Saints 2014 Offseason Thread

Saints Draft Picks:
1st Round: 27th

2014 Mock Drafts:
CBS: Vic Beasley, OLB Clemson: Highlight vs Wake Forest
With increasingly sophisticated passing attacks all the rage in the NFL, teams are more willing than ever to gamble on pass-rushers. In Beasley, who leads the country with 8.0 sacks, scouts see a speed-rusher in much the same mold as Seahawks' 2012 first round pick Bruce Irvin.

YahooSports: Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson:
With the Saints utilizing a 3-4 base defense in 2013, athletic and versatile stand-up pass rushers are important pieces to what Rob Ryan wants to do. Beasley does a nice job converting speed to power and flashes intriguing pass rush skills.)

WalterFootball: Vic Beasley, DE/OLB, Clemson:
The Saints had several holes to fill in the 2013 NFL Draft, so they weren't able to obtain a pass-rusher until the sixth round with Rufus Johnson. They'll probably need to do so earlier in May. They couldn't get to Russell Wilson at all in a big Monday night loss. Junior Galette has been awesome, but New Orleans needs a potent pass-rusher across from him.

BleacherReport: Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State: 2012 Highlights
The Saints improved by leaps and bounds defensively in 2013, but they can still stand to get better. Outside linebacker is an obvious position of need for New Orleans, and Shazier has everything defensive coordinator Rob Ryan could possibly ask for.

DraftSite: Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State:
Big time athletic playmaker. Long arms, long legs. Lacks great bulk. Explosive, fast athlete. Can be leggy changing directions in the open field. Aggressive player but can be over-aggressive. Physical but lacks the bulk to be consistently effective at the point of attack. Does not appear to be a consistently great form, takedown tackler but is very productive. Can struggle getting off blocks or get driven out of running plays; has success when he utilizes his superior athleticism to elude blockers.

SI: Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama: Highlights vs VT
The Saints benefit from the first 26 picks. Their 2013 third-round pick, Terron Armstead, still has some maturing to do at left tackle; Zach Strief’s set to become a free agent. Kouandjio may be a better fit, at first glance, for a team wanting to really grind the ball down the field. But New Orleans runs more than enough to take advantage of him there, while his strength as a pass-blocker would aid Drew Brees. The downside we’ve seen — Kouandjio slipping into unbalanced position to allow rushers to beat him — would be negated some by Brees’ ability to set and fire quickly.

thephinsider: Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame: Highlights vs Bama
Martin is on the short side for a tackle prospect, and the buzz is that his arm length will be in the 32-inch range. Not great by any means, but the numbers don't tell the whole story with him--the former Fighting Irish left tackle is simply outstanding from a polish and athleticism standpoint, and his tape suggests that he's completely comfortable with taking on taller pass-rushers. The Saints place a high premium on athleticism and awareness when it comes to the tackle position, and Martin would have no problem satisfying that criteria. Also, keep in mind that Houston Texans left tackle Duane Brown, arguably the best blindside protector in the business right now, is 6'4" with 32 3/8" arms. That isn't to say Martin will have similar success; rather, it just suggests that he shouldn't be booted from the left-tackle discussion just yet.

sbNation: Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State: 2013 Highlights
Few players in college football were as productive as Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Saints' offense tends to live and die by Jimmy Graham, as we saw in the playoff loss to the Seahawks. Marques Colston isn't getting any younger, so keeping the wide receiver depth chart stocked with young talent should be a priority in New Orleans.

Saints News

01/14/2014:

New Orleans Saints S Kenny Vaccaro was named to the 2013 Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie team, PWFA announced Tuesday.
Vaccaro, the team’s 2013 first-round draft choice from Texas, appeared in 14 games during the 2013 season and totaled 92 tackles (60 solo), one sack, one interception and six pass defenses before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in the club’s 17-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Dec. 8.

New Orleans Saints earned NFL’s best local TV market rating for the 2013 regular season
The New Orleans Saints registered the highest local TV market rating of all NFL cities during the 2013 regular season, according to the SportsBusiness Daily.
New Orleans earned a household rating of 52.0, which means 52.0 percent of all homes in the market were tuned in during Saints games. The rating is 14 percent higher than the team’s 2012 rating, 8.5 percent higher than the next best team and 23.5 points higher than the NFL's 2013 average.

Sticky wishes sent

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RT Zach Strief
C Brian de la Puente

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OT Charles Brown

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LB Jonathan Vilma

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can yall along with harper and smith hit the road?

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RaginCajunsULL

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Nice work

So lets put 5 months of work in one thread frick this attention thread

Somebody wishes they got the sticky.

Chad when you make a thread that gets a stickie ill give you a too.

I wish I could upvote this more than once. It contains some good info centralized in one location and it hurt Chad's butt pretty good for some reason so that's a bonus