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Where are the New Orleans Saints going to try and upgrade during the 2020 NFL Draft? Their list of roster needs has been whittled down through free agency, thanks to the addition of veterans like safety Malcolm Jenkins and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. But the Saints were also able to retain plenty of their own pending free agents, keeping together a core that’s won 26 of their last 32 regular season games.
One position that could use help is linebacker. Demario Davis is a first-team All-Pro, but he’s surrounded by multiple projected starters returning from season-ending injuries. Adding a young, high-upside prospect who can reliably start next to him would be huge.
To that end, ESPN’s Todd McShay recently filed a mock draft that connects the Saints with a college player fans have seen before: Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kenneth Murray.
Murray plays fast and could be the future quarterback of the New Orleans defense. He is one of the best available prospects on the board, and the Saints would jump at a chance to plop the rangy Murray in the middle of the field.
That sounds great — but wasn’t it the same thing said of Stephone Anthony? The Saints picked Anthony at 31st overall back in 2015, expecting him to start right away at middle linebacker. While Anthony’s prodigious athleticism was on display throughout his rookie season, his mental lapses led to botched run fits and coverage snafus.
Miscommunication between the front seven and the back four, a responsibility squarely on Anthony’s shoulders, led to an NFL-record 45 touchdown passes thrown against the 2015 Saints defense. Anthony was benched and traded away just two years later, though he returned in 2019 to exclusively play special teams.
Maybe Murray’s NFL fortunes will go differently. But his college game tape is littered with poor decisions in run defense and misdiagnosed adjustments in coverage. Like Anthony did at Clemson, Murray has been able to make up for many of his mistakes by crossing the field in a hurry. But the heightened speed of the NFL is a great equalizer, and it’s something the Saints must keep in mind if Murray ends up being available once they’re on the clock.
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