Zack Baun Drafted by Saints: New Orleans' Updated Depth Chart After Round 3

The New Orleans Saints have drafted former Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun with the 74th overall pick Friday. 

Baun likely will add a lot of flexibility to New Orleans' linebacking corps:

LDE - Cameron Jordan, Trey Hendrickson

DT - Sheldon Rankins, Malcom Brown

DT - David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle

RDE - Marcus Davenport, Trey Hendrickson

OLB - Alex Anzalone, Colton Jumper

MLB - Zack Baun*, Kiko Alonso

OLB - Demario Davis, Craig Robertson

CB - Janoris Jenkins, Deatrick Nichols

CB - Marshon Lattimore, Patrick Robinson

FS - Malcolm Jenkins, D.J. Swearinger

SS - Marcus Williams, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

Depth chart info provided by Ourlads and Over The Cap.

Baun had a breakout 2019 as a senior for the Badgers. The 6'2", 238-pounder notched a career-high 12.5 sacks and 75 tackles (52 solo) across 14 games for 10-4 Wisconsin. He was subsequently named a Butkus Award finalist, given to the nation's top collegiate linebacker, and Bednarik Award semifinalist, given to the nation's best defensive player.

He also became Wisconsin's first consensus first-team All-America linebacker in program history.

Baun started all 27 games during his junior and senior seasons at outside linebacker and played 39 games overall since arriving in Madison.

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller listed Baun as the 32nd-best overall prospect and fourth-best linebacker in this class. 

The 3-star prospect, who transitioned from high school quarterback to linebacker in college, shined in January's Senior Bowl:

Baun then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds and recorded 24 bench-press reps during February's combine. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein likened Baun to All-Pro Clay Matthews:

"Ascending prospect whose explosive production on the field has begun to mirror his explosive athletic traits. Baun's twitchy get-off and deep bend at the edge is nightmare fuel for Big Ten tackles, and he's still at the early stages of pass rush development. He is aggressive to flow downhill in run support, has sideline-to-sideline range and is fluid dropping into coverage. He's strong but a little light as an edge-setter, so teams will need to figure out how best to align him. Baun is a scheme-diverse linebacker with high-impact potential whose best days are ahead of him."

Baun will aid the Saints in improving upon a defense that ranked fourth against the run and third with 51 sacks in 2019.