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There’s a big overlap in fans of the New Orleans Saints and the LSU Tigers, the college football powerhouse in their backyard. But the Saints haven’t picked up many playmakers from their neighbors up the river, leading many fans to wonder when they’re going to start. Sure, the Saints have taken fliers on late-round draft picks like Will Clapp and the occasional undrafted rookie (Adrian Magee, Travin Dural among them), but it’s been years since they invested a premium selection in some homegrown talent.
If the latest 2021 NFL mock draft holds true, it might happen in a big way next summer. The Saints were connected to LSU prospect Tyler Shelvin, an underclassman looking to take his game to the next level in 2020. Here’s the thought behind the pick from Jacob Infante over at Draft Wire:
It’s tough to project what the Saints might do in next year’s draft since they have talented players essentially everywhere on their roster. While taking a big-bodied, run-stuffing defensive tackle with limited pass-rushing value might not be the sexiest pick in the world, a massive interior defender like Shelvin could help further improve New Orleans’ run defense.
Shelvin fits the textbook definition of a big body (listed at 6-foot-3 and 346 pounds) committed to stopping the run, often tasked with occupying multiple blockers for the Tigers. He’s graded out very well in that role by Pro Football Focus, where he is the highest-rated nose tackle in the country ahead of the 2020 season.
Conversely, he doesn’t have the skills yet to play all three downs in the NFL. PFF’s snap-by-snap charting had Shelvin with only six pressures on more than 300 pass rushes last year, which just isn’t good enough for the pro game’s standards. Hopefully he can show a lot of improvement in his upcoming junior year.
So why would the Saints use their first-round pick on such a limited defender? They have their other starting defensive tackle spot locked down with David Onyemata (who inked a three-year contract extension earlier this offseason), though Sheldon Rankins and Shy Tuttle will push for snaps in the rotation.
Malcom Brown has been a very underrated nose tackle for the Saints and did a lot to help maintain their stout run defense last season, but he’ll be a free agent after the 2021 season and the Saints could free up $5 million by releasing him next summer. If the salary cap takes a big fall expected, they’ll have to pinch every penny they can just to field a team.
There’s some logic to the Saints drafting a quality nose tackle highly, and their roster is so deep that they have the luxury of picking just about any position. But they might be better served waiting for a later round to add someone who would be a part-time player even beyond his rookie year.
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