Have Saints opened the door for Da Brick?

By Darrell Laurant  |   Friday, April 07, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

New Orleans Saints
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So, D'Brickashaw Ferguson -- what do you think of New Orleans?

Of course, it isn't a certainty that the New Orleans Saints will select the All-American tackle from the University of Virginia with the second pick in the NFL draft, but the Saints' latest transaction would seem to make that compelling possibility.

At one point, just a few weeks ago, it was assumed that Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart (considered almost saintly for sticking around to play his senior year as a Trojan) would become a Saint for real. Then New Orleans signed QB Drew Brees off the free agent dessert cart.

No more hole, no more Leinart.

Earlier this week, though, New Orleans traded veteran left tackle Wayne Gandy -- a starter in all 16 games last season -- to the Atlanta Falcons for DB Bryan Scott. The departure of the 6-4, 308-pounder from Auburn leaves only NFL Europe product Ben Archibald to protect the blind side of whoever winds up playing quarterback. Considering that Archibald saw action in only five games last year, that's not terribly encouraging.

Scott will provide some help to the New Orleans secondary, having made 73 tackles, intercepted one pass and deflected seven others for Atlanta in 2005. He won't be much help in pass protection, though.

Ferguson, meanwhile, has been considered one of the top five players in the draft since Day One. He started 46 of 48 games with the Virginia Cavaliers, all at left tackle. At 6-6, 305 pounds, he still runs a 5.0 40 and is considered the top pass blocker in the O-Line pool.

Of course, there are other intriguing prospects in the upper echelon of the draft, notably LB A.J. Hawk of Ohio State and DE Mario Williams of North Carolina State. But having lost Gandy to the trade, starting C LeCharles Bentley (now in Cleveland) to free agency and starting guard Kendyl Jacox to a cap-inspired roster cut, the Saints have to be including some new beef in their plans. They did sign G Jonathan Goodwin away from the New York Jets as the heir apparent to Jacox, but that still leaves a Gandy-sized hole at tackle.

The other alternative for the New Orleans Saints is to entertain trade offers for that No. 2 pick, perhaps picking up another draft choice or two. An offensive lineman would have to be in the mix somewhere, though.

Wonder if D'Brickashaw Ferguson likes jambalaya?
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