Tag: meetings

Report: Saints to host Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley on pre-draft visit

Report: New Orleans Saints to host Western Kentucky slot receiver Malachi Corley on official 30 visit before 2024 NFL draft

Malachi Corley is a popular name in the final weeks leading up to the 2024 NFL draft. The Western Kentucky wideout will be making an official 30 visit to meet with the New Orleans Saints in Metairie, per uSTADIUM, which reports that ten different teams are flying Corley in for formal meetings at their headquarters.

Often mischaracterized as “top 30 visits,” these consist of interviews with team brass as well as position coaches and tours of the facility. Teams like the Saints aren’t necessarily targeting the 30 highest-rated players on their board, so much as seeking more information on prospects who they don’t know that well. That could be due to either playing at a smaller program, incomplete athletic testing in combine drills, or simple scheduling conflicts earlier in the process. Draft prospects with medical questions or character concerns are also often brought in for these official visits, which are capped at 30 for each team.

So what’s the deal with Corley? He weighed in at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds (closer in size to Alvin Kamara than any receivers on the Saints’ roster) and posted good, not great, times in the 40-yard dash (4.49) and short shuttle (4.22). That gave him a tentative Relative Athletic Score of 7.76 which is beneath the Saints’ usual standards, so it’s possible they want him to run the three-cone drill and go through the vertical and broad jumps privately in order to round out his scouting report.

But enough about that: what can he do on the field? Corley was a dynamic slot receiver at Western Kentucky, lining up outside on just 13.5%, 7.7%, and 3.0% of his routes the last three years. He’s impressive after the catch — Corley averaged 8.6 yards after the catch per reception last year, a yard shy of his average (9.7) the year before. He’s scored 29 touchdowns and converted 137 first downs in his Hilltoppers career. He’d be a good fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense as someone who can make a play with the ball in his hands. Corley currently projects as a second-round draft pick.

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Saints’ Todd Grantham works out DL Braden Fiske at FSU pro day

New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham has been busy. After visiting Texas, he stopped by Florida State to work out Braden Fiske:

The New Orleans Saints are on the look for more defensive line talent, as they worked out defensive tackle Braden Fiske at Florida State’s pro day on Friday per Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy. Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline reports it was defensive line coach Todd Grantham assigned to check in on one of the 2024 draft’s rising stars.

Fiske dominated the Senior Bowl and then went on to have a great combine. Fiske finished with a 9.89 Relative Athletic Score after a blazing fast 4.78 40-yard dash. He’s a little light, weighing in at under 300 pounds, but makes up for that with his athleticism and skill. He had 19.5 sacks in his college career (which started with a four-year run at Western Michigan before he transferred to FSU). The Saints could use all of the pass rush help that they can get on the defensive line. A duo of Fiske and Bryan Bresee could be fun to watch in black and gold.

Grantham has been busy on the pro day circuit. He also visited the Texas Longhorns last week and was very complimentary of nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Both defensive tackles are projected to be picked in the middle of the second round this year, so maybe one of them winds up going to New Orleans at No. 45 overall.

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Saints schedule pre-draft visit with WR Keon Coleman

Report: New Orleans Saints schedule pre-draft visit with Florida State WR Keon Coleman

The New Orleans Saints have scheduled a visit with Keon Coleman, a 2024 NFL draft prospect out of Florida State. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported the news of this meeting.

Coleman is the type of receiver that would compliment Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. He’s a big-bodied target that would be primed for red zone targets, an area on the outside that the team was missing last season.

The 6-foot-3 Louisiana native had 50 catches for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He had a disappointing 40-yard-dash at the combine (4.61) that caused some people to drop off of the hype train. For the Saints, however, the time shouldn’t be too scary. It’s not what they need him to do. He excelled in the other athletic areas and even had a nice 10-yard split, he’ll be just fine in the NFL.

Saints schedule Top-30 visit with Western Michigan combine standout

The New Orleans Saints have scheduled a Top-30 draft visit with Marshawn Kneeland, an NFL Scouting Combine standout from Western Michigan:

The New Orleans Saints have scheduled their second Top-30 prospect visit of the 2024 NFL draft, after lining one up previously with Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd. Next up on the docket is Western Michigan defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland, per Ryan Fowler of Bleacher Report.

Kneeland was one of the 321 total players invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine and was also a participant at the 2024 Senior Bowl. At the combine, Kneeland weighed in at 6-foot-3 and 267 pounds and stood out as an exceptional athlete in pretty much every event. He ranked highly amongst his peers at the defensive end position:

  • 40-yard dash: 4.75 seconds (19th)
  • 10-yard split: 1.66 seconds (tied-18th)
  • Vertical jump: 35.50 inches (8th)
  • Broad jump: 9 feet 11 inches (T-14th)
  • 3-cone drill: 7.02 seconds (1st by 0.28 seconds)
  • 20-yard shuttle: 4.18 seconds (1st)
  • Bench Press: 21 reps (T-8th)

It is worth noting that he has been listed at defensive tackle in other rankings, which would only help his case. In terms of Relative Athletic Score, a measure created by Kent Lee Platte, Kneeland ranked 75th out of 1,620 defensive tackles from 1987 to present day, with a 9.54 out of 10.00.

Kneeland is an extremely disruptive defensive lineman with 37 total pressures, 6 sacks, 38 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles this past season. He also has NFL size for a defensive lineman, a similar frame to Cameron Jordan who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 287 pounds. Kneeland will absolutely be an intriguing prospect in this draft process, and he may see a substantial rise in draft stock due to his combine success.

He also has other Top-30 visits scheduled with the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers, so it is extremely clear that he is garnering attention in the pre-draft process. He’s currently seen as a second-round draft prospect.

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Saints met with Washington DE Bralen Trice at NFL combine

The New Orleans Saints met with Washington DE Bralen Trice at the NFL combine, who is working out at 30 pounds beneath his listed weight:

The NFL Scouting Combine is underway for the 2024 draft cycle and the New Orleans Saints have started their formal meetings with prospects in Indinapolis. Recently, the Saints met with Washington defensive end Bralen Trice per The Philly Inquirer’s Devin Jackson.

He could be a good fit for the Saints. The pass rusher is coming off of back-to-back impressive seasons at Washington, finishing his career with 18 sacks and 28.5 total tackles for a loss. He’s known for his strength at the line of scrimmage and reliability in defending the run as well as getting after the quarterback.

But Trice has either shed a lot of weight or had a wildly incorrect profile at Washington, as he was listed at 274 pounds on their roster but checked into the combine all the way down at 245 pounds. Those two weights project to two very different types of players so clearing that up will be a big part of team interviews and evaluations.

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Saints meet with Texas TE Ja’Tavion Sanders at NFL combine

The New Orleans Saints met with Texas Longhorns tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders at the NFL combine. He’s a top prospect among this year’s pass-catchers:

The NFL Scouting Combine is underway for the 2024 draft cycle and the New Orleans Saints have started their formal meetings with prospects. Recently, the Saints met with Texas tight end product Ja’Tavion Sanders per The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler.

Sanders is one of the more exciting pass catchers in this tight end class, if not the most capable player in that role. He had just under 1,300 career receiving yards in two years as part of the Longhorns offense, with seven touchdown grabs to add to that production. He was a part of the All-Big 12 first team each of the last two years. The big downside to him is that he is not much of a blocker, which the Saints have valued highly.

Our own Jeremy Trottier listed Sanders as a player to watch for the NFL combine this year, noting the tight end as one of his top players in the 2024 NFL draft. The Saints are going to meet with almost every player eligible for this year’s draft over the next few months so don’t read too much into this, though it’s always interesting to see who they’re interviewing at the combine.

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Saints among 20 teams to host Michigan DT Mazi Smith on pre-draft meetings

The Saints are among 20-plus teams to host first-round Michigan DT prospect Mazi Smith on a pre-draft meeting:

Here’s someone to watch in the first round: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that the New Orleans Saints are one of the dozens of teams to speak with former Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Mazi Smith in the weeks leading up to the 2023 NFL draft. He’s one of the best interior linemen available in this year’s rookie class, and he would make a ton of sense for the Saints at No. 29 overall — if he makes it to their pick.

Smith would be the biggest defensive tackle in New Orleans, weighing in at 6-foot-3 and 323 pounds with 33.7-inch arms. Pound for pound, there aren’t many better athletes than him eligible in the 2023 draft. He’s also highly disruptive up front, even if his box score numbers don’t reflect it (just half a sack in 35 career games). He’s built like a traditional nose tackle but has the movement skills to line up all over the defensive front, and he’s well-versed in guarding the B gap, which is what the Saints should be looking for.

Having Smith and Khalen Saunders on the field for early downs creates an immediately-strong run defense, with Nathan Shepherd and Smith both well-suited for getting after the quarterback in obvious passing situations. Smith’s best production may still be ahead of him. He’s clearly on New Orleans’ radar, and fans should keep an eye on him when the draft begins in a few weeks.

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Saints met with mid-round 2023 draft RB prospect Zach Evans

The Saints met with mid-round running back prospect Zach Evans, a former TCU five-star recruit who played well at Ole Miss last season:

The New Orleans Saints are one of many teams to have met with Ole Miss running back Zach Evans ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, per KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson. A former five-star recruit, Evans transferred from TCU last season and did well for himself, and he’s now regarded as a likely third- or fourth-round pick after running for a career-high 936 yards last season.

Evans is a decent athlete for his size, but he’s beneath the Saints’ thresholds at 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds (though he bulked up to 208 pounds for his pro day), and his high Relative Athletic Score (8.73) feels a little misleading given his pedestrian times in the 40-yard dash (4.51), short shuttle (4.25), with mediocre numbers in the broad and vertical jumps. He’s not as fast or explosive as someone in his weight class ought to be.

Still, he played well against a higher quality of competition last year, and he was a regular source of big plays despite a light workload with just 320 career touches at the college level. If the Saints believe he can maintain a heavier weight and continue to separate from defenders when playing against better athletes in the NFL, he could make sense as a backup for Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams.

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LSU Tigers cornerback Mekhi Garner schedules private workout with the Saints

Former LSU Tigers cornerback Mekhi Garner schedules private workout with the Saints; he’s projected to be a fifth-round pick in the 2023 draft

Former LSU Tigers cornerback Mekhi Garner scheduled a private workout with the New Orleans Saints, per The Draft Network’s Justin Melo. He’s projected to be a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft after playing 777 defensive snaps in 13 games for LSU last season, having transferred from Louisiana. He spent his first three years of college with the Ragin’ Cajuns, where he played really well.

Right now Garner is drawing attention for his up-and-down performance at the NFL Scouting Combine. He weighed in at 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds with 32.2-inch arms, making him one of the more physically imposing corners in attendance. And he did well in his jumps, too. But while his 4.55-second time in the 40-yard dash is good enough by NFL standards, it’s worth bringing him in to run positional drills and better evaluate his movement skills.

Garner has a solid resume. He didn’t miss many tackles in college (just 14 of them on over 1,800 career defensive snaps) and he competed well in coverage with a completion percentage of 42.5% and 19 career pass breakups. He was only fouled 9 times. He doesn’t have much experience covering the slot, but he could be a nice addition to the depth chart. The Saints like to stack depth in the secondary. If they can address bigger needs early in the draft, he’d make sense in the later rounds.

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Saints schedule pre-draft visit with Penn State corner Joey Porter Jr.

The Saints scheduled a pre-draft visit with Penn State corner Joey Porter Jr., one of the top defensive prospects in the 2023 rookie class:

Do the New Orleans Saints know where they’re picking this year? KPRC 2 Houston’s NFL insider Aaron Wilson reports that the Saints have scheduled a pre-draft visit with Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., whose busy itinerary includes stops with the Raiders, Commanders, Ravens, Panthers, and Eagles in the days ahead.

Porter is drawing a lot of attention for good reason. He’s a virtual lock to be picked in the first 10 or 12 picks of the 2023 NFL draft, having played at an incredibly high level last year with 11 pass breakups in 10 games — before he timed the 40-yard dash in just 4.46 seconds at 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, helping to generate an impressive Relative Athletic Score of 9.72. Don’t bet on him making it to the Saints’ pick at No. 29 overall.

So why are the Saints bringing him in? It could be as simple as wanting to put him through some agility drills and fill out his scouting report. Nearly every prospect the Saints have tabbed for these exclusive “top 30″ visits at their home facility in Metairie either didn’t finish athletic testing at the NFL scouting combine or missed the event entirely, due to injury or being snubbed by the selection process. The Saints’ scouting department puts an emphasis on agility and movement skills in a small space, so the three-cone drill and short shuttle are especially meaningful to them.

Even if they don’t have a prayer of landing Porter (or a real need, given their depth at cornerback), it might be worthwhile to fly him into town and run him through a few drills to get a better idea of what kind of athlete he is. With all of the NFC rivals picking high this year, odds are he’ll be playing somewhere nearby for the foreseeable future.

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