Saints Add on Day 2

The Saints continued their solid draft on Sunday adding solid prospects in the later rounds. Early in round 5, the Saints traded up 2 spots (skipping the Bengals again) to select NC State DT DeMario Pressley. Pressley had an injury-prone career at NC State but had the talent to be taken much higher. With the addition of him and Sedrick Ellis this past weekend, the defensive tackle position appears to now be deep.

Later on in round 5 the Saints picked Nebraska OT Carl Nicks. Like Pressley, Nicks had the talent to be taken higher but has his share of concerns. Nicks had a few off-the-field issues in his college career which caused him to slip a few rounds. The Saints have consistently taken an offensive lineman in the later rounds under the current regime and have done a good job in development.

Wisconsin PK Taylor Mehlhaff was the Saints pick in the 6th round of the draft. As the first kicker taken, Mehlhaff figures to push Martin Gramatica as the Saints kicker for the season. Even if he doesn’t succeed in supplanting Gramatica, Mehlhaff may stick around as a kick-off specialist.

The Saints traded into the seventh round as well selecting Michicgan WR Adrian Arrington. Arrington has good size and had a relatively solid career at Michigan. He figures to add to the already competitive position in training camp.