The second round of the NFL draft had started to become the New Orleans Saints' nemesis. They saw two second-round picks stripped away by the NFL as part of the Bountygate punishments, one each in 2012 and 2013. They misfired on cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste in the second round in 2014. Then 2015 second-rounder Hau'oli Kikaha suffered a torn ACL this summer.
But the Saints appear to have hit on both of their 2016 second-rounders: the Ohio State duo of receiver Michael Thomas and safety Vonn Bell. Combined with first-round defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, this has the potential to become one of the strongest draft classes in the Sean Payton-Mickey Loomis era.