Loser: Just when you thought the Saints were getting smart…
We highlighted the Saints Thursday for having a top corner (Marshon Lattimore) land in their lap. Then in the second round they had another tremendous player fall into their hands in safety Marcus Williams out of Utah. Both selections were not only great values but met a dire need.
Surely the Saints were on their way to acing this draft.
Right?
Wrong.
At the top of the third round, the Saints not only took a player that had us scratching out heads (Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara) but traded up — giving up a fair amount of draft capital — to do it.
Saints traded 7th-round pick and 2018 second-round pick to SF for a third this year. Says how much Saints loved RB Alvin Kamara.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2017
Now, at this point we’re obligated to point out the fact that the Saints recently hired veteran Adrian Peterson and have Mark Ingram on their roster — a guy who cracked 1,000 yards on the ground last year.
Saints out here stockpiling RBs like they're about to run the wishbone.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 29, 2017
Folks on Reddit, like us, just couldn’t figure out what in the heck the Saints were thinking here, especially since their defense is still in dire need of pass rushers and more defensive backs.
Folks on @nflreddit trying to follow the logic behind the Saints #NFLDraft pick of RB Alvin Kamara: pic.twitter.com/pARRA5qvtf
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) April 29, 2017
Remember this as well: New Orleans featured the top-ranked offense in the entire league last year in yardage and second-best offense in terms of points scored.
Another running back isn’t going to fix the defensive issues that have relegated the Saints to a 7-9 record the past three years in a row. This was just a mind-boggling selection.