Saints go for upside on final day

• By LES EAST
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Apr 28, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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METAIRIE — The Saints concluded the NFL draft Sunday by making two more trades, grabbing their second defensive tackle in as many days, and branching beyond defense to select an offensive tackle, a place-kicker and a wide receiver.

Each of the four players selected Sunday appears to have something to prove, which isn’t unusual for players taken in the final three rounds.

The Saints gave up their seventh-round pick to move up two spots in the fifth round to select N.C. State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley, who endured a series of injuries during his last two seasons.

They used their second fifth-round pick, acquired from New England in a trade Saturday that enabled them to get USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis in the first round, to pick Nebraska tackle Carl Nicks, who fell from a projected second- or third-round pick after being arrested March 8.

Sixth-round pick Taylor Mehlhall of Wisconsin lasted until the 178th pick despite being generally considered the top place-kicker in the draft.

After his selection, New Orleans appeared to be finished — General Manager Mickey Loomis even said they were — but they later traded next year’s No. 6 get a seventh-round pick to select Michigan wide receiver Adrian Arrington, who was rated higher based on football ability but had a question mark stemming from a domestic abuse complaint against him two years ago.

Having selected Ellis and second-round pick Tracy Porter, a cornerback from Port Allen and Indiana, in addition to a February trade of their fourth-round pick for former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma, the Saints accomplished their primary goal of strengthening their defense.

On Sunday, they didn’t have any picks in the third or fourth rounds. When their opportunities finally came, they chose players who appeared to have a chance to ultimately have a greater impact than the position of their selection might suggest.

“One of the first things you look at is can a guy at this position make our team?” Loomis said. “The thing is you look at the upside. Can you envision a particular player developing into a starter?

“Obviously you don’t think they’re ready now, otherwise they’d be drafted higher, but we had a vision for the players that we took today that they can develop and maybe help us down the road.”

In the fifth round, the Saints mimicked what they did in the first round Saturday by trading up to draft a defensive tackle. This time they traded their seventh-round pick (No. 218) to Detroit to move from pick No. 146 to No. 144.

“We felt like it was important for us to move up two spots to get that pick in that we felt like the team ahead of us (Cincinnati) was going to probably be targeting the same player,” coach Sean Payton said. “I think what’s important is that you have to have a vision for how you see the player in your own scheme and I think that right now with a little bit of work to do.”

Pressley, who said he is working to improve his pass rush, was slowed by wrist and toe injuries as a junior and by elbow and knee injuries as a senior. He is considered a tackle, but could be tried anywhere on the line.