MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / April 19, 1999

With the 12th pick, the New Orleans Saints select…That is the question that Saints fans are waiting to be answered. That andwhat was the team thinking when it raised ticket prices to $50 for individual game tickets.

The Saints can start on the road to justifying that price increase during the draft this Saturday. If the team’s history is any indication, the publicrelations department has its work cut out for it.

Remember Renaldo Turn-bull? Vaughn Dunbar? Shawn Knight? Lindsay Scott? They lasted in New Orleans about as long as Harrah’s Casino.

It doesn’t take long to find out why the team’s history has been one of mediocrity at best. The organization has continually thrown away topdraft pick after top draft pick.

On the other year, the reason for the team’s success in the late 1980s and early 1990s can be attributed the team’s ability to successfully draft in the later rounds. Rickey Jackson, Eric Martin, Morten Andersen, ReubenMayes, Dalton Hilliard and Pat Swilling were all non-first round draft choices that did quite nicely.

The team has gotten better in their first round selections. Wayne Martin,Mark Fields, Joe Johnson, Willie Roaf and Kyle Turley have all made solid contributions to the organization. However, it has also not fared as well inthe later rounds. Of the players drafted after the fourth round from 1994-97, only Tom Ackerman and Keno Hills are still on the roster.

With the Saints not a big player in free agency, it is imperative that the team be able to draft successfully in order to fill the number of holes it has. The Saints have recently had the firepower of, say, Norway. NewOrleans has not had a truly productive running back since Hilliard or a dependable receiver since Martin in the early 1980s. Billy Joe Hobert cando the job at quarterback but the team needs to start grooming a young signal caller. And the offensive line could always use depth.The defense has been solid over the last couple of years. The team is ofneed of depth in the secondary after losing Chad Cota to free agency. ASam Mills-type middle linebacker would also solve many of the breakdowns the team has last season.

The front office has been busy trying to trade up from its current 12th spot, offering all of the team’s draft picks for this year and future considerations. The object of the team’s desire is Texas running backRicky Williams, who could easily be the difference maker the team has lacked throughout much of its history.

There are pros and cons to putting that much on the table for one player.

Williams could be the second coming of Barry Sanders or the second coming of Ki-Jana Carter. He could rush for 1,500 yards as a rookie or godown with a career-ending injury in training camp. Of course, that couldalso be said of any player the team drafts. But with that one move, theSaints could either break the bank or be broken for years to come.

If the Saints are unable to make a move up, they will still have some tough decisions to make. Do they go for a receiver like Torry Holt or DavidBoston? A quarterback like Cade McNown? A defensive player like Andy Katzenmoyer or Jevon Kearse. There is also the possibility of moving downto pick up draft picks, a move that with the amount of depth in this year’s draft, might not be a bad move. Of course, it also comes down to what the11 teams ahead of them does.

Then there are the later rounds to think about. The Saints do not have asecond round pick after trading it to St. Louis for Eddie Kennison. In thethird round and later on, there could be players like running back J.J.Johnson from Mississippi State, linebacker Dat Nguyen from Texas A & M, quarterback Joe Germaine of Ohio State and wide receiver Karsten Bailey of Auburn.

We’ll know Sunday night what direction the Saints decided to take. And ifthe newest Saints can develop as quickly as the price of a ticket rises, perhaps Saints fans will be willing to dig a little deeper in their pockets to watch them play.

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