Pros and cons of New Orleans Saints picking Texas football’s Jaylan Ford in NFL draft
Jaylan Ford will begin his professional career in the same city where his collegiate career ended.
The New Orleans Saints selected Ford in the fifth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. The Texas linebacker was the 175th overall pick.
Perhaps coincidentally, the Saints play their home games in the Superdome. That is the site of where the 2023 football season ended for Ford and the Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl.
What Ford brings to Saints in 2024 NFL draft
A 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker, Ford played four seasons at Texas and was the leader of a defense that made significant strides under coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski the past few years. Ford appeared in 49 games at Texas and made 29 starts.
NFL.com rated Ford as the No. 22 linebacker in this draft class.
Ford strengths, weaknesses at Texas
On its list of pros and cons for Ford, NFL.com praised the Frisco product for his "willingness to dive into lane development to spill running backs wide." The website also wrote that he "pursues the ball to the perimeter with inside-out leverage."
As for weaknesses, NFL.com assessed that Ford has "below-average instincts and field awareness at times." Ford was also described as impatient on the field.
In a statement released by the school on Saturday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that "(Jaylan) was a magnet to the football, created turnovers, recovered fumbles, got interceptions, had the ability to rush the passer, and in the end, was a leader in transforming our defense from year one to year two to one of the best units in the country last year."
Ford stats with Texas
While recording 119 tackles in 2022 and 101 tackles in 2023, Ford became the first player to lead Texas in tackles in consecutive seasons since Roddrick Muckelroy from 2008-09. In addition to forcing four fumbles and recovering three fumbles, Ford also intercepted six passes in his career. That was the fourth-best total for a Longhorn linebacker.
Ford was a first-team honoree on the Big 12's all-conference team in both 2022 and 2023. He was also a Butkus Award semifinalist this past season.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New Orleans takes Jaylan Ford in 2024 NFL draft: Pros, cons of pick
