New Orleans Saints Draft Picks After Day 2

Since the NFL Draft switched to a three-day format in 2010, New Orleans’ six picks in the first two days, are the most by the club during that time in the first two days of a draft. Among these six picks, two come from the Big 10 (cornerback Marshon Lattimore-Ohio State and tackle Ryan Ramcyzk-Wisconsin), two from the Southeastern Conference (running back Alvin Kamara-Tennessee and linebacker Alex Anzalone-Florida), one from Conference USA (defensive end Trey Hendrickson-Florida Atlantic) and one from the Pac-12 (Safety Marcus Williams-Utah). The only pick New Orleans has remaining on Saturday for the final day is a sixth round draft pick (196th overall).

With the 11th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected cornerback Marshon Lattimore from Ohio State University. You could say Lattimore was hamstrung by injuries during his first couple of seasons with the Buckeyes. His hamstrings gave him so much trouble that he eventually had surgery, causing him to miss his freshman year. Though he played in seven games in 2015 (five tackles), he couldn’t finish the season due to the chronic issue coming up again. Finally healthy for his redshirt sophomore campaign in 2016, he won a starting job and made the plays on the field that coaches hoped he would. The first-team All-Big Ten pick had four interceptions and nine pass breakups in his first full year with the team.

With the 32nd pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk from the University of Wisconsin. Ramczyk (pronounced RAM-check) is a rare case of a Division III student-athlete making the jump to major college football. Even though he was an all-state pick from Wisconsin, he chose to turn down offers from FBS and FCS schools (one from Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, who was at Pitt at the time) to attend a local technical college. After a year off, he decided to play at his hometown school, the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. Ramczyk was a two-time all-conference pick there at left tackle before deciding to transfer to play for Chryst at Wisconsin. He sat out the 2015 season as a transfer, excelling on the scout team. When the big lights came on in 2016, he starred for the Badgers, starting every game at left tackle and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors and Associated Press All-American accolades. A hip injury forced Ramczyk to have surgery after the team’s bowl game.
With the 42nd pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected safety Marcus Williams from Utah.  Utah’s secret to football success has been their coaches’ ability to find three-star recruits out of California to make the trip to Salt Lake City. Williams, a Corona native, continued that trend and contributed immediately, starting six times as a true freshman (59 tackles, INT, two forced fumbles.) In 2015, he started every game, garnering first-team all-conference (66 tackles, five INT, five pass breakups), and academic all-conference honors (4.0 high school GPA). Williams missed time in 2016 with an injury but still was named second-team All-Pac-12 with 64 tackles, five interceptions and three pass breakups.

With the 67th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected running back Alvin Kamara from Tennessee. One of the top high school running backs in the country as a high school senior, Kamara went to Alabama to be the next big thing. A preseason knee injury forced him to redshirt, however. He was also suspended for the Sugar Bowl and not on the sideline for the team’s game against LSU for “behavioral reasons.” Kamara left Alabama in January, but found trouble again a month later in his hometown (Norcross, GA) with a traffic arrest. He suited up for Hutchinson Community College in 2014, winning conference offensive player of the year (1,211 yards, 21 TD). Given a second chance in the SEC by Tennessee, Kamara averaged 6.5 yards per carry as a reserve in 2015 (107-698, 7 TD; 34-291, TD receiving). He was impressive again as a junior, running for 596 yards and nine scores on only 103 carries (40-392, 4 TD receiving), though he missed time with a sprained left knee (LCL, meniscus).

With the 76th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected linebacker Alex Anzalone from Florida. Anzalone (pronounced ann-zuh-LOAN-ee) came to Gainesville as a fantastic two-way high school star in Pennsylvania, but has spent almost as much time on the trainer’s table than on the field during his career. He played in 10 games as a true freshman, only making two tackles as he struggled with a shoulder issue. Anzalone played in all 12 games as a reserve in 2014, making 14 stops, one for loss. He finally got his chance to start as a junior, but had to redshirt after injuring his shoulder again in the second game of the year (six tackles). The linebacker known for his long, blonde hair started the Gators’ first eight contests in 2016, collecting 53 tackles (four TFL, three sacks) but again was sidelined for the end of the season with a broken left arm.

With the 103rd pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Saints selected defensive end Trey Hendrickson from Florida Atlantic. The Owls had one of the best defenders in Conference USA the past four seasons in Hendrickson. He garnered first-team all-conference accolades in 2015 after finishing tied for second in the FBS with 13.5 sacks (among his 15 tackles for loss) and five forced fumbles. League coaches named him first-team All-C-USA again in 2016 (51 tackles, 15 for loss, 9.5 sacks) even though offenses paid close attention to his whereabouts. He tied for the FBS lead in blocked kicks last year with four. Hendrickson led the team in sacks as a sophomore, as well, tripping up quarterbacks five times (32 total tackles, 10 for loss). The third-team all-state pick from Apopka, Florida played some significant minutes as a freshman, making nine stops, 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.