Here’s a prospect who looks like a New Orleans Saints draft pick through-and-through. Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Jordan Howden scheduled a private workout with the Saints after his impressive pro day, per The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler.
Howden weighed in at 5-foot-11 1/2, 203 pound with long 32 1/4-inch arms and timed the 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds. More impressive are his times with a 10-yard split of 1.53 seconds and a three-cone drill of 6.87 seconds. He also posted a 39.5-inch vertical jump, helping to generate a Relative Athletic Score of 8.8. All of those numbers line up with New Orleans’ established preferences in the secondary.
But what does he bring as a player? Howden predominately covered the slot for Minnesota, lining up there on 1,391 of his 3,027 career defensive snaps per Pro Football Focus charting. He also played often at free safety (978 snaps) and in the box (621), occasionally moving up to the line of scrimmage or out wide at cornerback. That’s exactly the sort of versatility the Saints value. He’s broken up 16 passes thrown into his coverage over the years.
Maybe the best moment in Howden’s college career was a game-saving interception in the end zone against Penn State back in 2019, which helped the Gophers hand the then-undefeated Nittany Lions their first loss of the season. But he plays consistently clean football with few missed tackles (9 of his 22 misses came in his 2019 sophomore season) and just two penalties in his career. He’s currently projected to be a late-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, but he’s doing well in the pre-draft process and more productive workouts and meetings with teams will only continue to boost his draft stock.
