The NFL Draft is really a four-round process. The odds of players picked in rounds five, six, and seven being big contributors and sticking on a Super Bowl-contending roster are so low that most teams would do better to punt on those picks altogether, trading them for proven NFL veterans. Justis Mosqueda of Optimum Scouting explained this trend, but nothing illustrates it better than the ten picks made by the New Orleans Saints in the last four years:
- 2018, Round 5: DB Natrell Jamerson, cut
- 2018, Round 6: DB Kamrin Moore, cut
- 2018, Round 6: RB Boston Scott, cut
- 2018, Round 7: OL Will Clapp, still on roster
- 2017, Round 6: DE Al-Quadin Muhammad, cut
- 2016, Round 7: RB Daniel Lasco, cut
- 2015, Round 5: LB Davis Tull, cut
- 2015, Round 5: DL Tyeler Davison, free agent
- 2015, Round 5: CB Damian Swann, cut
- 2015, Round 7: RB Marcus Murphy, cut
Of those ten picks, just one is still on the team (backup guard Will Clapp) and another is currently a free agent.