The Saints have drafted TE Jimmy Graham from the Miami Hurricanes with the 95th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  Graham is a converted basketball player who played college football for the first time last season.  He played in 13 games (1 start) for the Canes last season and he caught 17 passes for 213 yards (12.5 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Graham is 6’7″, 260 pounds so he wins a lot of jump balls by the end zone.  Graham is a really raw football player and it seems to me as this was a reach for the Saints this early in the draft.

The Saints have selected OT Charles Brown out of USC with the 64th overall pick (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Brown is a 6’5″, 300 pound converted TE who is a much better pass blocker than a run blocker at this point in his career.  The Saints will likely try to get Brown to add a few pounds on his frame and they need to help him develop a mean streak.  With that being said he still has a huge upside.  Brown played in 13 games (all starts) for USC last season and he played in 48 games (27 starts) in his four years there.  I like this pick for the Saints as Brown has a nice upside.

The Saints have selected CB Patrick Robinson out of Florida State with the 32nd pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Robinson is a tad small at 5’11″, 190 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  He certainly looks the part of a shutdown corner and he is a workout warrior but he has some issues.  He doesn’t seem to play hard all of the time and he’s not too much help in run support.  He played in 12 games (all starts) for the Florida State last season in which he had 52 tackles, broke up 11 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Robinson played in 44 games (25 starts) in his four years at Florida State in which he made 117 tackles, broke up 21 passes, he had 7 interceptions and he forced 4 fumbles.  Robinson has elite athletic ability and it’s possible that the Saints will be able to coach him up so he can realize his potential.

The New Orleans Saints have been hurt by the rules for the uncapped season in 2010 making the draft the only real chance to improve the team.  The Saints have 3 of the top 95 picks in this draft and 6 overall picks so they should be able to find some help.  The Saints have needs at OLB, FS, C and OT and that’s where they will likely try to pick players.  OT Bruce Campbell, C Maurkice Pouncey, OLB Daryl Washington, OLB Donald Butler and S Nate Allen will be the players the Saints hope slide to them at the end of the first round. 

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  OLB, Daryl Washingon, TCU

With 2010 being an uncapped season the rules state that the top four teams in the NFL can only sign a free agent when they lose one of greater or equal value first.  Still, the Saints have signed a couple of very decent players in DE Alex Brown and DT/DE Jimmy Wilkerson.  Both of them could wind up starting for the Saints in 2010 on the D-Line with Wilkerson possibly being inside and Brown starting at DE opposite of Will Smith.  Fullback Zak Keasey has also been signed on by the Saints but most of his work if he makes the team will likely be on special teams.  I like what the Saints have done so far this off-season as the new rules make it tough on them to add talent.

The Saints have signed 29-year old DT/DE Jimmy Wilkerson to a 1-year, $2 million dollar deal.  He tore his ACL last December so it’s not for certain that he will be ready for week #1 of the regular season.  Wilkerson played in 15 games for the Bucs last season and he had 46 tackles, 6 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, he forced 2 fumbles and he defensed 2 passes.  He has now played in 103 games in his NFL career in which he has made 163 tackles, he has defensed 8 passes, he has 12 sacks and he forced 3 fumbles.  This was a good signing for the Saints as Wilkerson is just coming into his own as a football player.

The Saints have signed 30-year old DE Alex Brown to a 2-year, $6 million dollar deal.  Brown played in all 16 games for the Bears last season and he made 48 tackles, had 6 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss and he defensed 1 pass.  Brown has now played in 127 games in his NFL career in which he has made 373 tackles, defensed 39 passes, has 43.5 sacks, he forced 14 fumbles and he has 5 interceptions.  I like this signing for the Saints as I think Brown still has a lot of good football left in him.