New Orleans Saints Draft: Which linebacker talent fits Saints defense best?
By Drake Lohse
As draft day gets closer, and with everyone inside, football fans are seeing an uptick in mock drafts. That means the New Orleans Saints have been linked to several different prospects.
Many mocks have linked the New Orleans Saints, who own the 24th overall pick, with standout linebackers, in particular LSU’s Patrick Queen and Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray.
In 14 starts, Kenneth Murray collected four sacks, 17 tackles for loss and four pass breakups. The Texas native’s whole game is built around blinding speed and will remind fans of Davis, with his knack for flying from sideline to sideline in a single play.
If there ever was a more unpredictable duo of draft rogues, it’s Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis, but if there ever was a better time to find two linebackers with this quality of talent in the first round, it certainly hasn’t been recently.
Receivers will more than likely occupy the majority of the first round, which should leave either Queen or Murray available by the time the 24th pick comes up.
The question is: should both of them be available, who’s the better option?
Queen’s an LSU Tiger, which means his chances of getting drafted by the Saints are lower than average; many fans have pointed out the Sean Payton seems strangely averse to tapping into the LSU pipeline.
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However, as WhoDatDish’s Nathan Beighle points out, Queen and New Orleans fit like a daydream. Queen comes from a line of recent linebacker studs emerging from LSU. Deion Jones, Devin White, and Kwon Alexander have all graduate from Baton Rouge to the big leagues in recent years.
Queen is noted for his athletic, explosive maneuvering, and his ability to cover tight ends and running backs. The LSU standout would assist DeMario Davis in bringing a sheriff’s mentality to the Big Easy’s linebacking core not seen since the Dome Patrol.
In 14 starts, Kenneth Murray collected four sacks, 17 tackles for loss and four pass breakups. The Texas native’s whole game is built around blinding speed and will remind fans of Davis, with his knack for flying from sideline to sideline in a single play.
As ESPN’s Todd McShay put it:
"“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.”"
The last time the Saints drafted a linebacker in the first round, it went poorly. Stephone Anthony never quite clicked in the Saint’s defense, and though he’s back in the black and gold, in all likelihood, won’t be much of a force on anything other than special teams.
Next. 3 blockbuster trades the Saints could pursue before draft day. dark
The Saints have an opportunity to add youth to the defensive side of the ball, building a flashier, more complete team that can survive post-Drew Brees.