The New Orleans Saints will without question look to beef up their defensive line in this week's NFL draft. 

Defensive tackles Mazi Smith out of Michigan and Clemson's Bryan Bresee have been linked to the Saints in the first round. However, a recent ESPN mock has them taking one of the most athletic defenders coming out of college in a long time. 

They have New Orleans selecting Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore.

Adebawore is one of the most intriguing players in the class. His combine testing was legendary — a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at 6-2 and 282 pounds turned plenty of heads — but he produced just 12.5 sacks in four seasons of play. "Doesn't matter where you grade him, he's going first round," said one AFC area scout. Many other evaluators echoed that, saying their teams had Round 2-3 grades on Adebawore but his potential would push him into the first. With rare speed, quickness and the positional versatility to play end or tackle, Adebawore has legitimate upside. The Saints are still trying to replace Trey Hendrickson's pass-rush production, so that upside is too good to pass on.

Is truly rare for a guy the size of Adebawore to be that fast. He also posted a 37.5-inch vertical jump and 10'5" in the broad jump.

Aside from hurricane winds, #Northwestern DL Adetomiwa Adebawore #99 was the second-most disruptive force on the field vs. OSU. Interesting senior prospect.

3-tech on 3rd-and-1. Doesn’t let the LG reach his outside shoulder. pic.twitter.com/h0zfHgfh8n

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 7, 2022

Under-radar potential first-rounder? Get familiar w/ NU’s Adetomiwa Adebawore. Cool body type at 6015v (low-to-ground power base) with disproportionately long 34” arms & 82” wingspan. College EDGE projects as mismatch NFL 3-tech. And he’ll blowup Combine.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE pic.twitter.com/kMYTc7vFKb

— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_Sooners) February 12, 2023

Adebawore's versatility in college was intriguing. He lined up for 1,242 snaps outside of the tackle, 269 over the tackle, 46 in the A-gap, and 401 in the B-gap. So, he's a player the Saints could use as a movable chess piece and allow other guys to stay fresh.

Strong, fast, athletic, and versatile. That's the perfect way to describe Adebawore and he should be a player the Saints covet with their current need for defensive line help.