The New Orleans Saints have been known to take a similar approach to the NFL draft on a year-to-year basis, but does that match what the tendencies say on paper?
Arjun Menon, an NFL analyst, put together a spreadsheet to see which positions each NFL general manager has spent their top-100 draft picks on over the past 13 seasons. Here are that the results say for each of them, including Saints decision-maker Mickey Loomis:
Looking specifically at top 100 picks going back to 2011, here's how much draft capital each GM has allocated to each position in their tenure. Color scheme should help to identify which GMs use the most resources at certain positions with their premium picks pic.twitter.com/2Sg7W4ZbnP
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) March 27, 2024
The most commonly drafted position for Mickey Loomis over that time period was actually a tie between defensive end and cornerback.
Despite spending so much capital on the defensive end position over the past few years, it’s one that the Saints still need to spend more on to get better. Their investments at cornerback have paid off more often, though.
The only positions listed that the Saints haven’t spent a a 100 pick on is tight end and offensive guard. Cesar Ruiz was listed as a center when he was drafted, but has really only played guard in New Orleans though.
Wide receiver, offensive tackle, interior defensive linemen, and linebackers were all tied for second place. The draft capital is pretty evenly spread out, as none of the position groups were nearing a 30% number unlike some general managers on the list. But the stuff the Saints do spend the most on aren’t very surprising.
