So what happened to all that smoke about the Saints trying to trade up in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft? The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan reports that while New Orleans had one of the draft’s top two cornerbacks in their sights, either South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn or Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, the team ultimately wasn’t able to find a trade partner when those prospects were expected to go off the board.
Horn was New Orleans’ top choice, Duncan adds, but the division-rival Panthers snapped him up quickly at No. 8 overall. That left just one option for the Saints to negotiate with before the Cowboys, widely expected to take Surtain if he was available, went on the clock at No.