Payton Turner NFL Draft 2021: Scouting Report for New Orleans Saints DL

HEIGHT: 6'5 ⅜"

WEIGHT: 270

POSITIVES

—Played his best football recently, despite playing multiple positions at different body sizes.

—Strong combination of bull rush, shuck and hump moves as a pass-rusher.

—Despite weight fluctuation, still has balance.

—Will give issues to offensive linemen who cannot handle his strength and length.

—Is a high-effort player.

—Very strong upper body for a college defensive end.

NEGATIVES

—Raw technique, even down to his stance.

—Close speed is not what you would want it to be on the edge.

—Potential questions of how many snaps he can play at the NFL level.

—Missed a lot of games over the years.

2020 STATISTICS

25 TKL, 10.5 TFL, 5 SK, 1 FF

NOTES

—A foot injury, a knee injury and COVID-19 cost him games at the college level.

—Missed most of his high school senior season with an ACL injury.

—Gained over 50 pounds since his final year of high school.

OVERALL

Payton Turner is a long and strong defensive lineman who has played multiple roles with Houston when healthy. After a substandard year in his first season as a starter in 2018 (3.5 TFLs, 0 sacks), Turner reshaped himself and recorded 18 TFLs and 8.5 sacks over his final 17 college football games. Playing his best football now, Turner has the potential to continue to develop into an NFL starter thanks to his strength and length.

GRADE: 7.4/10 (Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 106/300

POSITION RANK: EDGE16

PRO COMPARISON: James Lynch

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda