Who Will The Saints Pick In The Second & Third Rounds?

Who will the New Orleans Saints pick In the second and third rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft?

The first round of the 2016 NFL Draft will be held on Thursday night, with the Saints scheduled to pick 12th.

The first round will be held on Thursday, beginning at 7 pm (CDT), on both ESPN and the NFL Network.

Rounds two and three are slated for Friday, beginning 6 o'clock, while rounds 4-7 will take place on Saturday, starting at 11 am.

Yesterday, I offered up my thoughts on who the Saints may pick in the first round, and my actual prediction on the player they would eventually take.

Predicting a team's first round pick is difficult enough. Chances are, that prediction will be inaccurate.

That being said, let's just have some fun and try to predict the Saints' second and third round picks.

Again, the Saints need help in a lot of areas. On offense, their most pressing needs are at receiver and guard, while defense, in all honesty, could use an upgrade at every position.

My prediction for the second round is Xavian Howard, a corner back out of Baylor.

The Saints made a run at free agent cornerback Josh Norman recently, and while that might just have to do with trying to pick-up a good football player that can simply make you better, I can't help but wonder if the Saints think that the best days of Keenan Lewis are behind him, and if they're concerned about the concussion issues that Damian Swann has had.

If the Saints want a corner, they can't wait too long, as those players are at a premium.

Howard, who is 6-feet, 200 pounds, and runs a 4.4 40-yard dash, has all the tools, but still has some work to do, as he was beat often, especially deep, during his senior year at Baylor.

Again, the corner position is in high demand, so it's possible Howard will be taken earlier, but if things work out for the Saints, Howard could be there with pick number 47.

My prediction for the third round is Christian Westerman, a guard out of Arizona St.

The Saints need help on the offensive line, and while it's entirely possible they may take an offensive lineman in the first two rounds, guard is a position that teams can normally wait a little while on.

The book on Westerman, who is 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, is that he's an athletic guard, but one who needs to get better in short yardage situations.

He may not last until pick 78, but he would make for a solid choice if he does.

So there are my predictions, for rounds two and three; Howard and Westerman.

Now again, predicting draft choices are an exercise in futility, so these, and others that you read, hear, or see are likely wrong.

But they are fun!

Enjoy the draft!