A position-by-position look at the New Orleans Saints’ draft needs, ranked in order of importance from 1-14:
Current depth chart:
Mark Ingram. Age 25. Signed through 2018.
C.J. Spiller. Age 27. Signed through 2018.
Khiry Robinson. Age 25. Scheduled to become restricted free agent in 2016.
Edwin Baker. Age 23. Scheduled to become exclusive-rights free agent in 2016.
Tim Hightower. Age 28. Signed through 2015.
Draft possibilities: It would be pretty shocking to see the Saints invest a high draft choice in a running back because they just invested long-term in Ingram and Spiller and have as much depth as any team in the league with such a talented backup in Robinson.
However, Robinson is due to be a restricted free agent after this season. So it’s possible the Saints could look to add depth late in the draft – or in the undrafted free-agent market, where they have such an uncanny knack for unearthing gems such as Robinson, Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Travaris Cadet and others.
The Saints don’t need to target any one specific type of running back. So any draft choice would depend on a player’s specific grade, whether it’s a big back such as LSU’s Kenny Hilliard, a small but versatile speedster such as Missouri’s Marcus Murphy or someone in between.
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