Saints mock draft: NOLA prepares for life without Michael Thomas

Round 4: Pick 137 – James Cook, RB (Georgia)

Normally, I’d be fine with waiting a little longer to draft a running back but with the Alvin Kamara off-the-field situation and Mark Ingram potentially serving as a cap casualty (NOLA saves $2 million by cutting Ingram), the team needs to add some insurance at the position.

James Cook had an impressive year for the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs this past season, rushing the ball 113 times for 728 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry and was also a huge target in the receiving game with 27 receptions for 284 yards and four scores. He averaged 10.5 yards per catch.

What makes Kamara so dangerous for the Saints is his ability to be used as both a rusher and a pass-catcher and that’s exactly what makes Cook so dangerous. NOLA would immediately be able to slot Cook in as an offensive weapon and he could juke teams as a running back and as a pass-catcher.

We don’t know what’s going to happen with Kamara as of now, but drafting a running back at some point is probably a safe bet.

There are four rounds in the books for this Saints mock draft. I only drafted offensive players, which wasn’t planned, but it wouldn’t be shocking if the team did this considering how bad their offense was a season ago.

How would you feel if the draft played out either like this or similar to this?