First year in awhile Saints haven't set themselves up to go BPA

For a long time the Saints have always signed someone...even bargain veterans, at virtually every position of need, addressed it in some way, so they could justify going BPA in the draft.

They clearly haven't done that this year. They have not addressed WR, OT in any appreciable way, and still have needs at positions like Safety that were at least partially addressed.

Do we think this is a change in philosophy? Or do they just feel like there will be a lot of FAs available after the draft they can still fill holes with?

They will still pick the top player on their board it’s just how they operate which is the right way.

they signed a safety and two QBs at positions of need. I don't think it was a change in strategy as much as the difference between serviceable LT and WR pre draft is virtually the same as post draft. They weren't in the big money free agent market this year. So why not wait see how the draft falls out and then fill after. You can still go best player available and sign WR help after. LT I think they are okay with the stop gaps they have on the roster if they can't snag one in draft.

FYI, the way we talk about BPA and the way the Saints actually draft BPA is totally different. We look at rankings and see that the #10 ranked guy is sitting there at #16 and think he is the BPA.

In reality, the Saints have a tiered bubble of players that they consider equivalent to each other. In 2017, that bubble included Mahomes and Lattimore. When the time comes for the pick, they are factoring in roster makeup, need, and projection of the player more than a straight 1-10 ranking.

So, this year, they may have a bubble of available players at #16 that include Jamerson Williams, Chris Olave, Trevor Penning, Jordan Davis and Kyle Hamilton, but "reach" and take Penning, based on positional importance. Mickey Loomis has talked about their bubble approach before and it seems that the lineman always win out when their is a grouping of players ranked similarly.

On another note, they will often take a player from that grouping that they don't think they can get a comparable player later in the draft. So if they only have 4 OTs ranked in their top 40, but 8 WRs, they will take the OT.

Here's a troubling thought. What if they think those areas have been addressed?

WR immediately get better with MT coming back.
OT: What if the plan is to slide Ram to LT, and have Hurst/Young as RT
S: Between Maye & PJW, maybe they think it's addressed.

I 100% agree with you that they have not been addressed, but how many times do the fans perspective and the coach's perspective been completely misaligned.

Also would not be surprised to hear they have offers in place with players like Mathieu & Landry, but both want to keep working the market to see if they can get a better deal. And Saints are content that they can either address the positions in the draft and/or improve the offer after the draft

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They have not addressed WR, OT in any appreciable way, and still have needs at positions like Safety that were at least partially addressed.

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Is it possible they have shadow agreements in place that they will execute after they get their compensatory pick?

IMO, Deuce was best player available, as we had absolutely no need for him at the time.

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IMO, Deuce was best player available, as we had absolutely no need for him at the time.

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You can certainly argue there wasn't a need but you can also argue the front office new ricky was a mental basket case and could have been prepping for the future without Ricky.

Saints have won more games than most organizations in the last 5 years, and had won the most over 2017-2019 because they take BPA and fill other needs adequately in FA/later rounds/UDFA.

Ruiz (so far) has been a big miss, but it was a need at the time for a guy that was supposed to go earlier