Saints pick of Payton Turner a surprise yet not out of character

On Wednesday, we detailed how Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis build from the inside out, with a penchant to draft offensive and defensive lineman early in NFL Drafts.

The only other spot they have addressed as frequently in the first three rounds in their 16 years in New Orleans is the secondary.

It should come as no surprise that the Saints picked Payton Turner of Houston, a defensive lineman, in the first round with the 28th pick overall.

The fact that the Saints stayed at No. 28 and did not trade up was a surprise to many. Several national reports had the Saints poised to trade up in the first round. One national entity had the Saints trading into the top 10.

Perish the thought. The puffs of smoke never amounted to a fire.

New Orleans stayed where it was scheduled to be and chose a defensive lineman.

It simply was not the one we were expecting them to take.

Al Dupuy of CrescentCitySports.com had the Saints taking Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who was on the board at No. 28 and was not selected in the first round.

With the departure of Malcom Brown and Sheldon Rankins, there appears to be a clear need at defensive tackle, as there is at cornerback, linebacker and wide receiver.

Instead, the Saints went for a long, big defensive end with potential versatility as a pass rusher.

Turner (6-6, 268), by all accounts, had a good Senior Bowl week.

He is very long and is said to be a good person and a relentless competitor.

What is a concern is that he battled injuries while at Houston. Turner had hand, knee and foot injury issues in 2020, playing in just five of eight games a year ago. He played in 11 games in 2018 but suffered a foot injury.

Turner also hurt his knee in high school in his senior season.

A classic pass rushing 4-3 defensive end, he is an edge rusher with enough size to play the run. He moves pretty well for his size, running in the 4.87-4.91 range in the 40-yard dash.

Turner was not ranked as a first-round pick by many services until this week; by some, he was listed as a late riser on various draft boards.

He has a long wingspan of 84-inches, the longest recorded for a defensive end draft prospect in over two decades.

Turner was very good against Tulane last season, recording six tackles, including 4.5 for loss and two sacks as a disruptive force.

With Marcus Davenport, whom the Saints exercised their fifth-year option on earlier in the day, entering a contract year, with Cameron Jordan entering his 11th season as he turns 32 and with the departure of Trey Hendrickson, perhaps this makes more sense than what originally meets the eye.

Of course, the Saints will need Turner to stay healthy and to be a better, more productive version of Davenport.

Meanwhile, the Saints need a cornerback and you can virtually bet the farm that they will go after one early in the process on Friday. The same can be said on the veteran free agent market.