Could Landon Young be a Draft Steal for the Saints?

2021's sixth-round draft pick, Landon Young, proved to be one of the best offensive tackles in the SEC. Perhaps, he may become another draft steal for the New Orleans Saints.

Author:
Brendan Boylan
Publish date:
May 8, 2021 10:19 PM EDT

2021's sixth-round draft pick, Landon Young, proved to be one of the best offensive tackles in the SEC. Perhaps, he may become another draft steal for the New Orleans Saints.

Saints offensive tackle Landon Young — © Mike Weaver/Special to Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Offensive tackle Landon Young elected to stay within his home state and play football at the University of Kentucky to play college football. Young was a former five-star recruit and multi-sport high school athlete. He fits the mold of an NFL offensive tackle towering at 6-7 and 310 pounds.

Young started games at both tackle spots in Lexington. Also, his size makes him versatile to play at guard in the interior of the offensive line.

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PFF ranked Young high, but draft analysts gave him a lower grade despite his fore-mentioned size and ranking as one of the best offensive linemen in the SEC. Why? Most evaluators noticed a lack of lateral quickness, which is a concern as he moves to the next level.

The 2020 All-SEC first-team selection joins a New Orleans team with uncertainty at the tackle position at the end of this season.

Terron Armstead, 30, is coming off arguably the left tackle's best NFL season and carries a cap hit of approximately $8.3M and a dead cap value of $20.1M in 2021.

Ryan Ramczyk is on the opposite side of their offensive line. The former 2017 first-round selection expects to have a huge payday in 2022 for his All-Pro level of play.

Young may not be New Orleans' long-term answer at either starting tackle position. New Orleans is taking a flier on an All-SEC player in the sixth round - which may not be a bad choice.

One of the newest members of the Black and Gold has a lot of development ahead of him. I expect him to contribute as a reserve tackle in his rookie season immediately. - Young's long-term upside is limitless, especially under the tutelage of former Saints great, Zach Strief.