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- The New Orleans Saints made a surprising trade up in the NFL Draft on Thursday to take defensive end Marcus Davenport.
- They swapped first-round picks with the Green Bay Packers while sending a fifth-round and 2019 first-round pick to move up to the 14th pick.
- Many in the NFL world were surprised by the haul the Saints traded to take a pass-rusher.
The New Orleans Saints made a surprising trade with the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday to land defensive end Marcus Davenport.
The Saints sent their own first-round pick, a fifth-rounder, and their 2019 first-round pick to the Packers to move up from the 27th to the 14th pick.
Davenport, a 6-foot-6, 246-pound defensive end from University of Texas-San Antonio, was projected to go slightly later in the draft, but not by a much. A consensus mock draft from experts had Davenport going 18th.
Many in the NFL world reacted with surprise by the amount the Saints traded to land Davenport.
As ESPN's Dan Graziano noted, the Saints may have won the draft last year by landing Marshon Lattimore and Alvin Kamara. With a stingy secondary, running back duo in Kamara and Mark Ingram, solid offensive line, and Drew Brees, the Saints decided to beef up their pass rush.
Nonetheless, the pressure is on Davenport to produce right away.
No one beat up the draft worse than the Saints did last year, so I guess they deserve the benefit of the doubt. But that's a heck of a price to pay for the DE from San Antonio.
- Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) April 27, 2018That's really, really bold by the Saints to trade up that many picks to get Marcus Davenport. Like Davenport, but if that doesn't work out -- man, that'll set the Saints back a ways.
- Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) April 27, 2018Marcus Davenport helped himself a lot at the combine..... but oh goodness. This is the first shock of the draft! #Saints wow wow wow
- Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 27, 2018