- Before signing with the 49ers, notable undrafted free agent tight end Cole Hikutini drew interest from the Saints, Lions, Patriots, and Texans, tweets Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Hikutini, a Louisville product, was a favorite of many draftniks — Rob Rang of CBSSports.com, for instance, graded Hikutini as a fifth- or sixth-round selection. Ultimately, Hikutini landed a $20K guarantee from San Francisco.
- The Saints have waived defensive end D.J. Pettway with a non-football injury designation and defensive back Jimmy Pruitt with a failed physical designation, tweets Joel A. Erickson of the Advocate.
The Saints have agreed to deals with 12 undrafted free agents, all of whom are listed below.
- Colin Buchanan, G (Miami)
- Chase Dominguez, LS (Utah)
- Travin Dural, WR (LSU)
- Ahmad Fulwood, WR (Florida)
- Devaroe Lawrence, DT (Auburn)
- Andrew Lauderdale, OL (New Hampshire)
- Cameron Lee, G (Illinois State)
- Arthur Maulet, CB (Memphis)
- John Robinson-Woodgett, FB (Massachusetts)
- Sae Tautu, LB (BYU)
- Cameron Tom, C (Southern Mississippi)
- Clint Van Horn, G (Marshall)
- The Saints were fans of Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, general manager Mickey Loomis told Larry Holder of NOLA.com (Twitter link). However, with Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore still being on the board, New Orleans wasn’t too interested in moving up for the signal-caller. Mahomes was ultimately reelected 10th overall by the Chiefs.
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The Saints have acquired the 67th overall pick from the 49ers, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. New Orleans will give up a second-round pick in 2018 and a seventh-rounder this year, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
The Saints had been working to move back into the second round in order to draft a pass rusher. But the second ended without a trade for the club, which will instead settle for an early third-rounder. Surprisingly, the Saints will select Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara with the newly acquired pick.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Kamara was a dual threat as a member of the Volunteers, with whom he averaged 6.2 yards per rush, caught 74 passes and combined for 23 touchdowns over two seasons. It’s unclear how many touches he’ll receive during the early part of his pro career, though, as the Saints already have Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson as their top two backfield options. Of course, a timeshare won’t be anything new for Kamara, who coexisted with Jalen Hurd at Tennessee.
After selecting Utah safety Marcus Williams at No. 42, the Saints are trying to trade back into the second round in order to draft an edge rusher, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). In its effort to move up, New Orleans is offering both a third-round pick this year (No. 76) and a second-round selection in 2018.
The Saints had trouble pressuring opposing quarterbacks last season, evidenced in part by their 27th-place ranking in sacks (30). Defensive end Cameron Jordan and outside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe combined for 11.5 sacks, but the Saints otherwise got little pass-rushing production from the rest of their edge players.
With Round 2 nearing a conclusion, Kansas State’s Jordan Willis and Alabama’s Tim Williams represent a couple of the most notable edge defenders left on the board.
- When the 49ers called Reuben Foster to inform him they were selecting him 31st overall, he was on the phone with the Saints at the time. New Orleans, which picked 32nd, was already welcoming Foster to the organization. But once Foster got word that he was going to San Francisco, he hung up on the Saints (Twitter links via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee).
Last night, Saints coach Sean Payton had a candid chat with reporters and shared some interesting info. Here’s a look at the highlights:
- The coach said all of the trade possibilities the team previously considered for veteran cornerbacks “still remain open” depending on how the rest of the draft falls (Twitter link via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com). Payton, ostensibly, is referring to the Saints’ trade talks with the Patriots regarding Malcolm Butler. When New Orleans drafted Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore with the No. 11 pick, many assumed that the team would back off of its pursuit. Personally, I don’t believe that the Saints will be willing to give up significant compensation for Butler now that they have Lattimore, particularly since locking him down will require a hefty contract.
- Payton said the Saints even had talks about possibly trading up to land Lattimore. They also listened to offers to trade down, but ultimately stood pat (Twitter link via Triplett). He added that Lattimore was the team’s third or fourth ranked player on the board heading into the draft (Twitter link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate).
- The Saints were considering Reuben Foster and Takkarist McKinley at No. 32 before they came off the board, Payton told reporters (Twitter link via Triplett). With both players gone, the Saints selected offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk.
- Payton views Ramczyk, who played left tackle at Wisconsin, as a right tackle (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune).
A Malcolm Butler trade is “unlikely … but not impossible,” according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Zack Cox of NESN). With just hours to go before the draft, the Saints and Patriots will have to act fast to get something done. 
The Saints and Butler have reportedly agreed to terms on a potential contract, but the Saints and Patriots have been far apart on trade compensation. The Saints could have signed Butler to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent, but an unmatched sheet would have forced them to part with the No. 11 overall pick. Some believed that the two sides would ultimately compromise on a trade sending the Patriots’ No. 32 pick back to New England, but that has not materialized thus far. The Patriots, reportedly, are not interested in acquiring 2018 draft compensation for Butler, so time is ticking for a trade to go down.
As it stands, Butler is set to play out the 2017 season on his $3.91MM one-year tender.
- A few weeks ago, the Saints were willing to trade what was thought to be a second-round pick to the Rams for franchise tendered cornerback Trumaine Johnson. However, Johnson was unwilling to sign a long-term deal with New Orleans because of his desire to remain in L.A. The Rams have pivoted away from Johnson trade talk, but Schefter wonders aloud if a team could gamble by trading for him without a long-term pact in place. Personally, I can’t imagine a scenario in which a team is willing to give up significant draft capital to the Rams without a multi-year contract for Johnson. It’s also hard to see the Rams settling for, say, a mid-round pick. It’s hard to see Johnson playing anywhere other than L.A. in 2017.