2017 NFL mock draft: New Orleans Saints select Taco Charlton

The 11th pick in the draft belongs to the New Orleans Saints. Acting as general manager for the Saints is Pride Of Detroit commenter Kevster. With the 11th pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, Kevster has selected defensive end Taco Charlton out of Michigan. Below is his rationale for the pick:

“The New Orleans Saints come into the 2017 NFL Draft with many glaring holes on the defensive side of the ball. The Saints need more talent at all levels of the defense if they expect to remain competitive in Drew Brees’ final years in the league. In 2016, the Saints’ defense ranked 30th in DVOA, just ahead of our beloved Detroit Lions.

If the real draft plays out like this one, I have to imagine that the Saints would strongly consider trading back. The top eight defensive players are off the board and the Saints need help at DE, CB, OLB, TE, and it couldn’t hurt to get another speedy receiver to replace Brandin Cooks and another running back to take the load off of Mark Ingram.

Overall, I strongly considered a total of five players in this spot. Haason Reddick, John Ross, O.J. Howard, Marlon Humphrey and Taco Charlton. Each player fills a need for the Saints, but arguably their biggest need is a defensive end to play opposite of Cameron Jordan. The Saints struggled mightily in generating a pass rush last season, and Taco would give them the final missing piece for their defensive line alongside Nick Fairley, Sheldon Rankins and Jordan.”