MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey Derek, two good questions right off the bat. … I think Deuce will rework his contract a little bit and come to training camp. But he needs to prove he’s healthy in July and August to make the team. The Saints aren’t in a hurry to get rid of him. They love him and are pretty loyal to him. But his knees will ultimately make this decision for them.

As for trading up in the draft, the Saints have proven in the past that they’re willing to move up or down, so I wouldn’t rule it out. It might be hard to get Dorsey, even if they’re willing to give up a No. 1 and a 2. Ellis is more realistic. A lot of people think the Patriots will want to move down at No. 7, and he should still be there.

Personally, I’m no expert, but I haven’t been too impressed by Ellis at the Senior Bowl and combine so far.

MIKE TRIPLETT: I think the Saints will get something done with Smith this offseason, but it might drag out into the summer. They need to pay him more than they paid Charles Grant, but they have a decent amount of money in the bank. Every in the NFL does these days. … They’ll probably work out something with Colston, too, but that’s not as urgent since he’s a restricted free agent. Evans will be back one way or another.

I don’t think they’ll work out a long-term extension with Vilma before this season, but I think he’s gonna be outstanding. Like Drew Brees was a couple years ago. And I think they’ll want to re-sign him next year and he’ll want to stay.

MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey, David. I’ve seen the same things, and I just can’t believe it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they draft a tailback at some point, but I don’t think that’s their biggest need, and I don’t think Mendenhall is the best player available at No. 10. … The Saints always stick to that best-player-available principle, though, so don’t rule anyone out.

Jeff - Will the Saints try to trade for Lito Sheppard?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey Jeff, I absolutely wouldn’t rule that out. Remember those draft day trades that brought Jeff Faine and Hollis Thomas to town two years ago? Maybe they trade down with Philly at 19 in the first round to get Sheppard … unless of course they trade up to get Ellis.

KL - looks like the saints primary need in the draft is still at cb, so that probably means jenkins, cromartie, mckelvin, or talib in the 1st. but who are the top dt prospects for the 2nd round? we need a run stuffer who commands double teams to free up vilma, our other lb's, and our de's. who best fits that bill in the 2nd?

MIKE TRIPLETT: One name that stands out to me is Purdue TE Dustin Keller. The Saints have a few tie-ins with Purdue, and that’s a position Payton has been trying to fill since he got here.

MIKE TRIPLETT: I’d be surprised if they don’t make the playoffs, this year. Of course, I was pretty surprised last year, too. … Stay healthy, get a little better on defense and they should win nine or 10 games easily, right?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Out of those three guys, the one I’d rule out is Pacman Jones. I just can’t see that happening.

MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey Tony, I think Deuce will be OK, but the fact that he had microfracture surgery on one knee and a torn ACL repair on the other complicates things a bit. The good news is he got hurt early in the year, he’s done this rehab thing before and he’s a tough, determined guy.

[JAMES E. STEWART] -            
Are the Saints in pursuit of either Roosevelt Colvin or Takeo Spikes? If so how serious and what are their chances of signing one?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey James, I know they’ve at least kicked the tires on Takeo Spikes, but there doesn’t seem to be a real urgency to add another veteran linebacker at this point. Maybe if they don’t add another body or two in the draft …

[Felix] -            
What do you think of the saints trading for Chad Johnson and how much would we have to give up?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Felix, this one would surprise me too. I think Chad Johnson would be a bit of a distraction, he would cost a fortune, and the team has a lot more pressing needs.

12:05 - do the saints plan to use reggie differently. it feels like the majority of run plays last year started at leaste five yard behind the line of scrimage. he has great hand, but he has to many passes thrown to him as well.

MIKE TRIPLETT: I think that’s one of the top priorities for the coaching staff this offseason, and I think they’ll figure out how to improve it. … I think the whole offense suffered last year when Deuce went down and Reggie got moved into that primary tailback spot. Reggie is more dangerous when defenses have to locate him in different places on the field. He was easy to find when he lined up at tailback.

MIKE TRIPLETT: If the Saints had the No. 1 pick in the draft, I think they'd be looking at Dorsey, so yeah. he makes a lot of sense. But I don't think he'll fall past the top five. And if he does slip, why would teams want to trade down? Why not just grab Dorsey and consider him the steal of the draft?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Someone else asked if he was a bust, and I definitely don't think that's the case. Consider this his redshirt freshman season. He was a little overweight, a little injured and a little overwhelmed last year. But the talent is there. He seems a lot healthier and a lot more confident heading into Year 2. I’m really impressed that he sought out David Patten to learn from him and work with him this offseason. ... I'm really interested to watch him battle Devery Henderson for that No. 3 job throughout the summer.

MIKE TRIPLETT: Yeah, Mike. Unfortunatley he got hurt in late December, which means he'll be rehabbing well into the summer. But players seem to come back from ACL tears pretty regularly these days. ... Of course, he'll probably lose a little explosion, which isn't good for a cornerback. But he'll get healthier and more confident as the year goes on, kind of like Deuce did in 2006.

[dmathisii] -  Was Bobby McCray signed because the Saints anticipated a Will Smith holdout? When can we expect Will's deal to be done?

MIKE TRIPLETT: No, McCray’s not a Will Smith replacement. He’s more of a pass rushing specialist who will rotate into the mix and give them a deeper three-man rotation. Maybe Smith or Grant will move inside on those third-and-long situations.

[Andrew] -  If the season started today, Mike McKenzie would be on the PUP list, and our corners would be Randall Gay and Jason David with Craft/Usama Young as the backups. Given the fact that the Saints pass defense was so victimized last season, and was clearly the achilles heel of the team -- don't you think we should have been more aggressive in upgrading in the offseason? Is Randall Gay really going to be a solution? Don't you think CB is a must in the first round?

[Andrew] -  I cannot understand for the life of me why the Saints haven't addressed the need for an upgrade at free safety. Josh Bullocks was TERRIBLE last year. Do you think the team feels the need to address this in the draft or post draft free agency - or am I going to be subjected to watching this guy miss tackles, bite on play fakes and misread deep balls for another season?

MIKE TRIPLETT: Hey Andrew, I’ll answer both of your questions at once. I do think there will be one or two more defensive backs in the fold after the draft. But I think the biggest concern is improving the entire defense. A better pass rush will help. More athletic linebackers will help. This team needs to get a lot more disruptive so quarterbacks can’t just pick them apart. … Honestly, I don’t think the safeties are that bad, but every defensive back looked terrible last year.