The New Orleans Saints are hosting a big-time defensive tackle on one of their 30 pre-draft visits, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pelissero reports that Notre Dame prospect Jerry Tillery is flying into New Orleans on Monday to meet privately with the team. The Saints are the first of seven visits over the next nine days for Tillery, as teams likely want their medical staff to get a look at his surgically-repaired shoulder. Tillery went through athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine with a labrum injury, putting off the procedure until he could give teams some data to work with.
And he crushed the combine in spite of that injury. Tillery weighed in at 6-foot-6 1/2, 295 pounds with 34 1/4-inch arms — top marks in each category. Then he timed a blazing 40-yard dash (4.93 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.33 seconds) and three-cone drill (7.45 seconds) before leaping 115 inches broad and 32 inches vertically. And, by the way, he posted 23 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press with an injured shoulder.
But Tillery is more than a workout warrior. He’s been a regular starter for Notre Dame throughout his career, recording 23 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, and improving each year. He’d be a great addition to the Saints defensive line.
The only trouble is that Tillery is projected to be picked high in the second round, maybe even late in the first round. That may depend on what teams think of his shoulder and how he performs in private interviews, film study, and workouts. But it seems certain the Saints would have to make a trade up to get him.
