The New Orleans Saints need pass rush along the defensive line and they could find a very productive one in the middle of the draft with Lousiville’s YaYa Diaby.
Diaby exploded onto the scene with a nine sack season this past year. He had 14 tackles for a loss as well, adding on to the production. He had flashed some ability in 2021, but never really finished on the production. He had a better showing in run defense in 2021, but shined as a pass rusher in 2022. For the NFL team that drafts him, it’ll be about finding consistency with both.
He’s a fantastic athlete for his size, standing at 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds. He had a 4.51-second time in the 40-yard dash and maybe even more impressive 10-yard split (1.51 seconds). He meets pretty much every physical benchmark to be on the list for the Saints, and would give them a faster option than they are used to off the edge.
He’d be a rotational piece in New Orleans early on, but again would hopefully develop into more next season. The mentorship of Cameron Jordan and Tanoh Kpassagnon would be great for a guy trying to find his place, even if they have different builds than him. Diaby has a lot of upside for a guy that will likely go towards the middle of the draft.
