2023 NFL DRAFT: Saints select Minnesota S Jordan Howden in 5th round (No. 146 overall)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WAFB) - The New Orleans Saints selected Minnesota safety Jordan Howden in the fifth round (No. 146 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Player bio by Chad Reuter with NFL.com:

Howden was a football and track star as a senior at Desert Pines High School in California before heading to Minnesota. He started five of 13 appearances as a true freshman (45 tackles, one interception, three pass breakups). Howden started 12 times in 2019 (57 tackles, one interception, six pass breakups), all seven games in 2020 (37 tackles, one pass breakup) and 12 times in 2021 (43 tackles, 1.5 for loss, five pass breakups). He finished his career with an excellent fifth year, intercepting two passes and breaking up five others while making a career-high 58 tackles (3.5 for loss) in 13 starts.

Analysis by Lance Zierlein with NFL.com:

Howden is a football-savvy free safety with good instincts and play recognition but a lack of acceleration, which could create a plethora of problems for him on the pro level. He’s quick to diagnose the run, but will need to improve his tackle technique. A lack of recovery juice could get him mismatched on the pro game, but he sees route combinations well when allowed to play as a two-deep safety. Howden has played a lot of football and can help on special teams.

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