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The New Orleans Saints raised some eyebrows by drafting Houston defensive end Payton Turner with the 28th pick in the NFL draft, since he was selected sooner than most projected.

But it should come as no surprise that New Orleans’ DE draft board might look a little different than others.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Turner is joining a long line of long defensive ends with the Saints, who have coveted his type of size and length throughout the regime of coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis. And they have doubled down since assistant GM Jeff Ireland took over college scouting in 2015.

It’s a philosophy both Payton and Ireland gleaned from shared mentor Bill Parcells.

“Here’s the thing, you usually don’t see guys 6-foot-6, 270 with 35-inch arms who can bend like that. You just don’t,” ESPN analyst Matt Bowen said. “He fits the exact profile of what [defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen and the Saints want at the position. Look what they already have on the roster with Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport. Long, big, power 4-3 defensive ends.

“I thought he would be an early Day 2 pick. But going to New Orleans … when you look at the fit and what Dennis Allen does from a scheme perspective with his multiple fronts, you say, ‘OK, this makes a lot of sense.’”

The Saints drafted Jordan (6-4, 287) and Davenport (6-6, 265) in the first round in 2011 and 2018, respectively. Loomis also drafted DE Will Smith (6-3, 282) in Round 1 in 2004 before Payton arrived in 2006.

Even more notable is Turner’s arm length of 35 1/2 inches and wingspan of 84 1/8 inches, according to Houston’s pro day results. Those numbers both would have ranked top 10 among defensive ends from 2011-20 at the NFL combine, according to data from ESPN Stats & Info.

If you comb through the list of longest arms and wingspans among defensive linemen, you’ll also find Tanoh Kpassagnon (a former Kansas City Chiefs DE who was signed by the Saints in free agency this year), DE/DT Akiem Hicks (Saints third-round pick in 2012) and DT Al Woods (Saints fourth-round pick in 2010).

“Look, part of it's your scheme fit. And part of it is a little bit of my early days with [the New York Giants] and then with Bill in Dallas," Payton said. "The vision, especially in the early part of the draft, you’re hopefully drafting prototype player size, weight, speed. Clearly there are exceptions that become great players, and we've taken exceptions as well. But the length is important and the durability, stamina. There are times where there's a little bit more energy required of a player that's not as big.

“It’s hard to find those players. ... I think in our league, it matters.”

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iceshack149

You'll forgive me for picking nits but Charles Grant, Will Smith, Darren Howard, LaRoi Glover, and Joe Johnson we all around the 6'2"-6'4" range. Turner is extra long just like Davenport. That's the comparison. Those two are different because not only are they extra large men they are very athletic.

Edit: just for reminiscing's sake I'll add that Junior Galette and Willie Whitehead were 6'2" and 6'3" respectively.

K Major

Pre draft interviews with Dline coach Nielsen, he often talked about size and length on his front line as a priority. Turner is no different with his measurables.

I'm just glad we got him instead of the Bills, Ravens or Bucs.

Rugby Saint II

We moved on Turner because he wouldn't have been available when we picked in the second round. Payton is enamored with the RAC and applies it to the DE's more than any other position. DA's system really needs the prototypical De's who can dominate 1 on 1. One of our DE's will draw a double team leaving a very athletic player opposite him to wreak havoc.