5 takeaways from Mickey Loomis's pre-draft presser

By Ross Jackson

One day before the NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke to the local media about the upcoming selection process. Among the various topics discussed, Loomis highlighted the importance of asset management, the team’s position in the draft and looming questions around possible trade ups, draft outliers and more. 

Here are five key takeaways from the general manager’s media availability.

1. The Saints are comfortable with their first-round placement at No. 8 overall.

Loomis was asked about the potential of trading up in this year’s draft, which is well within the history of the franchise. While the general manager acknowledged that conversations are ongoing between several teams, laying the potential groundwork for trades that wouldn’t be decided upon until the players available at the targeted selection are known, the Saints are happy with where they are.

“If you’re trading in [the top-five],” Loomis said “You’re not looking for risk. You’re looking for the sure thing, right? So I guess in that sense, yeah, maybe (risk aversion plays a role) a little bit. But I like the spot we’re in. I know we’re going to get a good player.”

2. The team is looking for a sure thing while drafting in the top-10.

Much like last year, Loomis is intent on mitigating risk and taking one of the safer but impactful players in this year’s draft.

“I think for us, we’re probably a little more risk averse (drafting in the top-10),” Loomis said. “When we make a pick there, we want to have a lot of the questions answered about the player. You don’t want to pick a player that you have a ton of questions about, and you’re banking on, on the unknown. So, I think as you go farther back in the draft, you’re a little more willing to take a chance on someone.”

3. Loomis knows the Saints are more than one piece away.

“When you have a Drew Brees,” he said. “When you have that caliber of quarterback, you’re always feeling like you’re one player away. And so (you say) ‘Man, let’s go get the one player.’ When you have a young quarterback and you’re developing your roster, then you’re not one player away, so you’re less inclined to give up a number of assets to get one player.”

This flies in the face of a lot of the trade-up rumors floating around the draft landscape. But more importantly shows a real understanding of where the Saints see themselves as a franchise. Despite the excitement after a strong finish last season, New Orleans isn’t overestimating itself.

“I would say that’s a five-game stretch or six-game stretch,” Loomis said. “I don’t want to read too much into that. We’re excited, we’re optimistic about our future. But by no means have we arrived anywhere.”

4. STAR/slot position in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s system carries more weight than typical slot cornerbacks.

The slot cornerback role is often seen as a “non-premium position” across the NFL. However, with the way that Staley’s defense utilizes players in that spot, the Saints may be the exception and will instead view it as a potential premium position.

“You have to pay attention to the schemes you’re running and what your coaching staff values in terms of what they’re trying to get accomplished,” Loomis said. “So, yeah, it does have some impact.”

5. Louisville wideout Chris Bell might be emphatically on the Saints’ radar.

Loomis was asked about how involved quarterback Tyler Shough is in the draft process after the quarterback highlighted how much tape he’s watched on draft-eligible receivers, and Loomis immediately turned to discussing asking all players about former teammates. It was a notable and slightly unsolicited pivot. But the connection is intriguing.

“We’ll ask any of our players that have a crossover with someone in this draft,” Loomis said “It’s always the young guys that played with someone. If they played with someone, we talked to [them] about, about ‘What kind of guy, is he? How did he learn? How did he practice?’ So, we asked questions of all our guys. It wasn’t just Tyler, it’s everybody on our team that has a crossover with a player that’s in this draft that we may have an interest in.”

Shough may not have been the only player that Loomis and the Saints’ college scouting staff approached, but it is interesting that a question about the quarterback discussing having generally watched a lot of this year’s draftable receivers immediately turned to talking to current players about prospects.