Salty's 1st-Round Draft Wish (as of March 9th)

Considering there’s no way that Aaron Curry or Brian Orakpo are available at the Saints' #14 draft pick, my #1 choice is USC’s OLB Brian Cushing. The Saints haven’t drafted a LB in the 1st round the last 14 years; They took Washington State’s Mark Fields in the 1st round in 1995, and it’s gotten worse since then.

Since then, they’ve selected:

2001 – Sedrick Hodge LB North Carolina (3rd round)
2002 – James Allen LB Oregon State (3rd round)
2003 – Cie Grant LB Ohio State (3rd round)
2004 – Courtney Watson LB Notre Dame (2nd round)
2005 – Alfred Fincher LB Connecticut (3rd round)

None of these linebackers are on the Saints current roster but they have been spotted on UFL teams coached by Jim Haslett, on the back of milk cartons, and down at J.J.’s, smoking Roi tan cigars and drinking RC Colas.

The Saints would do themselves well by choosing the best LB available at that spot, Brian Cushing, who will bring a blue-collar work ethic, along with solid and potentially Pro-Bowl caliber play to a Saints team primed to make a Super Bowl run.