NFL Draft 2017: New Orleans Saints first-round grade

The New Orleans Saints used their first first-round pick on Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Marshon Lattimore at No. 11. Here’s their first-round grade.

The New Orleans Saints had two first-round picks in the 2017 NFL Draft: their own pick at No. 11 and the No. 32 overall pick via the Brandin Cooks trade with the New England Patriots. New Orleans had no choice but to go with a defensive player at No. 11.

While many expected the Saints to go with a pass rusher to pair opposite defensive end Cameron Jordan, New Orleans went with the best cornerback in the draft by taking Ohio State Buckeyes defensive back Marshon Lattimore with the No. 11 selection.

Lattimore is a versatile and highly skilled cornerback. He made the most of his playing time in Columbus, as he spent most of his Buckeye career sidelined with perpetual hamstring injuries. He left school early knowing that he’d be a certain first-round pick.

Seeing him fall out of the top-10 is a bit of a shocker. Perhaps this has more to do with his persistent hamstring issues that required surgery. Nevertheless, New Orleans could not have expected Lattimore to fall to them at No. 11. They could have gone with Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett with this selection, but this is a sound choice because New Orleans leaks like a sieve in the secondary.

However, the Saints defensive backfield is rarely coached up. New Orleans spent a ton of cash in recent years to remake its lackluster secondary, but to no avail. The injury history and a lack of playing time at Columbus could make Lattimore a serious candidate for bust potential. That being said, it is too difficult to overlook his obvious upside.

The Saints need to swing for the fences to keep pace in the ultra-competitive NFC South. This is a risky pick, but one people will probably end up getting behind.

Second pick….

With the Saints second pick of the first-round, they opted to go with Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Ryan Ramczyk at No. 32. This was the pick that the Saints got from New England in the Cooks trade.New Orleans could have gone with another player to improve its defense, but wanted to sure up its offensive line for the next few years.

This is not a great offensive line draft, but Ramczyk had had a first-round grade through most of the process. It’s just interesting to see him with the Saints. He probably could have gone a few spots earlier.

Grade: B