian Arrington.

The Saints reportedly had a 3rd round grade on Arrington. They traded in to get him because they didn't feel he'd consider New Orleans as an UDFA since the team has a lot of depth at WR. Arrington will likely be competing with the likes of Terrance Copper, Devery Henderson and Lance Moore for a roster spot as the 4th-5th receiver on the team. Arrington has good size at almost 6'3" and was productive as the #2 WR at Michigan.


Overall the Saints had a good draft. They filled some needs and got solid value with all the selections. They still have need areas, most notably at safety, center, & tight end, but with the improvements at other areas in the draft and free agency, 2008 looks to be a good season for New Orleans.

Draft grade: B

The team traded away its 2008 4th round pick for LB Jonathan Vilma, and if you factor that into this draft, then the grade could go up to an A.