With The First Pick
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Saints make draft day trade, land haul in 7-round 2021 NFL Mock Draft

By Chris Spooner

Jan 17, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) blows a kiss to his family as he walks to the tunnel following a 30-20 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a NFC Divisional Round playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) blows a kiss to his family as he walks to the tunnel following a 30-20 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a NFC Divisional Round playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Saints Mock Draft - Talanoa Hufanga
Saints land Talanoa Hufanga. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Round 3, Pick 78 – Talanoa Hufanga S USC

The Saints have a lot of work to get themselves under the 2021 salary cap. All of the moves in this Saints mock draft only get the team less than halfway there. More players are likely to be cut or have their contracts restructured. To compound the issue, they also have to figure out how to replace guys who are leaving in free agency. Guys like former starting safety Marcus Williams.

Williams leaves a hole in the back-end of the Saints secondary that has quietly been a very good unit over the past couple of years. Williams leaves big shoes to fill, but USC safety Talanoa Hufanga would be a great candidate to kick off the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft for the Saints. Hufanga is a great candidate to fill the role of an evolving position. He fits the mold of the new NFL safety, one who not only can patrol the middle of the field, but can also come up and contribute as a linebacker and in the run defense game.

Hufanga would give the Saints a chess piece on the defense who can be a factor at multiple levels of the defense. He doesn’t do everything that Williams did, but he also brings potential that Williams didn’t possess. It would be a good trade-off for the Saints, as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to bring Williams back with the cap situation they’re in.

Round 3, Pick 98 – Kenneth Gainwell RB Memphis

For the past two seasons the Saints have featured one of the most dynamic run games in the NFL. With the arrival of Latavius Murray in 2019, the Saints have been a force to be reckoned with, thanks to the one-two punch of Murray and Alvin Kamara. Both running backs are the epitome of today’s NFL back, giving contributions in both the run and pass game.

Unfortunately, Murray is a likely candidate to be on the chopping block as well. Murray’s release wouldn’t save the Saints a ton of money — about $2 million — but running backs are expendable by today’s standards. And the Saints can’t really afford to pay a running back. However, a suitable replacement can be found in the form of Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell.

Gainwell doesn’t get the publicity the top backs in the 2021 NFL Draft class get. He’s not going to challenge the likes of Travis Etienne or Najee Harris to be the first off the board at the position. But for my money, Gainwell is every bit as talented as those guys, and would be perfect for the Saints. Gainwell is dynamic with the ball in his hands, can be counted on to run and catch passes out of the backfield, and is a serviceable blocker.

Round 3, Pick 105 – Cameron McGrone LB Michigan

We finish off the third round of our Saints mock draft by picking up another linebacker, this time in the form of Michigan linebacker Cameron McGrone. In this scenario, McGrone would be the likely successor to Saints star linebacker Demario Davis.

Davis isn’t a candidate to be a cap casualty this season. However, the Saints do have an out in his contract next season. It’s a move that may be on the horizon for both sides, as Davis may be in the sunset of his career, and the Saints need to get younger and more athletic at the position. McGrone would be a great complement to Surratt, whom we have the Saints taking in the second round of this mock draft.

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