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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton identified linebacker as a position of need going into the second day of the 2020 NFL Draft, though he acknowledged the team might not be able to address it with a rookie draft pick. New Orleans might consider a free agent after the compensatory pick cutoff passes by on Monday, with veteran options like Nigel Bradham still available.
But linebacker has been the overwhelming pick for the Saints in updated NFL mock drafts, with experts doing their best to predict what may happen in rounds two and three. Not scheduled to pick until No. 88, late in the third round, it’s easy to imagine the always-aggressive Saints trading up the board on Friday night.
Two different mock drafts have the Saints staying put, however, and selecting Oregon linebacker Troy Dye. That take comes from both SI.com’s Kevin Hanson and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler graded Dye positively — he racked up 44 tackles for loss in four years with the Ducks, starting 47 of the 50 games he played — but projects him to more of a backup role due to his underdeveloped frame and a few recent injuries.
Instead, Brugler suggested a different linebacker in his own second-day mock draft: Appalachian State’s Akeem Davis-Gaither, an athletic tackling machine who dominated his competition in the Sun Belt; he earned recognition as that conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Brugler projects Davis-Gaither to make an instant impact in sub-packages (he created five sacks last season on blitzes) while starring on special teams, which sounds like what the Saints will be looking for.
However, not everyone has the Saints picking a linebacker. The Draft Network’s Kyle Crabbs linked the Saints to UCLA cornerback Darnay Holmes in the third round with his updated mock draft. Holmes has started 33 of the 35 games he’s played for the Bruins, flashing serious ball skills with eight interceptions (and 28 total passes defensed). But he might not fit what the Saints like from a physical standpoint at just 5-foot-9 with 29 1/2-inch arms, despite his 4.48-second 40 time.
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