The New Orleans Saints came away with a solid haul in Mel Kiper’s newest ESPN mock draft, but they’re also facing an ideal trade-up scenario. With the top pass rushers within reach, it’s hard to see New Orleans staying put.
General manager Mickey Loomis is infamously impatient on draft day, and the Saints have an obvious need along the defensive line. If highly-rated prospects are still on the board within ten or twelve slots of their pick at No. 29, well: that’s a perfect storm for another move up the board.
And that’s the case with Kiper’s projection, which has defensive ends Myles Murphy (Clemson) and Lukas Van Ness (Iowa) making it to the 20’s. Murphy was selected by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 20, whereas Van Ness went to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 24.
Both prospects make a ton of sense for the Saints. They’re tall (both measuring over 6-foot-4), long (each with arms over 34.7 inches) and play at the heavier weight New Orleans values (Murphy tips the scales at 268, Van Ness at 272) for their defensive ends. And they’re well-rounded athletes with Relative Athletic Scores of 9.71 for Murphy and 9.39 for Van Ness.
They were also each very productive in college. Murphy was credited with 36 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks in 35 games at Clemson (plus 6 forced fumbles and 5 pass breakups, with 116 total tackles); Van Ness logged 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in 26 games with Iowa (plus 70 combined tackles and a pass breakup).
Van Ness wasn’t named a starter for the Hawkeyes but he still played 940 snaps the last two years, and Pro Football Focus charted him with 74 career quarterback pressures (2.8 per game). Murphy played 1,561 snaps in his Clemson career, with 96 pressures at PFF (2.7 per game). For what it’s worth, Van Ness was fouled just three times while Murphy drew seven penalty flags, but Van Ness is six months older than Murphy.
That’s a lot to digest, but the bottom line is that these are two very similar prospects who would add a lot to the Saints’ defensive ends rotation. Either of them would be a good fit in the lineup across from Cameron Jordan. And if both player make it out of the teens, as was the case in Kiper’s latest projection, the Saints could trade up from No. 29 for one of them and get help at defensive tackle, linebacker, running back, or another position of need in the second round at No. 40. Kiper had them picking Georgia tight end Darnell Washington, but some of the other players available at that slot included:
- Michigan DT Mazi Smith (42)
- Iowa LB Jack Campbell (48)
- Northwestern DL Adetomiwa Adebawore (50)
- UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet (60)
So while Kiper’s projection of Pitt Panthers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (at 29) and Washington (at 40) is solid, an alternative return of either Murphy or Van Ness and one of those four prospects would be impressive, too, even if the Saints have to trade their third rounder (at 71) to make that climb up the board in Round 1. Which result do you prefer?
