The Combine is over and teams everywhere are flocking to their draft boards to plot out exactly who they will take and where. Some prospects showed up and solidified their status as elite talent while others unfortunately only created questions of whether they can be successful at the next level.

Players such as Ndamukung Suh, Taylor Mays and Gerald McCoy showcased freakish athletic ability and Suh clearly distinguished himself as the best prospect in this years draft. Mays probably helped himself more than anyone having one of the most successful combines posting an unofficial 4.24 forty yard dash time, tying Titans running back Chris Johnson for the fastest recorded.

On the flip side were players like receiver Brandon Lafell, quarterback Colt McCoy and corner back Joe Haden who all had disappointing workouts. Haden has widely been considered the top corner in this years draft but his prowess on the football field did not translate as he posted a slow forty time at 4.57 seconds and appeared to be confused displaying poor technique in drills. Haden might not fall entirely out of the first round but the performance has certainly hurt his draft stock.

Lafell was a high prospect coming out of LSU but displayed average speed and explosiveness in the combine. His performance there coupled with the issues he had his senior season have certainly edged him out of the first round altogether.

Similar scenario with McCoy, a top QB prospect coming out of Texas, who displayed average athletic ability along with average height at 6″1. NFL clubs really want a physical specimen from a height stand point and McCoy just doesn’t stack up. He also opted no to throw at the combine only cementing the doubts scouts have about his arm strength and ability to make all the throws. He never had much of a chance to be taken in the first round anyways but it now appears his grading will place him somewhere in the third round.

Personally I don’t think this years crop of quarterback prospects houses a player worthy of a first round pick. In fact this is a darft that will be dominated by defensive players and offensive linemen where as many as four plus offensive tackles will get taken in the first round. In usual fashion though some team will reach and take a QB late in the first round, most likey Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford or Notre Dame stand out Jimmy Clausen.

Now that it’s over it is a little easier to gauge where certain players will be taken, although I am sure many things will change barring great Pro Days from some of these players and the inevitable draft shuffle that will happen amongst NFL teams in the first round.

As far as the Saints are concerned picking 32nd makes their choice pretty easy as they will take the best player available on their draft board regardless of need. Head coach Sean Payton has gone on record to confirm exactly this so the possibilities are wide open.

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Pick	Team	Player Selected	Player’s Position	Player’s School	Analysis
1.		Ndamukong Suh	Defensive Tackle	Nebraska	Even with Marc Bulgers time over in St.Louis there just is not a QB worthy of the first selection. History tell us that most QB’s taken in the first round rarely find success at the pro level and the Rams will not be willing to take the risk. They take the safe pick and go with the best player in the draft Ndamukong Suh, free agency or a later round pick is where they will get their next QB.
2.		Gerald McCoy	Defensive Tackle	Oklahoma	With Suh off the board, and having a QB of the future in Matt Stafford, the Lions will select the best 1-A prospect in the draft Gerald McCoy. McCoy will be a dominant interior lineman for years to come. This all assuming the Lions don’t trade away the pick that they are currently relentlessly shopping to other franchises.
3.		Jason Pierre-Paul	Defensive End	South Florida	Tampa could go either way with this pick and with safeties Mays and Berry both still here it presents a unique opportunity for Raheem Morris to upgrade his secondary with a young playmaker. In the end however since they face the Saints and Drew Brees twice a year Morris will opt to upgrade his pass rush by taking the most athletic pass rusher in the draft Jason Pierre-Paul
4.		Russel Okung	Offensive Tackle	Oklahoma State	With the Redskins hoping to return to prominence after hiring head coach Mike Shanahan the team will look to develop their quarterback of now Jason Campbell and opt not to draft one here. Instead with a rather dominant defense and secondary currently in plave the Skins will draft the best offensive tackle in the draft amidst a very deep group, Russel Okung, to help protect a developing Campbell.

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Now that linebacker Scott Fujita has signed with the Browns the Saints have a little breathing room now to sign some free agent help and apparently what they are after is a big run stuffing defensive lineman.

All said the Saints have scheduled visits with three defensive players, defensive end Leonard Little, defensive tackle Jamal Williams and defensive tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu.

Little has spent his entire career with the St. Louis Rams after being drafted in the third round of the 1998 draft. 

Little has appeared in 147 games for the Rams recording 364 tackles, 87.5 sacks, 32 forced fumbles and 12 pass deflections.

He has posted four double digits sacks seasons which includes a career high 14.5 sack season in 2001 and was a key part of the Rams Super Bowl XXXVI win that year.

Over the last two season his role had been reduced in St.Louis to a situational pass rusher but still remained the teams top sack leader in 2009 with 6.5.

Defensive tackle Jamal Williams has spent his entire career with the San Diego Chargers after being taken in the second round of the 1998 supplemental draft.

He has appeared in 148 games recording 310 tackles, 13 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 14 pass deflections.

Williams is a three time Pro Bowl selection being voted in three years in a row from 2005-2007.

Ma’ake Kemoeatu was undrafted free agent who played in Baltimore from 2002 to 2005 before moving to the Panthers before the start of the 2006 season.

In his seven years in the league he has appeared in 107 games recording 43 tackles, 4 sacks, 7 pass deflections and one forced fumble.

Kemoeatu missed the entire 2009 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in training camp and has had two different surgeries to help repair the injury.

The Saints interest in him at this point cannot be much more than wanting to get a feel for where he is at in his recovery from the procedures.

Also the Saints re-signed another of it’s own free agents inking corner back Leigh Torrence to a contract of undisclosed amount. Torrence is a primary backup at corner, joining the Saints by way of the Washington Redskins in 2008, seeing action primarily on special teams.

Torrence’s season was cut short in 2009 when he injured his shoulder in a November game against the Buccaneers landing him on injured reserve.

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Linebacker Scott Fujita had one foot at the door in New Orleans and it was just a matter of time before he was released or signed with another team that was willing to pay him more money.

The latter of the two has happened, Fujita is officially a Cleveland Brown after agreeing to a multi-year deal with the perpetually struggling club.

Fujita is entering his ninth season in the NFL playing for the Kansas City Chiefs before moving on to the Cowboys for one season in 2005. Fujita was swayed by Sean Payton, then offensive coordinator in Dallas, to follow him to New Orleans in 2006.

In his four years as a Saint he was a relatively rugged linebacker rarely missing time. He has recorded 330 tackles, 13 pass deflections, 4 interceptions and 6 force fumbles as a member of the black and gold.

However his production had declined over the last few seasons prompting talks of the Saints needing to replace him with a younger, more athletic linebacker in the draft or free agency.

Now that he is officially gone the Saints are now allowed to pursue a free agent linebacker if they so desire. Not that the Saints are interested but free agent linebacker Keith Bulluck is still out there and is arguably the best currently available.

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New Orleans re-signed a safety but his name is not Darren Sharper it’s Pierson Prioleau, a backup and perennial favorite of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Prioleau made his way to the Saints before the start of last season on the heels of Gregg Williams, Prioleau has spent allot of time in William’s defense over the years with multiple teams.

He made his biggest impact on special teams where he lead the team in tackles with 21, as a reserve in regular play he recorded 18 tackles with a pass defensed and fumble recovery.

The Saints also re-signed backup center Nick Leckey. a free agent addition from the Rams last off-season. Leckey played primarily on special teams as well but did appear in eight regular season games throughout 2009.

Both Leckey and Prioleau were re-signed to one year contracts.

Meanwhile running back Mike Bell has scheduled a visit to the Seattle Seahawks Monday, who are in desperate need of help at the position.

Reports are now surfacing that Bell is garnering interest from the Browns and Eagles although nothing has been substantiated at this point.

Bell was tendered by the Saints at the very lowest level at 1.76M and no draft picks. This of course means the Saints would not receive any draft compensation if he decides to sign elsewhere but they could however match any offer he may receive in an effort to retain his services.

Bell emerged as a viable third back behind Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush rushing for 654 yards and five touchdowns during the Saints 2009 season

Unfortunately he was used less and less because of a nagging knee injury down the stretch and virtually vanished from the Saints offense.

Rumors surfaced that Bell has fallen out of favor with head coach Sean Payton after he took the field at Super Bowl XLIV with the wrong cleats on and subsequently slipped short of the goal line failing to score a needed touchdown.

Pro-Bowl safety Darren Sharper has still not signed with any team, including the Saints, who were willing to let him hit the market after being un-willing to franchise him at a one year 6.5M salary.

Sharper has already visited with the Bears but to date nothing more has been reported about scheduled meetings with other NFL teams. However with Antrell Rolle now off the market, signing with the Giants, interest in Sharper may rise quickly.

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On the eve of free agency the Saints have announced they have released line backer Mark Simoneau, offensive lineman Jamar Nesbit and will part ways with long time starting defensive end Charles Grant.

New Orleans is limited to whom it can sign in free agency because of the rule changes put in place by the final year of the collective bargaining agreement. Essentially the final four play-off teams aren’t allowed to sign any unrestricted free agents unless they lose one first, and they can only sign a new player at a similar salary level.

Now the release of Mark Simoneau and Jamar Nesbit were not done necessarily to clear room for other players but were more a house cleaning move than anything. Simoneau has been a part of the Saints since 2006 starting in 30 games making 172 tackles but has missed the last two seasons entirely because of injury, his release was overdue.

Nesbit’s release is a little more clouded because he could play both guard and center, becoming a key backup at each position. Apparently the Saints felt they no longer required his services which only raises questions of the depth along the offensive line. Nesbit appeared in 84 games for the Saints starting 43 of those contests, he has been in the NFL for eleven years.

The big kahuna is the pending release of defensive end Charles Grant who has been with the team since being drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft. Grant has appeared 118 games since then starting 106 of them. He has recorded 505 tackles with 47 sacks to rank eighth on the club’s all-time sack list. He also had one interception, 14 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries in his careers as a Saint.

Grant was having a decent season in 2009 posting 53 tackles and 5.5 sacks before tearing his triceps in the final game of the season and missing the Saints play-off run and Super Bowl XLIV victory. Ironically it was the exact same triceps injury that cut his 2008 campaign short when he missed the last eight games on injured reserve.

Speculation has run rampant this off-season on whether the Saints would indeed part ways with Grant because of his injury concerns andrather large contract for rather low output. Grant has also had some off the field issues being implicated in the death of a young pregnant girl in a nightclub in February of 2008. He maintained his innocence but was eventually indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges although a trial has not been held.

Next he was, and still is, entangled in a pending case with the NFL fighting a suspension for testing positive for a banned diuretic said to help mask steroid use. The diuretic was ingested through the weight loss supplement Star Caps which at the time was not on the NFL’s list of banned substances. He and several other athletes state the NFL knew the supplement contained a banned ingredient but allowed them to take Star Caps anyways and therefore are not at fault.

Grants release may indicate the Saints desire to pursue a few key defensive ends in free agency, namely Julius Peppers and Aaron Kampman. Then again it could mean they are wanting to go after a young end in the draft where they currently hold the 32nd pick.

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