It took a few minutes to grasp what the New Orleans Saints were thinking by their second trade up in the 2019 NFL Draft, landing them Florida Gators safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The Saints had their starting duo hammered out between Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, with valuable special teamer Chris Banjo (who has bagged three interceptions on just 85 defensive snaps the last two years) waiting in the wings. So why did they make Gardner-Johnson such a priority?
Well, it’s because he’s a terrific football player. Gardner-Johnson has unreal ball skills, and the vision to make moves after the catch and look for the endzone. He turned three of his nine interceptions into defensive touchdown returns in his Gators career. He broke up a dozen other passes. Gardner-Johnson specializes in defending the slot; he lined up there frequently in 2018, leading the SEC in targets from opposing quarterbacks (54) but allowing the lowest passer rating in the conference (45.4).
And he can tackle with the best of them. Gardner-Johnson logged 161 tackles in three years for the Florida defense, notching 92 of them solo and dropping opponents for a loss of yards on 15.5 tackles. He even bagged four sacks. He fits the profile exactly of what the Saints like at safety, and offers many of the attributes (with more production) that the Saints lost when Kenny Vaccaro signed with the Tennessee Titans a year ago.
Gardner-Johnson might not start right away. On the other hand, he might be too good to leave on the sideline and end up challenging for the spot Patrick Robinson and P.J. Williams thought was between the two of them. With Wiliams and Bell each scheduled to test free agency next year, Gardner-Johnson should make waves sooner or later. It will be tough for the Saints to keep him off the field.
