Everyone knows the story about the New Orleans Saints nearly drafting Patrick Mahomes, but he’s hardly the only player the Saints have just missed out on. One you might not know about is Trai Turnere — the New Orleans native joined his hometown team for their 2023 training camp, but he was nearly picked by them back in 2014. Things finally came full circle for the St. Augustine graduate and former LSU Tiger.
Former Saints head coach Sean Payton shared the story in an interview with NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill and Mike Triplett last offseason when he was in-between jobs, weighing his options in the media and considering future NFL gigs.
“We were close to drafting the guard from LSU that went to Carolina,” Payton reflected, agreeing the player was Turner when prompted. “We really liked him. I’m just going back through the drafts, obviously I can remember picks, and the selections, sometimes it’s hard to remember who else’s on the board. I remember when we selected Terron Armstead (in 2013), the cloud that year, one of the players in that cloud was the tall quarterback who went to Tampa (Mike Glennon).”
So it’s safe to say Turner is a player the Saints have valued for quite a while, which makes the fact he was picked by Carolina at No. 92 overall — just one slot after the Saints were scheduled to go on the clock at No. 91 — a little more bitter. New Orleans had already traded that selection during the first round so they could move up for Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Had they stood pat in Round 1, Turner could have been theirs for the taking in Round 3.
Instead, Turner enjoyed near-immediate success with the Panthers, being selected for five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2015 to 2019. Turner was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020 and bounced around the league in the years that followed, starting for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders before the Saints came calling.
Now he’s home, and he’s landed in a great spot to compete for a role on New Orleans’ roster. The Saints’ starting guards (Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz) are both returning from season-ending injuries and their backups don’t have a ton of pro experience to lean on: third-year pro Calvin Throckmorton, second-year reserve Lewis Kidd, plus rookies Nick Saldiveri and Mark Evans II. Turner has a real shot at elbowing his way onto the 53-man roster when cuts are completed in August.
