Predicting The Saints’ First Round Draft Choice

Who will the New Orleans Saints take in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft?

The first round of the 2016 NFL Draft will be held on Thursday night, with the Saints scheduled to pick 12th.

The first round will be held on Thursday, beginning at 7 pm (CDT), on both ESPN and the NFL Network.

Rounds two and three are slated for Friday, beginning 6 o'clock, while rounds 4-7 will take place on Saturday, starting at 11 am.

Mock drafts are exercises in futility. Good luck nailing ten correct predictions. That's probably not going to happen.

So, let's just try to predict who the Saints are going to take, which is hard enough in itself.

The Saints can go a number of ways, so nothing will really surprise me, with the exception of them taking a quarterback, like Paxton Lynch of Memphis.

The team drafted Garrett Grayson in the third round last year, and I just don't Drew Brees playing in another uniform in 2017, so quarterback is off the table.

Offensive line is a possibility. Sure the Saints drafted Andrus Peat in the first round a year ago, but they need help at guard, and I can see them taking a player such as Jack Conklin of Michigan St., who can play both guard or tackle, or tackle Taylor Decker of Ohio St.

The could play Conklin at guard, or they could move Peat to guard and play either Conklin or Decker at tackle.

Still, they did draft a Peat in the first round last year, and his future is bright, so I don't think they go offensive line, at least not on the first day.

Receiver is a possibility, but is there really a guy out there worthy of pick #12?

Laquon Treadwell of Ole Miss might be the best of the bunch, but his 40 time (4.65 seconds) doesn't equate to a receiver being drafted that high.

If the Saints were to trade down, which is always a possibility, then I could see them taking a receiver, but not on Thursday night.

Cornerback is an intriguing position.

The Saints made a run at Josh Norman last week, so what does that mean?

Does that mean that they don't think that Keenan Lewis is going to bunch back to his 2013 form?

Does that mean that the team is concerned about the concussion issues of Damian Swann?

Or does it just simply mean that they thought Norman was just one of those players that they just had to make a run after?

Cornerback is a distinct possibility, in my opinion, with Florida's  Vernon Hargreaves, Ohio State's Eli Apple, and Houston's William Jackson III all options.

How about linebacker?

Some NFL teams think UCLA's Myles Jack eventually will need microfracture surgery on a knee that was already surgically repaired last fall and could slip.

If available, he could be too enticing to pass up.

Georgia's Leonard Floyd, Alabama's Reggie Ragland, and Ohio State's Darron Lee are other linebackers the Saints may be interested in.

Still, I believe the Saints are going to draft a defensive linemen, which is the deepest position in the draft.

I wouldn't think Oregon's DeForest Buckner would be available, unless they trade up, which I don't foresee.

Alabama's A'Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, and Clemson's Shaq Lawson are all candidates, but my prediction for the Saints' first round pick is Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.

The Saints need help, defensively, and selecting a three-down tackle, who can play inside in a 4-3 alignment, and the end in a 3-4 alignment, wouldn't be a bad pick.

Rankins, a 6-foot-1, 300-pounder, is undersized for a full-­time interior position by NFL standards, but he's powerfully built, explosive, and has been extremely productive as both a bull­rusher and edge rusher.

The Saints allowed 4.9 yards per rush in 2016, as well as an opposing passer rating of 116.1, so taking somebody who they hope will be a quality defensive lineman makes complete sense.