Pete Werner: An extensive breakdown.

Pete Werner: An extensive breakdown(by Cabe Bond)

The New Orleans Saints 60th overall pick- is he a reach, or steal?

There was a lot of speculation around who the Saints were taking at pick 60. Some believed it would be star LSU linebacker Jabril Cox. Others assumed it might be one of the many available cornerbacks. However very few expected Ohio State's own, Pete Werner. Pete played for four years during his time at Ohio State playing just shy under 30 games. During those games he managed to rack up an impressive 185 tackles, sixteen of which resulted in a loss of yardage, and four sacks. His passing game stats, on the other hand, were quite lackluster; not having a single interception, and only thirteen pass deflections his whole career. For comparison LSU's Jabril Cox had 3 interceptions and 5 pass deflections in this year alone. However, his inability to stop passes does not attest to his true coverage skills. In 2019, Wener in ten games did not allow 15 or more yards in coverage, and against Wisconsin and Clemson he didn't allow a single yard in coverage. This all was overshadowed by his poor performance in the National Championship game in 2020, but that was solely because his main target was Heisman Winning wide receiver, DeVonta Smith. Problems like these won't occur on the Saints, because he could be converted to a MLB.



His coverage game is truly amazing because while he might allow the catch, he doesn't allow you to go past him, making him a dominant player. Typically, linebackers don't record tons of interceptions, but every elite linebacker has one thing in common- a high number of tackles. In his 2019 season he recorded a solid 64 tackles, only to seemingly under perform in 2020 with 54. That is until you account for the 6 less games he played. When putting his 2020 stats into a 14 game projection, you end up seeing he finishes with 95 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and 2 sacks. The stat that sticks out the most is the impressive 95 tackles, a true testament to his coverage skills. His ability to allow practically no RAC yards in the hook/curl area is truly impressive, and is a reason for his high number of tackles, but the one thing he covers the best, and is probably the main reason why the Saints loved him, is the running back.



This was probably the main thing that stuck out to me the most when analyzing his film, the guy is a monster when it comes to any passes on the flats. He tears his way through every blocker to get to the man in the flats, who is typically a running back. On every run play he's there, mauling his way through the blockers, and in the event the runner gets past him, Werner has an innate ability to completely turn around and get the tackle from behind. He is a true monster on all short passes, and is why I see him primarily playing LOLB. Not only this, but with two quarterbacks who have practically perfected the checkdown in the Saints’s division, it's nice to have a player who will always punish the receiver of said checkdowns. His athleticism and intelligence make him have a high chance of being a standout linebacker, and with him being on a team that's known for developing players into stars, it makes his chances of being a stud even higher.


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In the end, there is no way of knowing if he'll be any good in the NFl, and Judging on the impressivness of his highlights, you would assume he'll be mediocre. However, when you dive deeper into his role, you soon begin to see what Sean Payton saw. He’s 6'2, 238lbs, with above average scores in his shuttle, 3 cone, and vertical. This super athletic and incredibly talented linebacker could soon turn into one of the best in the league.