Cornerback will be Saints most-pressing need in 2021 NFL Draft
The New Orleans Saints are going into the offseason with several holes in their roster. Instead of trading players, they’ve been forced to release numerous veterans that played key roles in their playoff run last season.
Janoris Jenkins, Kwon Alexander, Emmanuel Sanders and Nick Easton are just a few of the names that won’t be coming back, and while they have easy replacements for most of them, some may leave a bigger hole.
The New Orleans Saints have released Janoris Jenkins which could indicate that they’ll be drafting a cornerback in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Saints are going to struggle to have solid depth this upcoming season. While they have been able to retain many of their top-tier players, losing Jenkins is not going to be an easy fix.
It could be detrimental enough for the team to be forced to draft a cornerback in the first round. After all, do we remember when the Saints had Eli Apple alongside Lattimore and how frequently they were burned deep?
They brought back Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins. Their secondary is elite with whoever is at the No. 2 cornerback, but with Chauncey Gardner-Johnson more of a nickel cornerback, they’ll need to add more talent at the position.
Jaycee Horn could be an option for them. A junior from South Carolina, Horn is a projected first-round pick and should be available for New Orleans at No. 24.
It’s easy to trust the Saints scouting team with cornerback selections as Marshon Lattimore was their last quarterback taken in the first three rounds. That said, this is assuming that they’ll clear enough cap space to bring back Jameis Winston.
Linebacker could also be a need, but the Saints must trust Zach Baun to step up there. Cornerback is the only position that they don’t have a star waiting to fill in, unless they look to transition CGJ into more of a traditional cornerback.
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The Saints need to take a cornerback with their first-round pick, and it could make a huge difference in how capable of a roster they take into the 2021 season.