The Saints paid an extra two picks to move up to land Marcus Davenport, a talented pass-rusher but one few saw being taken so high.
- 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.