Saints 2010 Draft

Here's a look at the players the Saints selected in this year's draft:

Round 1, pick 32: Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State
As I mentioned the other day, this selection initially raised some eyebrows. But the Saints have a plan and they went with their top rated player, which turned out to be a trend in this year's draft. The Saints are a team that looks to the future (not the future as in this season, but the future as in 3-4 years down the road) when they draft and most of this year's selections were made with an eye toward the future.

Round 2, pick 64: Charles Brown, OT, USC
Charles Brown was another surprise pick, one that even surprised the Saints. They had no plans to take a tackle early, but Brown represented great value at the end of the 2nd round. Many mock drafts had him going in the first round, and the Saints figured he'd be long gone by the time they picked. Brown may be the eventual replacement for Jammal Brown, who is looking for a long-term deal. All three of the Saints left tackles are only under contract for this season, with Jammal Brown still yet to sign his restricted free agent tender. So Charles Brown may be more of a need than fans realize at this point.

Round 3, pick 95: Jimmy Graham, TE, Miami (Fla.)
Jimmy Graham is an interested prospect. He only played one year of college football, after playing on the Miami basketball team. He is still raw as a football player, but he has all the potential in the world. Now it will be interesting to see if the Saints can fulfill that potential.

Round 4, pick 123: Al Woods, DT, LSUAl Woods was a fast riser leading up to the draft. After not fully living up to the expectations fans had for him when he was recruited to LSU, NFL scouts fell in love with him at workouts. He has the size and the tools needed to be a good defensive tackle, but once again the Saints need to make sure he fulfills that potential. He should definitely see time in the d-line rotation this season, as the Saints played a number of players there last year.

Round 5, pick 158: Matt Tennant, C, Boston College
Another pick with an eye to the future, the Saints traded back into the draft to take Matt Tennant. Jonathan Goodwin has been a solid center since he gained the starting position, but almost everyone realizes that this area could be upgraded. Tennant will be able to learn behind Goodwin for a year or two before being asked to anchor the line.

Round 7, pick 239: Sean Canfield, QB, Oregon State
Sean Payton is a QB guru, and he likes to have a project or two to work with at the position. This year he'll have a right hander in Chase Daniel and a lefty in Sean Canfield to groom as Drew Brees' understudy. Canfield was one of the more accurate QBs in the nation last season but he only had one full year as a starter. A project QB is worth a later 7th round pick.