Trey Hendrickson, linebacker, New Orleans Saints
One of the biggest areas of need facing New Orleans heading into the draft was on the edge defensively. The Saints simply haven’t gotten much production out of their pass rushers in recent seasons, ranking near the bottom of the league the past three years running (34, 31 and 30 sacks respectively from 2014-16).
Needless to say, anyone the team drafted to fill the void in this department will have a shot to make an immediate impact.
This brings us to Hendrickson, a late third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic with a relentless motor who specialized in chasing down quarterbacks the past few years. His final three years playing with the Owls, Hendrickson tallied 39.5 tackles for loss and 28 sacks.
Anyone wondering if Hendrickson’s skills translate to a bigger stage than the CUSA need look no further than what the pass rusher was able to do at the East-West Shrine Game in January.
Trey Hendrickson does not stop! 🚨 Over the weekend he picked up the Defensive MVP in the @Shrine_Game. Making all of Owl Nation Proud! 👌 pic.twitter.com/rBnwa8J34t
— Florida Atlantic Football (@FAUFootball) January 26, 2017
At the least, we expect Hendrickson to make an impact as a nickel pass rusher. At best, he could surprise by earning a starting job opposite Cameron Jordan on the defensive line.