New Orleans Saints blev på deres draft position og valgte en defensive linjemand. Valget faldt på defensiv tackle fra Clemson Bryan Bresee.

Saints får dermed hjælp på en position der var et stort “need”. Bresee har dog en skadeshistorie, som sandsynligvis har gjort at han var tilrådelighed som nummer 29. Han har samtidig så meget talent og potientiale, som Saints godt kan bruge på den defensive linje.

Saints foretog dermed ingen trades og holder fortsat to picks på andendagen og hele fem på tredjedagen.

2023 New Orleans Saints draft

29. overall (1RD) Bryan Bresee, defensive tackle, Clemson

Hør interviewet med Bryan Bresee umiddelbart efter Saints valgte ham som nummer 29.

BIO fra NFL.com

The nation’s top recruit in the 2020 class was a two-time first-team USA Today All-American at Damascus High School in Maryland. Bresee (pronounced bruh-ZEE) started 10 of 12 appearances in 2020 (23 tackles, 6.5 for loss with four sacks, two pass breakups). He was a third-team All-ACC pick in 2021 despite only starting the Tigers’ first four games (12 tackles, three for loss with 1.5 sacks, one interception) because of a torn ACL. Bresee was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2022 (15 tackles, 5.5 for loss with 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups in 10 games, seven starts). Bresee missed the Louisiana Tech game to be with his family after the death of his younger sister, Ella, who passed away from brain cancer at the age of 15. Later in the season, Bresee missed time due to a kidney infection.

– by Chad Reuter

40. overall (2RD) Isaiah Foskey. Defensive end, Notre Dame

BIO fra NFL.com

Foskey was a top-210 recruit nationally when signing with Notre Dame out of famed De La Salle High School in California. He played in four games off the bench in 2019 (five tackles, one blocked punt) before becoming a productive reserve for all 12 games in the 2020 season (20 tackles, five for loss with 4.5 sacks). With Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes off to the NFL for 2021, Foskey took over as the team’s primary pass rusher, leading the Irish with 12.5 tackles for loss among his 52 total stops in 13 starts, tying for 10th in the FBS with 11 sacks while also tying for the national lead with six forced fumbles. He was a second-team All-American in 2022 and a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end after leading the squad with 14 tackles for loss and tying for sixth in the FBS with 11 sacks among his 45 tackles in 12 starts. He also blocked the third and fourth punts of his career. Foskey opted out of the team’s bowl game.

– by Chad Reuter

71. overall (3RD) Kendre Miller, Running back, TCU

BIO fra NFL.com

Miller rushed for 2,508 yards and 34 scores as a senior quarterback at Mount Enterprise High School in Texas, earning a scholarship from the Horned Frogs. He made an impact as a true freshman, starting one of nine appearances (54-388-7.2, two TDs) and then led the team with seven rushing scores in 2021 (83-623-7.5 rushing; 12-117-9.8, one TD receiving in 10 games with three starts). Miller broke out as a junior, leading the team with 1,399 rushing yards (224 carries, 6.2 per) and tying for eighth nationally with 17 rushing touchdowns in 14 starts, missing the national title game due to injury. The 2022 first-team All-Big 12 Conference pick also caught 16 passes for 116 yards (7.3 per).

– by Chad Reuter

#103 (4RD) Nick Saldiveri, offensiv linje, Old Dominion

BIO fra NFL.com

Saldiveri started 11 games at right tackle as a redshirt freshman. The Monarchs did not play due to COVID-19 concerns in 2020, but he came back to garner honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades as a 13-game starter at right tackle in 2021. Saldiveri started all 12 games in 2022 (one at right guard and 11 at right tackle) to earn second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.

– by Chad Reuter

#127 (4RD) Jake Haener, Quarterback, Fresno State

Haener signed with Washington out of Monte Vista High School in California but decided to transfer back home to FSU after earning the Scout Team Most Valuable Player Award during his 2017 redshirt season and playing in just four games as a backup the following fall (9-13-69.2, 107 yards, one TD, one INT). Haener was required to sit out the 2019 season due to NCAA regulations but came strong in his first year on the field with Fresno in 2020. The honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference selection ranked fifth in the FBS with 336.8 passing yards per game, sixth with 25 completions per game and sixth in total offense with 339.8 yards per game in six starts (150-232-64.7, 2,021 yards, 14 TD, five INT); three rushing TD). Haener was expected to head to the NFL after a second-team all-league effort in 2021, when he ranked ninth in the FBS with 4,096 passing yards and completed 329 of 490 attempts (67.1 completion percentage) and threw for 33 touchdowns (nine INT) in 13 starts. However, he returned to play for Fresno in 2022, garnering first-team All-Mountain West accolades (252-350-72.0, 2,896 yards, 20 TD, three INT in 10 starts) despite missing four games with an ankle injury.

– by Chad Reuter

#146 (5RD) Jordan Howden, Safety, Minnesota

Howden was a football and track star as a senior at Desert Pines High School in California before heading to Minnesota. He started five of 13 appearances as a true freshman (45 tackles, one interception, three pass breakups). Howden started 12 times in 2019 (57 tackles, one interception, six pass breakups), all seven games in 2020 (37 tackles, one pass breakup) and 12 times in 2021 (43 tackles, 1.5 for loss, five pass breakups). He finished his career with an excellent fifth year, intercepting two passes and breaking up five others while making a career-high 58 tackles (3.5 for loss) in 13 starts.

– by Chad Reuter

#195 (6RD) A.T. Perry, wide receiver, Wake Forest

Perry played in nine games off the bench as a redshirt freshman (4-62-15.5, one TD) and in seven games as a reserve in 2020 (15-211-14.1, one TD) before breaking out as a junior. He led the Demon Deacons with 1,293 receiving yards (71 receptions, 18.2 per) and 15 scores in 14 starts, garnering first-team All-ACC accolades. Perry was a first-teamer again in 2022, pacing his squad with 81 receptions for 1,096 yards (13.5 per) and tying for seventh in the FBS with 11 scores in 13 games (12 starts).

– by Chad Reuter