Saints training camp: How Zack Baun fits as a rookie in 2020

How does Zack Baun fit on the New Orleans Saints’ depth chart in 2020?

The New Orleans Saints have done as good of a job in the NFL Draft over the past four or five years as any team in the NFL, and as a result, they have one of the most well-rounded and talented rosters in the league.

Their haul in the 2020 NFL Draft was impressive yet again despite the Saints really using a limited number of picks on players and maneuvering around the board to target specific guys.

One of their most impressive values even looking back through the past couple of years is the 2020 third-round pick of Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun.

Baun was projected to go somewhere in the first or second round of many/most mock drafts leading up to the 2020 selection process, and the Saints ended up getting him 74th overall.

Baun was primarily a pass rusher in his time with the Wisconsin Badgers, though he also proved he could play off the ball and drop into coverage.

His production exploded in 2019 when he racked up 75 total tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 12.5 sacks.

That kind of production, along with his positional versatility, should have led to a top 50 selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, at least for my money. The Saints came away with a bit of highway robbery here.

How Baun fits with the 2020 Saints

The Saints have Demario Davis as one of their top playmakers defensively leading the linebacker group. Davis was tremendous in 2019 with 111 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 12 pass breakups.

He returns in 2020 as the unquestioned alpha of the Saints’ linebacker corps, but there could be some shuffling at the other two positions.

Alex Anzalone is one of the most talented players in the NFL, but part of the reason he lasted to the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft was concern over his injury history and projecting that forward a bit.

Although the Saints got 16 games out of Anzalone in 2018, he played in four games his rookie season and just two games last year.

The departure of AJ Klein opens up a full-time role in the New Orleans defense, and even the presence of veteran Kiko Alonso shouldn’t be enough to keep Baun off the field.

His versatility should get him on the field early in packages, but there’s no doubt that he could stay on the field as a rusher and give the Saints another option in the pass rush department besides Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport.

Ideally, the Saints would have Baun in the starting lineup to open the 2020 season along with a healthy Alex Anzalone and Demario Davis.