The New Orleans Saints kept put while the rest of the teams scrambled to get tons of offensive players in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
With their 11th pick, the New Orleans Saints selected Marshon Lattimore. This is the third Buckeye the Saints have drafted in the last two seasons. Lattimore dealt with injuries to his hamstrings for his first two years at Ohio State, but had a stellar season as a redshirt sophomore.
“I’m so excited. I’ve been talking to Mike (Thomas) throughout this whole process.” Lattimore said of joining his former teammates, “Glad to have those guys around me. I’m just ready to get there.”
A lot of speculation over the last several weeks was around the 32nd pick which the Saints received from the New England Patriots. Were they going to trade the pick or stick with what they have? Picking Lattimore at 11 seems to have put the trade rumors to rest.
When the time came for the Saints to wrap up the first round, they went for an offensive lineman from Wisconsin in Ryan Ramczyk. The 6’6” 310 pound offensive tackle was all-state pick in Wisconsin, but decided to attend technical school before going on to play Division III football. He then joined the Badgers in 2015 and started every game in 2016, earning All-Big Ten honors.
According to Sean Payton, picking Ramczyk was a best player available decision after Reuben Foster was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers at 31.
The Saints will have three picks during the second day of the draft with the 10th pick in round two and two picks in the third round.
-Clint Domingue