Saints continue consistent philosophy by trading up for two targets on day two of NFL Draft

As day two of the NFL Draft approached, rumors started early that the Saints were pursuing trading up into the second round.

Nothing materialized in the second round but in the third round, New Orleans made two bold moves, trading up in both instances, giving up value for value, which they have done repeatedly in the Sean Payton-Mickey Loomis regime.

First, the Saints dealt with Cleveland to get the 74th overall pick in outside linebacker Zach Baun in round three.

Clearly, the Saints felt very strongly about Baun.

They were willing to give up their third-round pick (No. 88) plus their 2021 third-round pick. The Saints did get an additional seventh-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 244) in the deal.

Some draft projections had him going in the middle of the second round while a couple had him going early in the second round so the Saints may have value in this pick.

At one point, Baun was rated by some services as a late first round pick.

What may have or may not have impacted that ranking was that Baun tested positive for a diluted sample at the NFL Scouting Combine. Baun blamed the positive result on “drinking too much water for weight-related weigh-in purposes.”

The test did not count as a strike against Baun under the newly implemented Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Players Association and the NFL.

When reading all reviews on Baun, what you get consistently is that he is a natural leader by example and word and that he plays extremely hard and fearlessly.

Baun (6-3, 225) is a maximum effort player, a quality every coach desires.

Perhaps the wild card is that Baun is described as having an extremely high football IQ.

Baun played quarterback in high school so he is versatile with athletic ability. He was a first-team All-state quarterback.

A proven strength of Baun is pass rushing off the edge, where his video shows he is quick and plays with good technique. He rushes entirely with speed, quickness and agility rather than bull rush techniques.

Baun missed the entire 2017 season with a foot injury but erased concerns about that injury by returning and playing all 27 games in his final two seasons, playing in 34 games overall for the Badgers.

After a decent junior year in 2018, Baun had a breakout senior season, earning All-Big Ten honors and first-team All-American honors. Baun is the first consensus All-American in Wisconsin football history.

This past season, Baun was in on 76 tackles, including a huge 19.5 tackles for loss and an impressive 12.5 sacks.

According to Pro Football Focus, Baun was one of only three Power 5 conference players to earn marks of 85.0 or higher in three different disciplines, including overall (89.7), pass rushing (91.0) and coverage (86.9).
The numbers from this past season suggest Baun is way past the foot injury issue and he is still a developing talent with upside, despite being a four-year player at the college level.

Known for his hard hitting as well, Baun played in a good league against good competition and is capable of dropping into pass coverage on second and third down.

Baun can provide another piece to the pass rush puzzle with Cam Jordan, Trey Hendrickson, Marcus Davenport and, hopefully, a healthy Sheldon Rankins.

The Saints clearly had a need and a desire to secure a linebacker in the draft and they got one – a value choice – in the third round.

But the Black and Gold were not done dealing.

New Orleans continued its frequent move of trading up, acquiring the 105th pick overall. The Saints went for a tight end in Adam Trautman of Dayton later in the third round.

New Orleans obviously thought so much of Trautman that they gave up four draft picks, all of their remaining picks in the 2020 draft, to Minnesota in this year’s draft to get him. Minnesota received picks 130 (fourth round), 169 (fifth round), 203 (sixth round) and 244 (seventh round).

With outstanding size (6-5, 255), Trautman could turn out to be an outstanding pick.

Not only did Trautman come from a small-time college program, he cam from a small-time high school program. He is the first player drafted from Dayton in 1977 and the last Dayton player to play in an NFL game was in 1975.

Trautman is a good athlete with quickness and competitive. He is a good target and solid receiver who is very sure-handed.

The small school standout is another player who was valued higher than where he was selected.

Trautman was a first-team FCS All-American and the Pioneer League Offensive Player of the Year with 70 catches for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is the all-time record holder for receptions and receiving yards at Dayton. Trautman redshirted and then played all four seasons for the Flyers. His brother Alec also plays at Dayton.

Like Baun, Trautman was a quarterback in high school, evidence of his athletic ability. Trautman was very impressive in senior bowl workouts. He will have to prove that he can be superb, as he was at Dayton, by stepping up in huge fashion in competition.

The Saints have a receiving tight end in Jared Cook, an investment, and a solid overall player in Josh Hill at the position.

Now, they appear to have their tight end of the future, reminiscent of when they got Jimmy Graham in the third round in 2010.

It will be a quiet Saturday for the Saints, unless they make another move to trade back into the draft.