UDFA DT Taylor Stallworth sees more snaps than Davenport

[Dome]

Pretty troubling when a guy you spend two first on can’t even see the field as often as a UDFA at a position of strength. I understand scheming matters for the opponent, but you don’t spend 2 firsts in a defensive lineman you can only use on certain plays.

He needs to be seeing significant playing time sooner than later. This league now more than ever is seeing guys come in and be impact players right away. We went all in on Davenport to put us over the top, and we’ve barely taken the cover off our trophy car.

I wasn’t sold on the pick when we made it, and the way we’ve utilized him so far hasn’t made me feel any better 

[Mid Iowa]

Turn him into a tight end.

[Raves]

Well isn't one a DT where we were thin at when Rankins went down and the other plays at DE where one spot is 100% locked down by Jordan and the other is him rotating with Okafor?  Not surprising that our weak DT position lets a player get more snaps there than a player at a slightly deeper position.

[Jlowe22]

I think we all expected Davenport to not light it up right out of the gate.  We can't afford to wait on him forever, but there's still time to contribute to the team this year.  He won't be Cam Jordan his rookie year, but if we can get good, solid play from him contributing to a playoff berth it's a fair trade IMO.  

Long term is a different story, but we're not long term yet and I reserve judgement.

If we wind up sucking this year and Davenport sucks, it's a big time loss for us.  That's worst case scenario though.  The trade up was.a gamble, we'll see what happens.  Maybe we can swindle a first from someone else, and we'll certainly try.

[SWATcha]

40 minutes ago, Jlowe22 said:

I think we all expected Davenport to not light it up right out of the gate.  We can't afford to wait on him forever, but there's still time to contribute to the team this year.  He won't be Cam Jordan his rookie year, but if we can get good, solid play from him contributing to a playoff berth it's a fair trade IMO.  

Long term is a different story, but we're not long term yet and I reserve judgement.

If we wind up sucking this year and Davenport sucks, it's a big time loss for us.  That's worst case scenario though.  The trade up was.a gamble, we'll see what happens.  Maybe we can swindle a first from someone else, and we'll certainly try.

Sullivan all over again if so.........

[Dome]

4 hours ago, Raves said:

Not surprising that our weak DT position lets a player get more snaps there than a player at a slightly deeper position.

Except when the DT is a UDFA we tried to trade for a 7th round pick and the DE cost us two firsts. Kick Jordan inside, kick Orkafor inside. Do something to get your new franchise defender on the field. 

Need results front Davenport asap. No excuses for going all in on a guy as a “must win now” move and then not use him. 

I’ll shut up when he sees the field more, but right now we’re seeing two first round picks on the bench. 

[Raves]

12 minutes ago, Dome said:

Except when the DT is a UDFA we tried to trade for a 7th round pick and the DE cost us two firsts. Kick Jordan inside, kick Orkafor inside. Do something to get your new franchise defender on the field. 

Need results front Davenport asap. No excuses for going all in on a guy as a “must win now” move and then not use him. 

I’ll shut up when he sees the field more, but right now we’re seeing two first round picks on the bench. 

Actually we are seeing 1 first round pick on the bench.  The 2nd first round pick wouldn't even be on the team yet so that can't be counted, unless you want to say we have a 3rd round pick sitting on the bench as well in Teddy Bridgewater.  Heck at least Davenport sees the field sometimes, what were they thinking with that 3rd rounder, complete bust.

[Dome]

29 minutes ago, Raves said:

Actually we are seeing 1 first round pick on the bench.  The 2nd first round pick wouldn't even be on the team yet so that can't be counted, unless you want to say we have a 3rd round pick sitting on the bench as well in Teddy Bridgewater.  Heck at least Davenport sees the field sometimes, what were they thinking with that 3rd rounder, complete bust.

Not a comparable situation at all I’m afraid... not even close. 

Also, where have I even mentioned the word bust? Or even eluded to it? I’m concerned that the guy we invested 2 first round picks in hasn’t been playing much after reports are he was slow to pick things up during camp. Especially considering he plays a position of need for roughly the last decade and people were selling the trade up as a “must win now” move for a team with Brees on his farewell tour.

Is that not a legitimate concern? I’m not looking at the next 10+ years, I’m looking at the next 10+ games. If that give you’d more insight to where I’m coming from 

[Raves]

55 minutes ago, Dome said:

Not a comparable situation at all I’m afraid... not even close. 

Also, where have I even mentioned the word bust? Or even eluded to it? I’m concerned that the guy we invested 2 first round picks in hasn’t been playing much after reports are he was slow to pick things up during camp. Especially considering he plays a position of need for roughly the last decade and people were selling the trade up as a “must win now” move for a team with Brees on his farewell tour.

Is that not a legitimate concern? I’m not looking at the next 10+ years, I’m looking at the next 10+ games. If that give you’d more insight to where I’m coming from 

It is slightly concerning the Saints haven't used him more, though we knew he was a project coming in, though considering how the entire defense has looked so far I'm not willing to 100% put it on Davenport just quite yet.  Being only the first two weeks and knowing he wasn't going to be ready for a bigger role immediately, not to mention the entire defense looking poor including Lattimore and Jordan not playing up to expectations, I'm not as worried.  I'll start to get more concerned by about week 6 depending on the state of our defense and his playing time.

[saintsfan]

He was one of our highest graded players last week, I'm not worried. You can't compare the snaps of players from different positions when expressing your concern, especially when our team seem to be focused on stopping the run-first Browns last weekend. If we had the lead all game and Taylor was slinging the ball around then I bet you the snap count wouldn't be worrying you right now. Right now, Okafor and Jordan are both better run defenders at the DE position, and as others mentioned we are dealing with injuries at DT which is why Stallworth saw an increased snap count. Its been two games, and two games we've been playing from behind. Give the guy a little time

[Dome]

7 minutes ago, saintsfan said:

Give the guy a little time

I guess that’s the point I’m making.

We made a “must win now” move by spending 2 first round picks to bring him in for Brees final years. 2 firsts landed the Bears an All-Pro at the same position.

I don’t remember the last time someone spend two first on a player just to let them ride the bench. If you spend that kind of capital on a guy, he should be playing more than 20% of the defensive snaps IMO

Also, the Saints don’t exactly have a track record of turning defensive careers around in a positive way. Just the opposite most of the time. This is very concerning to me. Praying for the best but the recent history and not so recent history isn’t in our favor at all unfortunately.

[BossierWhoDat]

1 hour ago, Dome said:

2 firsts landed the Bears an All-Pro at the same position.

...and a MASSIVE contract. I understand the frustration but it's only been two games man.

3 hours ago, Dome said:

Kick Jordan inside, kick Orkafor inside. Do something to get your new franchise defender on the field. 

Need results front Davenport asap. 

I haven't seen Cam work enough from the inside to know if this would be worth it. And I can't see Okafor being too good there.

So, if it takes away from our current All-Pro DE then I'm calling this a bad idea.

[Saint_Anger13]

Two games is a hell of a knee jerk reaction. Have to give the guy some time. 

[Dome]

4 hours ago, Saint_Anger13 said:

Two games is a hell of a knee jerk reaction. Have to give the guy some time. 

Again, it has nothing to do with Davenports play and everything to do with what we’re doing with him and the return we’re getting on that investment when it was seen as a must win now move. I called him our trophy car. I said after the preseason he looked ready to contribute. This is about the staff, not the player.  

 

4 hours ago, BossierWhoDat said:

haven't seen Cam work enough from the inside to know if this would be worth it. And I can't see Okafor being too good there.

Both Cam and Okafor have kicked inside in the past as interior rushers. Cam spent a lot of time there in his younger days. 

 

4 hours ago, BossierWhoDat said:

So, if it takes away from our current All-Pro DE then I'm calling this a bad idea.

This is fair, but spending 2 firsts on a guy who’s job it is too keep the bench warm for a  rotational talent is probably hurting the entire team, just as much if not more right now.

Like I said, it’s crunch time. In a perfect world everyone has time to develop at their own pace but we have a franchise QB with just 1 or two years left. We can’t afford to waste any time. Davenport needs to be out there IMO based on what we spent on him. You don't put that much into a guy that can't help you. Trading up for a project when your QB is in his twilight, I wasn't on board when it happened and it doesn't make sense now that we're seeing it in action IMO

 

If you spend two firsts on a player that isn’t a QB they need to be good players right away. No more training wheels, lets see what he can do. Someone said PFF had him as our highest rated defender? GET HIM OUT THERE

 

And again,  I realize this is a rush as far as looking at Davenport as a player long term. I'm not saying he's a bust or anything like that, just that we need better value out of those picks and sooner, considering our QB situation

7 hours ago, Dome said:

I’m not looking at the next 10+ years, I’m looking at the next 10+ games. If that give you’d more insight to where I’m coming from 

[Jlowe22]

3 hours ago, Dome said:

Again, it has nothing to do with Davenports play and everything to do with what we’re doing with him and the return we’re getting on that investment when it was seen as a must win now move.

I called him our trophy car. I said after the preseason he looked ready to contribute. This is about the staff, not the player. 

 

Both Cam and Okafor have kicked inside in the past as interior rushers. Cam spent a lot of time there in his younger days. 

 

This is fair, but spending 2 firsts on a guy who’s job it is too keep the bench warm for a  rotational talent is probably hurting the entire team, just as much if not more right now.

Like I said, it’s crunch time. In a perfect world everyone has time to develop at their own pace but we have a franchise QB with just 1 or two years left. We can’t afford to waste any time. Davenport needs to be out there. 

If you spend two firsts on a player that isn’t a QB they need to be impact players right away IMO. No more training wheels 

It's not crunch time for me, I'll wait and see what we look like after the bye week. Even if it takes 8 games, I'll be content.  Later in the year when some guys get banged up he may be a lifesaver. 

The sky isn't falling yet, this is our best start in like 5 years(....may not be worth bragging about...).  Looks like Fitzmagic caught everybody off guard, and we were first in line.  

Besides, look on the bright side, Sean Payton's silliness would have just wasted our other pick anyway.