Saints trade down, draft QB of the future and one of his receivers in 2024 mock draft

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...ft/ar-BB1ip0ji


After moving back to No. 18, the Saints selected Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, of whom Carpentier writes: "Murphy and his college teammate T’Vondre Sweat combined for a 34.9% Win Rate and 76 pressures, numbers that compare to the 2018 Clemson Interior duo of Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence (29.7% Win Rate and 67 pressures)."

Murphy would bring a formidable presence to the Saints defensive line. Pairing him with Bryan Bresee could give New Orleans a dominant pair of interior linemen and improve on their run defense, which ranked 11th-worst in rushing yards per carry and per game allowed last season. But what about their other picks?

That's where this mock draft gets interesting. Carpentier has the Saints spending their second-round choice (at No. 45, coming from the Denver Broncos) on a possible quarterback of the future: Washington's Michael Penix Jr. He's one of the most exciting prospects in this draft class after leading the Huskies to a national title bid. Penix struggled to elevate his draft stock at Senior Bowl practices earlier this month, but he's known as a gamer and should develop into a fine pro. Even if the Saints are committed to starting Derek Carr in 2024, it would be worth investing in a long-term answer at the position.

And as for that third-round pick coming f rom the Bengals (at No. 80): it's used on one of Penix's receivers at Washington, Ja'Lynn Polk. Polk is an impressive NFL prospect in his own right -- he averaged 5.2 yard after the catch per reception in his college career (a full yard better than Chris Olave and a yard-and-a-half more than Rashid Shaheed last year) while consistently winning on 50/50 balls. He plays with a lot of physicality and could add a new dimension to the offense. Having familiarity with his quarterback would certainly help.

I'd love to see Bama's OLB/DE Dallas Turner come here, much to LSU fans' dislike.

https://twitter.com/JamesPalmerTV/st...59524281520349

#14 Taliese Fuaga to be the G or RT ideal for Kubiak's run game

#45 Egerrin Cooper the speedy LB of the future who can cover receivers and TEs

TRADE ALERT:

#61 from the Detroit Lions. Malachi Corley to be our Debo Samuel