Saints pick Kentucky left tackle Landon Young in 6th round

The Saints traded up in a round for the second time during the 2021 NFL Draft.

Giving up with the Colts using picks 218 (6th round) and 229 (top of the 7th round) overall, New Orleans drafted Kentucky offensive lineman Landon Young.

The 6-foot-6, 310 pounder was a three-year starter at left tackle for the Wildcats. Young garnered first-team All-SEC honors in 2020.

The Athletic
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Kentucky, Young lined up at left tackle in former offensive coordinator Eddie Gran’s scheme. He was the Wildcats’ top-ranked recruit in the 2016 class (and one of the highest recruits in school history) and worked himself into the starting rotation as a sophomore, starting every game at left tackle the last two years. Young shows the ability to sit in his stance and stay coordinated in his pass-sets to fend off rushers, but his inconsistent knee bend and high center will leave him falling off blocks. While he is solid in the run game, he doesn’t control blocks as expected. Overall, Young is a wide, strong blocker with average athleticism, but NFL speed will challenge his balance and technique and expose his struggles to recover. He projects as a back-end roster lineman.
GRADE: 6th-7th Round

NFL.com Overview — 6th Round
Will likely be viewed as a right tackle or could be kicked inside to guard. Young possesses NFL size and strength but his athleticism is average. He plays with good toughness and can handle physical battles that are in front of him, but his waist-bending and inconsistent base tend to create imbalance through contact. He needs to create better block positioning after contact to open running lanes and keep them open. The pass protection fundamentals are good enough, but he will need help against faster, more athletic rushers if teams plan to keep him at tackle.

Over the past two seasons, new #Saints OL Landon Young has quietly been one of the top performing Tackles in the SEC.

During that span, Young earned 80.5 Overall (7th among SEC Tackles), 84.6 Pass Blocking (4th), and 76.8 Run Blocking (10th) grades.#WhoDat #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/nADyohLf0u

— PFF NO Saints (@PFF_Saints) May 1, 2021

#Saints Draft OT Landon Young out of Kentucky. Put up a nice RAS profile. pic.twitter.com/wfXwfxQvaR

— Deuce Windham (@RevDeuceWindham) May 1, 2021

.@Landon_Young_67 drafted by the the @Saints! Congratulations from @UKCoachStoops and your @UKFootball family! #RecruitAndDevelop x #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/KBj0OrnL4F

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) May 1, 2021

On Friday during Round 3, New Orleans traded two picks to move up and select Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo.

The Saints had one seventh round draft pick remaining (No. 255 overall) after the trade and selection of Young.