2021 NFL Draft: Walker Little leads top 4 most confusing 2nd-round picks
Pete Werner. Pick Analysis. Ohio State. 60. player. 15. Scouting Report. LB
The New Orleans Saints had a need at linebacker going into this draft, and they addressed it with Ohio State’s Pete Werner here in the second round.
Although it’s not entirely surprising that Pete Werner was a second-round pick, it’s somewhat surprising that he was taken at this spot given the other players that were still on the board.
After taking Werner at pick no. 60 overall, the Saints moved up in the third round to the 76th pick with the Denver Broncos to take Stanford defensive back Paulson Adebo. In order to trade up to that pick, they gave up picks 98 and 105. That 105th pick was used on fellow Ohio State linebacker prospect Baron Browning.
Browning, by pretty much every metric, is a superior talent to Werner.
Although Werner is maybe a more traditional off-ball linebacker prospect, you can’t help but wonder why the Saints didn’t take his teammate here (or why Browning fell to pick 105 to begin with).
In addition to that, they might have been reaching, but the Saints had a shot at some quarterbacks that would have been worth developing in their system here.
Werner will likely end up being a good pro, but the guys the Saints passed on could end up being better.