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Terron Armstead considered NOLA Saints’ best value draft pick

By Leigh Oleszczak

Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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In the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the NOLA Saints selected Terron Armstead out of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He’s their best value draft pick, per PFF. 

Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus came up with every team’s best value draft pick since 2006 and Terron Armstead was who he chose for the New Orleans Saints.

Armstead was the 75th overall pick in that year’s draft and became an everyday starter by his second season in 2014. From then on, he was the franchise left tackle that teams dream of having.

Renner offered this analysis:

"If Armstead could have stayed healthy his entire career, we could be talking about a future Hall of Fame left tackle who was found in the third round. He’s never allowed more than 25 pressures in any season of his career, but he’s also never played a full 1,000 snaps in a season."

It’s hard to disagree with anything that Renner said here. Armstead battled injuries throughout his career, failing to appear in every regular-season game in any of his nine seasons in New Orleans. The injuries are the main reason why the Saints were okay moving on from Armstead this offseason. An offensive lineman on the wrong side of 30 isn’t a good investment.

Terron Armstead best NOLA Saints value draft pick

Even though the decision to move on from Armstead was the right one, at least as of now, it didn’t make it harder watching him leave in free agency. He inked a five-year $75 million deal with the Dolphins and that’s money that the Saints couldn’t afford to shell out to an oft-injured offensive lineman.

There’s no debating that Armstead outperformed his third-round status though. During his nine years in the Big Easy, he made three Pro Bowls and was always giving his quarterbacks confidence that he’d protect their blindside.

The Saints got nine solid years out of Armstead and no one would have expected him to become the stud that he was, especially coming out of a small school. He did just that though.

"3 Saints who are definitely entering their last season in NOLA"

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