The Saints had nine picks heading into the draft and surprised everyone by using all nine. Payton stated that the picks acquired during the off-season would be used to shore up the defense. He was true to his word, and the team picked 6 defensive players and 2 offensive players going into the 7th round.
During the later rounds in the draft teams are usually looking for raw physical specimens, long term projects. Maybe you take a flyer on a player who fell because of an injury that will take some time to come back from. The Saints went a different direction with their 7th round pick, and it might pay off more than people initially thought.
RB Marcus Murphy out of Mizzou was one of the highest ranked KR/PR in the draft. Murphy was a prolific returner during his college career. He averaged 29.6 per kick return and 10.4 per punt return his senior year. In comparison, the Saints averaged 25.9 yards per kick return and 7.1 per punt return last year, ranking them 30th and 31th in the league. Jalen Saunders joined the team during the latter half of the year and provided a spark in the return game. However, Saunders isn’t much more than a returner at this point in his career, registering 1 catch for 7 yards in two seasons.
Travaris Cadet was the primary kick returner the past three years but was mostly below average. The team tried Brandin Cooks at punt returner last year, but he never looked comfortable.
Murphy is a natural returner with fearlessness and vision. Murphy will never be a featured back he’s not a one trick pony. He’s a capable runner and even lines up in the slot. Murphy possesses excellent balance and is elusive, which makes him hard to bring down. C.J. Spiller has an injury history and he could fill in for Spiller in a pinch or rotate to save wear and tear on the former 1st rounder. If Murphy beats out Saunders as return specialist it would save a valuable roster spot elsewhere, which is huge because the team may have to keep 3 quarterbacks on the active roster this year.
Ever since their Super Bowl winning year the team has stressed the importance of winning the turnover battle. You keep your own drives alive while giving your offense extra opportunities to score. Winning the field position battle can also swing the direction of the scoreboard. A good return can mean the difference between a field goal and punting. Touch-backs are more common since the league moved kick-offs to the 35 yard line, but when it is returnable , it’s nice to have someone who can get it past the 20 yard line and beyond. The Saints were routinely having to drive the length of the filed yielding more yards than points. While they finished 1st in yards, they came in 9th for points per game at 25.1. The defense ranked 28th in points per game averaging 26.5. The thought behind picking Murphy makes a lot of sense: pick a player who will most likely spend years on the practice squad (if they makes it at all) or draft one of the top kick returners who can play right away.
He is small in stature (5’9″) but has decent weight on his small frame (193 lbs). He ran in the 4.6’s at the combine but managed to post a 4.53 and a 4.57 at his pro-day. He looks fast enough on film and played in a major conference.
If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favor and watch his highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8i3Kk31lpA&feature=youtu.be
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