Edge rusher, slot corner and wide receiver were the New Orleans Saints biggest needs in the NFL Draft. There was an assumption they'd pick atleast two in the first three rouns. Instead they drafted Jordyn Tyson and called it a day. Passing on a slot corner suggests a comfort with in house candidates. Mickey Loomis' post-draft comments would say otherwise and brings more questions on why they passed on Keionte Scott.
With the way the draft fell, not drafting an edge rusher makes sense. The second round felt like a good spot to land one, but there was a run on edge rushers early in the round. By the time it got to the Saints, it would have felt like reaching to grab one. Instead, they traded late draft capital as a flier on Tyree Wilson.
That excuse doesn't exist for replacing slot corner. Scott was on the board for the Saints at 42 and again at 73. He didn't go until the fourth round. As proactive as the Saints are about getting their guy, not making a trade to grab Scott was a conscious choice.
Saints simply weren't fans of Keionte Scott
After the draft, , "I think in a perfect world, we went into the draft thinking we wanted to get a guy in the early part of the draft at that position, but it just didn’t work out." Treydan Stukes was the only slot guy who went early, so maybe he was the player Loomis had in mind. It certainly wasn't Scott.
What's interesting about Loomis' comment is he didn't need to say it at all. In a way, it would've been better if he didn't say it. The Saints walked out of the draft without a prospect who can step into that role in Year 1, and they have options to be optimistic about already on the team. Loomis could have easily taken that opportunity to speak confidently about Jonas Sanker and Julian Blackmon.
Instead, Loomis made it clear that they would have liked to land someone at the position in the range of the draft where you draft instant contributors. In other words, the guy they wanted didn't make it to them.
Scott seemed to check the box and was available in the range. It was one thing to pass on him at 42, but at 73, it felt like a layup. The fact that the desire was there and so was Scott can only be interpreted that he wasn't seen as an impact player for them.
Scott was a natural fit for the position, because he played it at Miami. And he was pretty good at it too. If you didn't have the utmost confidence in the players in the room, Scott was a natural fit for the position. The Saints choosing to not do so feels like more of a head scratcher now than it did during the draft due to Loomis' comments. Instead they'll have to play Scott twice a year