Finally! After days of smoke and speculation, the New Orleans Saints traded with the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, moving up to the No. 76 pick to acquire Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo. The move cost them both of their third-round compensatory selections at Nos. 98 and 105.
Adebo has some of the best ball skills in the draft class: he’s credited with 34 passes defended, including 8 interceptions, in just 22 games played (starting 21 of them). He’ll provide an immediate talent injection opposite Marshon Lattimore and do so much to lessen the pressure on New Orleans to add more pieces to the depth chart.
Still, he’ll have to earn that starting job. Adebo is in for a training camp battle with Patrick Robinson, P.J. Williams, and any other veteran corners the Saints bring in over the summer. But he has all the tools to succeed right away.
For now, the Saints are not expected to make any more picks on Day 2. But this was the case last year too after they traded up for Zack Baun; they snuck back into the end of the third round by selling all of their Day 3 picks to go get Adam Trautman. Stay frosty.
