The New Orleans Saints have a plethora of capable players in their secondary like Tyrann Mathieu, Marshon Lattimore, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Johnathan Abram, and Marcus Maye. 

Once the fifth round of the NFL Draft came around, the Saints decided to add another piece with Minnesota safety Jordan Howden. Usually, Day 3 picks are used on players to see if maybe they can bring something to the roster. In the case of Howden, he could end up being a contributor at some point shortly in New Orleans.

"Howden earned an 80.6 coverage grade with an 18.4% forced incompletion rate in 2022, and he rarely misses a tackle (3.1% missed tackle rate). He’s a solid and reliable player on the back end with above-average athleticism and almost 2,000 snaps over the past three seasons," per Pro Football Focus 

Howden played at Minnesota for five years. He had four seasons with over 40 tackles and had 37 in the one year he didn't. Howden didn't generate a lot of interceptions with four, but he did rack up 20 pass breakups in college. 

One thing that Howden brings to the table that Saints will love is his versatility. In addition to his 978 snaps as a free safety, Howden had 1,391 snaps as a slot cornerback, 23 as an outside cornerback, and 621 in the box per PFF.

Jordan Howden:

Played almost 1400 snaps in the slot, 900+ at free safety, and 600+ in the box for Minnesota. Has only been penalized twice on 3,027 career defensive snaps. He doesn't get flagged, doesn't miss tackles, and moves very well. Should be an impactful player right away pic.twitter.com/xTAmBonj2Y

— Chris Olave Stan (@WhoDatContent) May 9, 2023

Howden scouting report via Pro Football Network:

Hard-working, run-defending safety with good instincts. Physical, plays faster than his 40 time, and quickly picks up assignments. Keeps the action in front of him, stays on the receiver’s hip, and shows solid ball skills facing the action. Tracks the pass in the air, has a nice move to the throw, and displays good hands for the interception. Fires upfield to defend the run and wraps up tackling.

It may take some time, but Howden is a player that the Saints may be relying on soon.