Immediately following the 2017 NFL draft the New Orleans Saints were met with critical acclaim of their draft haul. With five picks in the first three rounds the Saints had an opportunity to kick start a roster that had plateaued the past few seasons. The Saints capitalized on their opportunity, putting themselves in a great position to not only compete this season, but maximize the final years of hall-of-fame quarterback Drew Brees’ career. Let’s take a look at how their top five picks are performing, three of whom are currently in the race for PFF's rookie of the year.
CB Marshon Lattimore (11th-overall pick)
Lattimore hit the scene and immediately put himself in the conversation for best cornerback in the league. In fact, he maintained the top spot as the highest-graded cornerback for several weeks before going down with an injury. Still, as a rookie, Lattimore currently ranks fourth with an elite grade of 92.7. Lattimore has virtually erased his man in coverage this season, as quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 47.4 when targeting him. 106 cornerbacks have allowed a reception longer than Lattimore’s long of 27 yards. His ability to take on the opposing teams best receiver has single handily turned the Saints pass defense from league worst to something that is no longer a glaring weakness. He is a legitimate defensive rookie of the year candidate.
T Ryan Ramczyk (32nd-overall pick)
Ramczyk starts his career hot, he is the top graded rookie offensive lineman with a grade of 81.6, which also ranks eighth overall among tackles. He has already established himself as one the best run-blocking tackles in the league and has helped propel the Saints new found run game. His run-block grade of 84.1 ranks fifth.
S Marcus Williams (second-round pick)
With the Saints already having two relatively young safeties on their roster it wasn’t certain Williams would see the field much as a rookie. Fast-forward 12 weeks into the season and not only has Williams played the most snaps among Saints safeties (676 snaps), he’s been the best performer. His overall grade of 78.7 ranks fourth among rookie safeties. Playing as the primary deep safety, his coverage has only been targeted eight times when he is the primary coverage defender.
RB Alvin Kamara (third-round pick)
Kamara has lit the NFL on fire the past couple months and while teammate Lattimore is a legitimate candidate for defensive rookie of the year, Kamara has made his own case for offensive rookie of the year. Currently Kamara ranks third among all running backs with a grade of 87.7 and perhaps the only thing holding him back is his touch volume. He has been nearly impossible to get on the ground and on his 131 touches so far, Kamara leads the league in elusive rating at 122.9, forcing 40 missed tackles and producing 4.03 yards after contact per carry. The Saints have transformed their offense from a Brees led passing attack into the leagues most dynamic running attack and Kamara is a huge reason why.
Edge Trey Hendrickson (third-round pick)
Its incredibly rare for a team to get five rookies to contribute in their first season but that’s exactly what the Saints have done. Hendrickson, the team's fifth pick, hasn’t been great by any means but he has been solid as the teams third edge defender, a depth spot vital to the success of every defense. In a class loaded with edge talent, Hendrickson has put up the eighth-highest grade among his rookie counter parts with a mark of 71.7. At times, he has been very productive rushing the passer and has already put up multi-pressure games in five of his 10 games played.
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