#27 - New Orleans - Chris Houston, CB Arkansas
The Saints had a magical run last year, reminicent of the 2001 Patriots, who became the darlings of the NFL that year after the country galvanized together in the wake of the World Trade Center bombing. Last year, the Saints captured the nation's attention by dramatically improving their record despite a tumultuous off-season headlined by the devastation of huuricane Katrina. If not for a dominant Bears defense and poor play by cornerback Fred Thomas, the Saints might have made Peyton Manning wait another year for his ring.
With respect to Fred Thomas, he was exposed on national TV for being one of the worst cover corners in the league, and you can bet the Saints will be looking to replace him this off-season. Unfortunately for him, several of the teams in front of them will be looking to fill the same position. As such, they are a decent bet to move up a few spots in the round.
If they stay here and the draft goes as it has thus far, Chris Houston is the pick. Houston is a tad small, but is one of the better cover corners in the draft, and had a superb combine. He had the second fastest 40 time (regardless of position) at 4.32, and set a record for cornerbacks in the bench press (27 reps). He had a 36 inch vertical leap, which is just average for the position--if he were 2 inches taller and had 2 more inches on his vertical, he'd probably be a top 15 pick. Playing in the SEC, Houston got to match up against some of the nation's top receivers, such as Bowe and Meacham, and shut them down.
If the Saints decide not to take one of the corners left, defensive end would be another target position, as Charles Grant will likely leave for free agency after this season (he was franchised this year).
Drafter- tomas21
On the clock- New England Patriots (tyger1147)
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Pick | Team | Player | Pos. | College | Drafter | |
1 | Oakland Raiders | JaMarcus Russell | QB | LSU | bears fan louie | |
2 | Detroit Lions | Joe Thomas | OT | Wisconsin | South Side Irish | |
3 | Cleveland Browns | Calvin Johnson | WR | Georgia Tech | elagoalie11 | |
4 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Gaines Adams | DE | Clemson | NoisewaterMD | |
5 | Arizona Cardinals | Alan Branch | DT | Michigan | Chad | |
6 | Washington Redskins | Jamaal Anderson | DE | Arkansas | Skin Patrol | |
7 | Minnesota Vikings | Brady Quinn | QB | Notre Dame | IrishGush | |
8 | Atlanta Falcons | LaRon Landry | S | LSU | Coach Owens | |
9 | Miami Dolphins | Amobi Okoye | DT | Louisville | McRipper | |
10 | Houston Texans | Adrian Peterson | RB | Oklahoma | Scruffy Lefty | |
11 | San Francisco 49ers | Patrick Willis | LB | Ole Miss | RME JICO | |
12 | Buffalo Bills | Paul Posluszny | LB | Penn St. | Brian G | |
13 | St. Louis Rams | Adam Carriker | DE | Nebraska | tyger1147 | |
14 | Carolina Panthers | Greg Olsen | TE | Miami | RME JICO | |
15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Leon Hall | CB | Michigan | shawngoldman | |
16 | Green Bay Packers | Marshawn Lynch | RB | California | chad | |
17 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Reggie Nelson | S | Florida | River City Rage | |
18 | Cincinnati Bengals | Brandon Meriweather | S | Miami | elagoalie11 | |
19 | Tennessee Titans | Robert Meachem | WR | Tennessee | quartz77277 | |
20 | New York Giants | Darrelle Revis | CB | Pittsburgh | Coach Owens7 | |
21 | Denver Broncos | Ted Ginn Jr. | WR | Ohio State | Devin47 | |
22 | Dallas Cowboys | Jarvis Moss | DE | Florida | IrishGush | |
23 | Kansas City Chiefs | Dwayne Bowe | WR | LSU | tomas21 | |
24 | New England Patriots | Michael Griffin | S | Texas | tyger1147 | |
25 | New York Jets | Zach Miller | TE | Arizona State | DTK | |
26 | Philadelphia Eagles | Aaron Ross | CB | Texas | SouthernSlam | |
27 | New Orleans Saints | Chris Houston | CB | Arkansas | tomas21 |