New Orleans Saints full 2021 NFL mock draft
As the New Orleans Saints look to restock the cupboard, here’s how they might attack the 2021 NFL Draft.
Even with a lower salary cap this year, the New Orleans Saints’ situation stood out as particularly dire to get compliant. Drew Brees did them a favor before he retired, lowering his cap hit for 2021 notably. Somehow, the Saints got it done and are now in a pretty good spot cap-wise.
The Saints have a wide range of possible outcomes for the 2021 season, from a relative bottoming out (6-10?) to remaining a good team with a possible deep playoff run in the cards. Regardless, adding some young, cheap talent in the draft will be important for now and going forward.
With eight selections in the 2021 draft, here’s who the Saints may add to their talent pipeline.
New Orleans Saints Full 7-Round 2021 Mock Draft
Asante Samuel Jr.. Scouting Report. CB. Florida State. 28. player. 15. Pick Analysis
With the release of Janoris Jenkins, the Saints are left with Patrick Robinson and P.J. Williams as the No. 2 and No. 3 corners behind Marcus Lattimore. So using their first-round pick on a corner becomes practically essential here.
With Caleb Farley, Patrick Surtain II, Jaycee Horn and others off the board by now, Samuel becomes the pick for the Saints at No. 28. He has NFL bloodlines, and he is generally sound across the board except for being somewhat prone to pass interference penalties. In 2019 he led the ACC with 14 pass breakups while adding 49 total tackles. In three seasons for the Seminoles, he had 29 pass breakups.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1374027063175348224?s=20
Asante Samuel Jr among P5 CBs since 2018:
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 10, 2021
🔸PFF Grade - 90.0 (7th)
🔸Forced incompletions - 30 (2nd)
🔸Passer rating when targeted - 81.3 (5th) pic.twitter.com/D2QS41M4Pd
Samuel is smaller than NFL teams might like (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), but the cliche’ that he plays bigger than that fits him. The Saints would gladly grab him here.