New Orleans Saints address long time need in the second round

The New Orleans Saints stayed where they were at and drafted a long-time need with their No. 60 overall pick. Who Dat Nation will add linebacker Pete Werner from THE Ohio State University to their starting lineup in 2021.

Many speculated that the second round would either see a linebacker or a wide receiver taken by the black and gold. With the Panthers selecting Terrace Marshall immediately before the Saints at No. 59, New Orleans was left with a decision between Jabril Cox and Pete Werner.

Werner played four seasons at Ohio State totaling 39 collegiate games. In those, Werner saw 185 tackles, 16.0 tackles for a loss, 4.0 sacks, 13 passes defended, and four forced fumbles. He was a disruptive force in the middle of the field.

With their second-round pick, the New Orleans Saints address a multiple-year need in Ohio State University linebacker Pete Werner.

With the talent that Werner played at OSU, he was already prepared for the talent he would face in the NFL. In one of the best conferences in football, Werner ranked No. 2 in 2020 in forced fumbles and No. 8 in 2018 in passes defended.

With Demario Davis being virtually the only talented linebacker on the squad, the team needed someone to play complement to him. Obviously, the team doesn’t like the progress of former third-round pick, Zack Baun, enough to trust him.

In this pick, the Saints are getting a ball hawk to play in the middle of the field. As you can tell, Werner makes his way to where the ball is with nine passes defended in one season. That type of intuitiveness is instinctive not learned.

Werner will give Dennis Allen another player that he can use to build the middle. As the middle of the defense strengthens, the front line and secondary will begin to grow as well. This pick is really a huge help to the overall growth of the entire defense not just the linebacker spot.

Hopefully, Werner proves to be more worthwhile to the team than the trade they made for Kwon Alexander in the middle of the season to try and remedy their problem. Either way, welcome to the Big Easy, Pete Werner.