Saints spend their top draft pick on another tight end.
This is a very strange trend. A lot of things went sideways for the New Orleans Saints in 2022, and they have a long list of team needs for 2023 to right the ship and get back to playing competitive football — but now we’re seeing a 2023 mock draft linking the Saints to a tight end for the second time in two weeks. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler New Orleans uses its No.1 draft pick. 40 overall on Tucker Clark, South Dakota State tight end.
So, who is he? Clark is one five tight end going off the draft board in this mock draft. NFL teams are excited about his ability to play both as a blocker or receiver. He’s a product of the same school that sent Dallas Goedert to the Philadelphia Eagles (he was picked at No. 49th overall in 2018. Clark is 6-foot-5 and weighs 255. He moves well for his size, but he missed five games due to an ankle injury that required tightrope surgical. He’s appeared in 32 games for the Jackrabbits, catching 99 passes for 1,211 yards with 9 touchdown receptions.
Clark looks like a fine NFL prospect. But what’s with the tight ends-to-New Orleans movement? Last week we witnessed Georgia Bulldogs tight end Darnell Washington With this pick, the Saints were mocked. There’s an argument that the Saints may not be able to address their top priority in the second round in finding a quarterback, which is valid. They still have more fish to fry.
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Running back, to reduce Alvin Kamara’s workload, tide over during his expected suspension in 2023, and maybe replace him in a year or two
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Defensive tackle, to replenish depth with just one player under contract for 2023, and to upgrade the group’s poor performance
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SafetyMarcus Maye is now a coach. He missed seven games due to injury in 2022, and will be suspended in 2023.
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Offensive LineTo increase depth at the tackle and guard spots and possibly replace Andrus Peat at left Guard if he is under salary cap.
There’s always a convincing argument to take the best player available, but tight ends are notorious for the steep learning curve in transitioning from the college level to the NFL. Juwan Johnson (a restricted free agent who should be easy to retain) and Adam Trautman (who admittedly is entering a contract year) will likely replace a rookie tightend in the starting line-up or take many meaningful snaps. There are plenty of other positions that the Saints should be investing in before this one. Hopefully they’ll recoup a first round pick by trading Sean Payton so they can afford the luxury of looking at tight ends in the second round.
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