We’re one month out from the 2023 NFL draft, so what will the New Orleans Saints do once it’s here? The latest take comes from NFL.com analyst Charles Davis, who likes the Saints to pick an underrated pass rusher at the end of the first round. Davis has the Saints replacing their losses in free agency with Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah:
Marcus Davenport is now in Minnesota, and ultra-productive defensive end Cam Jordan needs a bookend. Similar to the seven-time Pro Bowler Jordan, Anudike-Uzomah not only harasses quarterbacks but creates deflections and takeaways, too.
Finding another defensive end is one of the team’s top priorities after Davenport left in free agency; they drafted Payton Turner in 2021’s first round to be his nominal replacement, but Turner has missed even more games to injury than Davenport did over the last two seasons. The Saints don’t know what they have in him, so it makes sense to evaluate all options.
And Anudike-Uzomah is a good one. While other draft prospects like Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness and Clemson’s Myles Murphy have commanded attention in recent weeks, Anudike-Uzomah was just as productive as them in college. He appeared in 27 games for the Wildcats, collecting career totals of 26.5 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, and 8 forced fumbles. Pro Football Focus charting credited him with 43 and 46 pressures in the last two seasons as a starter.
We’ll have to wait and see if Anudike-Uzomah has the overall athletic profile the Saints have valued; he’s undersized by their usual standards at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, with 33 1/2-inch arms. But if he does well in agility drills and proves he has the physical tools to compete in the NFL, he’d be a good pick late in the first round or early in second frame. He’s expected to work out at Kansas State’s pro day on March 31, and we’ll keep an eye out to see if the Saints are in attendance.
