Grading the Nick Saldiveri Pick for the Saints

Nick Saldivieri certainly checks a lot of the boxes the Saints like, and his attitude seems like the right one for the next level.

John Hendrix | Apr 29, 2023

Grading the Nick Saldiveri Pick for the Saints /

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New Orleans Saints

Assuming nothing else happens, Day 3 Saints picks have come and gone. New Orleans is out of picks, so unless they dip into next year's cookie jar or trade a player, they're done. We take a further look at the Nick Saldiveri pick for New Orleans, as the team traded before the start of Round 4 with the Bears to get him.

Grading the Nick Saldiveri Pick

One of the first things that stands out about Saldiveri is his loyalty and competitiveness. Saldiveri said that he committed to Old Dominion after being recruited off his Junior tape in high school. After he committed, he didn't make a Senior tape and didn't allow others to recruit him.

"I think loyalty is few and far between these days, especially with the way college football is, just different," Salidiveri told us. "I take pride in being loyal to people that take chances on me, and just giving them my all and paying this game the respect it deserves and just doing things the right way."

A lot were thinking that he would be a Day 2 pick, and this is a reason why Mickey Loomis and Jeff Ireland traded up to get him. Jim Nagy, Executive Director Reese's Senior Bowl, told us that his best position might be center. However, he can play all over the line and adapt.

"I'm an offensive lineman at the end of the day," Saldiveri told us. "I'm not in one box. I don't play tackle, guard, center. Like, I play it all, and I take pride in that. I take pride in having the ability to do that because it's not easy, not everybody can do that."

Immediately, the vision would be at tackle for Saldiveri, but expect him to be bounced around on the interior and at tackle. He's someone who could push Landon Young and Calvin Throckmorton as an absolute worst-case scenario. His attitude is certainly the right one, and he could be an eventual starter.

Draft Grade: B

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Published Apr 29, 2023

JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net