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New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton talks about first-round picks

By Andrew Schuster

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New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton took to the podium late Thursday night to discuss the team’s first-round picks in the 2015 NFL Draft.

First up was the No. 13 overall pick, Stanford offensive lineman Andrus Peat, who took a pre-draft visit to the Big Easy.

“He was a player that obviously for us had a real high grade,” Sean Payton said. “We feel like not only is he a good, young athlete, but his upside we feel is tremendous. He’s got great size, great makeup character, he’s got versatility to play either tackle position.

“It was kind of interesting in the early part of that first round. First off, the second quarterback Marcus (Mariota) went, and then kind of haning in there, (Brandon) Scherff went a lot earlier than a lot projected.

“We played around with possibly moving up, but we’re fortunate that he (Andrus Peat) was available at 13.  He’s a player that we’re really familiar with,” Payton continued.  “For us, clearly, we felt like he was our highest rated player on the board at that time.”

Next up was Clemson ILB Stephone Anthony.

“Stephone Anthony is another player we’ve done a ton of research on.  There’s a handful on linebackers that we felt could play both inside and potentially outside, all of which we feel are real good players,” Sean Payton said.

“We like the makeup, his size, his position flexibility — I think he can play either inside position, I think he’s probably most suited to play Mike. He’s got that body type. Again, he was a leader of their (Clemson) team. They had an outstanding season and a great defense rated right at the top of the country, a team defense.

“They had a lot of prospects, so through the process we watched a ton of Clemson film. We were watching them and looking at obviously a number of different players, so we’re kind of excited here at the conclusion of this first round.”

Sean Payton had outstanding things to say about both of the New Orleans Saints’ first-round picks.  The Who Dat Nation holds a firm trust in Payton and GM Mickey Loomis.  Rounds two and three kick off Friday at 6:00 PM CT.  The Black and Gold currently hold the No. 44 overall pick in the second round and the 75th and 78th selections in the third round.

Next: New Orleans Saints 2015 Schedule

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