Saints draft pick may put tons of pressure on a young player

Defensive line was a weakness for most of the season for the New Orleans Saints in 2023. They may address it early in this year's NFL Draft. Edge rusher and interior defensive line has some intriguing prospects that will go in the first two rounds.

New Orleans will pick 14th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Travis May's latest mock draft gave the Saints a new defensive lineman. Interior DL Byron Murphy from Texas heads to The Big Easy in his scenario.

Byron Murphy has ascended to become the consensus number one defensive lineman in this class over the last month or so. People began to realize that he brought more pressure than any other defensive lineman in the draft class last fall. Murphy is a bit short, but besides that there aren't many questions with his profile.

Murphy is an ultra-physical, disruptive DL that can get after the QB. The Saints must improve in that area. 

Rookie DL Bryan Bresee was arguably their most consistent at getting steady pressure, but he must improve in the run game in order to get more snaps. 

If the Saints do take Murphy in the first round, the heat turns up for Bresee. Both players would see the field plenty, but Bresee would need to prove himself as a long-time piece for their defense. With more young competition, that road gets bumpier.