Saints bring in an underrated cornerback prospect for 2024 draft visit

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You won’t see Rico Payton listed in many 2024 mock drafts. Not in the first round, maybe not even in the seventh. But he’s an intriguing cornerback prospect, and the Pittsburgh State product made an official visit to the New Orleans Saints headquarters, per Saints News Network’s John Hendrix. Payton is an interesting prospect. He weighed in beneath the Saints’ usual thresholds for cornerbacks at 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, and his 4.57-second time in the 40-yard dash won’t wow anyone, but overall he has a strong athletic profile. He tested well in the agility drills and the jumps at his pro day, which gave him an 8.36 Relative Athletic Score. That’ll work. If Payton has better movement skills in a smaller area and a slighter frame than the longer, faster outside cornerbacks then it might be worth coaching him up to play the slot. Payton finished his four-year career at Pittsburgh State with 26 passes defensed in 35 games (and 4 interceptions), so he clearly has some ball skills. He could be a good find as a late-round draft pick or rookie free agent. While teams are capped at 30 of these formal visits at their facility, they aren’t necessarily used to meet with the 30 highest-graded players on the Saints’ big board of prospects. Many of them are players like Payton who might have a draftable grade but who the team needs more information on, whether that means medical checks with their doctors or sit-down interviews with the head coach or general manager. It’s something to monitor as the 2024 draft approaches. B/R picks three very different Saints quarterbacks as comparisons for Bo NixBreaking down the Saints' picks in ESPN's three-round mock draftIowa tight end Erick All visiting Saints before 2024 NFL draft2024 NFL mock draft: QBs go 1-2-3, Dak Prescott to Broncos in new two-round projections
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Source: https://saintswire.usatoday.com/2024/04 ... rgh-state/