METAIRIE, La. -- Cutting Stanley Jean-Baptiste was the biggest stain yet on the New Orleans Saints’ unsightly 2014 draft class.
The good news is the Saints appear to have gotten the most important pick right in that class -- receiver Brandin Cooks, who cost them both a first- and third-rounder since they traded up seven spots to No. 20.
The bad news is nobody else from that six-man class is still on the active roster.
Fifth-round draft choices Vinnie Sunseri and Ronald Powell are both on injured reserve after being waived-injured earlier this week. Fourth-round draft choice Khairi Fortt got cut last year before he even played a game -- in part because of disciplinary measures while he was still on the short-term injured reserve list. And sixth-round pick Tavon Rooks didn’t make the 53-man roster last year.
Those five picks played a total of 20 snaps on offense or defense last year -- though Sunseri showed promise as a core special teams player before suffering two major injuries.
Jean-Baptiste is the real “bust” of the class since the Saints used such a high pick on him and gave up on him so quickly.
The 6-foot-3, 218-pound former wide receiver was described as a raw developmental project when the Saints drafted him out of Nebraska. Many scouting analysts loved his size, which led to a lot of Richard Sherman comparisons.
But Jean-Baptiste never showed enough polish on the field.
He looked a little more comfortable in practices this summer, working with the second-string defense and saying he benefited from New Orleans’ simplified defensive scheme. But he remained inconsistent, and he reached a low point in Thursday’s preseason finale. Jean-Baptiste got burned on TD throws of 77 yards and 3 yards and committed a costly special-teams penalty.
The second round of the draft has become New Orleans’ nemesis -- as ESPN NFL Insider Mike Sando pointed out Saturday. The Saints made only two second-round picks between 2010-2014 (offensive tackle Charles Brown in ’10 is the other), and neither player is on a current NFL roster. The 2011 pick was used to trade up for running back Mark Ingram, while the ’12 and ’13 picks were lost in the Bountygate punishments.
So far, the Saints’ 2015 draft class is looking more promising. They kept all eight of their healthy draft picks on the 53-man roster and placed cornerback P.J. Williams on injured reserve. Linebackers Stephone Anthony and Hau’oli Kikaha appear poised to start in Week 1, while the Saints' top pick, offensive tackle Andrus Peat, will begin in a backup role.
The Saints revamped their scouting department this offseason, but not all of the changes were the direct result of the busted 2014 draft class.
The Saints loved Ryan Pace, their top personnel man who oversaw last year’s pro and college scouting departments. They only lost him this year because the Chicago Bears hired him as their general manager.
The Saints then fired longtime college scouting director Rick Reiprish, whose role had begun to diminish even before the 2014 draft. And they hired Jeff Ireland to run the college scouting department, while Terry Fontenot runs the pro personnel department. The Saints have also replaced a total of three college scouts -- one who followed Pace to Chicago and two who were let go after the 2015 draft.