The Saints made the most of their limited draft haul, selecting Safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson out of Florida in the fourth round. He’s an athletic safety with a true advantage, because of ball skills he acquired when he was young. “I have the instincts, I was an offensive player growing up. When the ball is up in the air now I think I have to go get the ball myself,” Gardner-Johnson said. NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier ranked the Florida Gator as a late first round or early second round pick. He sees this selection as a real score in round 4 of the NFL Draft.
Gardner-Johnson is extremely humbled to join a burgeoning Saints defense and Super Bowl contending organization. “They have a lot of faith in me, they see a lot more in me than everybody else saw in me. They (Saints) have a lot of respect for me. I’ll give in return to them a lot of respect by going out there and doing my job,” he added.
The Saints love the three safety defensive look, and I expect Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to see plenty of playing time in his rookie season. He reminds me of former Saints safety Roman Harper, but with better coverage and ball skills. He’s a self-described film junky, “I spend more time in the film room than my position coach or defensive coordinator, because I want to know what I am doing,” said Chauncey. He approaches football like a business. He’ll fit in nicely with Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis’ “smarts and character philosophy.” And, I’m sure Drew Brees will welcome another player who likes to study film.