New Orleans Saints use limited picks in 7-round 2021 NFL mock draft
By Kyle Edmond
Round 2, Pick 60
Syracuse. Ifeatu Melifonwu. 2. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. DB. 827
The secondary is arguably the biggest need for the New Orleans Saints in the upcoming draft, but the position is rather deep this class. In addition to Ifeatu Melifonwu, there are three or four others who could be picked here in this 2021 NFL mock draft and make the same impact.
Playing in 23 games at Syracuse, Melifonwu made the most of his limited time on the field. While he isn’t known for interceptions, having just three during his career, he’s made an impact in other areas. Melifonwu nearly averaged a pass defense a game, tallying 19 over those 23 games played.
On top of being able to make plays on the ball, Melifonwu was able to register 88 tackles for the Syracuse Orange, including five tackles for loss and a sack. He still has some learning to do, but the talent is there. It doesn’t hurt that he is also 6-foot-3.
Round 3, Pick 98
Scouting Report. Tylan Wallace. player. 856. Pick Analysis. WR. Oklahoma State. 3
One position that the Saints really struggled at this season was wide receiver. Michael Thomas missing time was a bad start and the rest of the position didn’t pick up the slack the way we anticipated. Even the veteran signing of Emmanuel Sanders didn’t change much from last year.
After lighting it up in 2018, Tylan Wallace saw a regression in 2019 and more of a plateau in 2020. Despite that, he could be the perfect pick in this round for the Saints. During the 2018 season, Wallace was able to log over 1,000 receiving yards along with 12 touchdowns. He came close to the yardage the last two seasons, getting over 900, but the touchdowns dropped to eight and then six.
With Alvin Kamara and Thomas, Wallace wouldn’t necessarily need to be a red-zone threat, but rather draw attention away from the two stars. Given his abilities, that shouldn’t be a problem.