FOXBORO — Having Marshon Lattimore, the player considered the best cornerback in the draft, fall into the lap of the New Orleans Saints at pick No. 11 Thursday night wasn’t necessarily a terrible turn of events for the Patriots.
It just meant the Saints were no longer interested in pursuing restricted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler in a trade, and giving him a contract worth a reported $50 million or so.
While there was a chance something might have happened with the Saints’ early second-round pick (No. 42) last night, that idea passed when New Orleans selected Utah safety Marcus Williams in that spot.