The Saints must have drafted Alleman because he has a nice upside.  He has only played guard for two seasons at Akron as he was a defensive tackle his first two seasons with Pitt.  He has good size at 6′3″, 295 pounds and he’s fast for a big man as he runs a 4.9 40.  But, he’s not too good in space as he sometimes misses moving targets and he needs to get stronger in his run blocking.  At Akron and Pitt, Alleman played in 49 games and started 24 (all of them at guard for Akron).  This pick seems like a big reach for the Saints as Alleman has a lot to learn about how to play guard.

The Saints knew they needed defensive help but they reached a little bit in taking Usama Young who was expected to be selected in the 5th or 6th round according to most draft experts.  He is a four year starter at Kent State and he has a pretty good skill set, but he’s more likely to be a safety in the Pros.  He also is a great special teams player so he should help the Saints even if he isn’t starting.  In 45 games (40 starts) at Kent State, Young has made 198 tackles, broke up 21 passes, had 9 interceptions (71 return yards), forced 3 fumbles and recovered 2 fumbles.  Young was a reach but he will help the Saints next season.

The Saints will give Lance Legree a chance to revive his NFL career.  Legree only played in 2 games last season for the 49ers and he didn’t even make a tackle.  Legree has played 6 seasons in the NFL (77 games) and he’s made 134 tackles, has 7 sacks, defensed 1 pass, forced a fumble and recovered 2 fumbles.  Don’t expect much from him if he makes the team.

The Saints were thought of to be thinking defense in the draft, but they shifted gears and added some more firepower for Drew Brees and the offense.  With Joe Horn leaving as a free agent the Saints needed another starting WR, so they selected the receiver with the highest upside in this draft.  The thought of Meachem and Colston lining up at WR must already be giving opposing defensive co-ordinators nightmares.  Meachem is big (6′2″, 214) and he’s fast (4.35 40) so he should fit right in on the Saints offense.  Meachem played in 37 games (15 starts) at Tennessee and he caught 125 passes for 2,140 yards (17.1 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  The Saints offense will be even more explosive in 2007 than it was in 2006, with this outstanding draft pick.

The Saints have signed Chris Hanson to challenge Steve Weatherford for the starting job as punter for the 2007 season.  He played in all 16 games last season for the Jacksonville Jaguars and he punted the ball 72 times for 2,920 yards (40.6 avg) with a net avg. of only 33.4 yards per punt.  Hanson pinned opponents inside the 20 yard line 20 times in 2006.  This is a battle that could go late into Training Camp for the Saints but I think Weatherford will prevail.