It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints botched the start of their 2021 NFL draft. They opened the event by drafting defensive end Payton Turner, a surprise pick who many experts didn’t see going off the board so early. And Turner’s career to this point has mostly been frustrating.
The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher has the Saints moving differently. Going into the draft, cornerback was an obvious priority for the Saints. But when top targets like Caleb Farley and Greg Newsome II were taken ahead of them, the Saints chose to go in a different direction, selecting defensive end Payton Turner ahead of Georgia corners Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell, who were both taken in the next five picks.
Using the benefit of hindsight, Mosher redid 2021’s first round, and in his do-over he has Newsome falling to New Orleans. He was the cornerback we wanted all along, having traded up to get him in our final Saints mock draft. Here’s Mosher’s take on why Newsome would be a great fit:
Marshon Lattimore has struggled to stay on the field during the last few years, and the New Orleans Saints have a weakness at cornerback.
Greg Newsome would help fix that need, giving them a cornerback who can play in the slot and on the outside. He falls here due to some injury concerns, as he’s missed at least two games each season. Still, this is a massive value for the Saints at No. 28.
Injuries have limited Newsome to appearing in 42 of the Browns’ 52 games since he was drafted (starting 39 of them, including the playoffs), and he’s intercepted just two passes in his NFL career without forcing or recovering a fumble. So it’s a little wild to see him still being drafted in the first round when Paulson Adebo, who the Saints picked in Round 3, has started 44 of 45 games while intercepting seven passes with two forced fumbles and as many recoveries. Adebo has broken up 33 passes compared to Newsome’s 30.
We should acknowledge that takeaways aren’t everything, and Adebo has drawn three times as many penalties for defensive passing interference or holding (21) as Newsome (7). NFL teams liked Newsome enough to draft him 50 spots higher than Adebo back in 2021, so they clearly saw something special. Either way, the Saints picking him here would have addressed their most important need at the time.
As for Turner? He wasn’t picked at all in this draft do-over, but the pick was a reach when the Saints called it in even at the time. The Saints rightly saw a run coming at the position but they picked the wrong player. All three of the pass rushers drafted after him have bagged at least 13 sacks while playing in at least 45 games. Turner has only suited up for 15 games while recording just 3 sacks through three years, and one of those came against Derek Carr when he still played for the Raiders. It’s a shame they can’t get a real-life do-over, but hopefully Turner finds his way from here while the players the Saints drafted after him find more success.
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