New Orleans Saints first-round pick Payton Turner focused on attention to detail ahead of rookie campaign

'Everything's just more detailed once you get to this point'

Jun 18, 2021 at 09:30 AM

Sam Shannon

New Orleans Saints first-round draft pick Payton Turner is learning quickly that pure athleticism just won't cut it at the NFL level.

"I think it's a lot more detailed here, just going from college to the NFL," Turner said during his Saints Minicamp interview with local media. "Just everything from stance, to footwork, to get-off, pass rush, using your hands more, continue to get better with your hips, flexibility. There's so many more details and stuff that you don't even look at when you're in college just because you might out-athlete people and everything. But everything's just more detailed once you get to this point."

In 2020, Turner was a team captain who led Houston with 10.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. At 6 feet 6, 270 pounds, Turner registered 25 tackles in just five contests while also being named to the 2020 Phil Steele Magazine American Athletic Conference Second Team and the 2020 Athlon Sports Preseason American Athletic Conference Second Team.

New Orleans selected him with the 28th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

"I've just been trying to be a sponge, really," Turner said. "Just soak up all the information from all the vets getting back here. I've enjoyed it. High-quality people just top to bottom in the whole organization. So I've really enjoyed it."

Saints veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan joked about the similarities between Turner and fellow defensive end Marcus Davenport.

"I keep calling him Marcus Davenport Jr.," Jordan said. "I'm not sure what the similarities are (on the field yet), but I had him come to the house and pick up some Body Armor - some stuff to put up in the D-Line room. My daughter thought he was definitely Marcus. And I was like that's not. She just walked up to him and was like 'Mr. Marcus is at the house.' I was like, 'No, Mr. Marcus is not at the house, that's Payton.' You know she's four so she's allowed to make those mistakes."

New Orleans has a plethora of depth along the defensive line entering the 2021 campaign even following the departure of 2020 Pro Football Writers of America All-NFL honoree Trey Hendrickson and others. Saints Coach Sean Payton touched on the depth of the position group during his day 1 press conference at Saints Minicamp.

"Payton (Turner) is doing well training," Payton said. "We feel like that position group we've added some depth. And certainly, Trey (Hendrickson) played extremely well for us and it won't be just one person, there'll be a series of players that pick up for some of that production. But we feel good about the direction we're moving out as a team relative to our defensive line."

2021 NFL Draft Photos: Meet Saints draft pick Payton Turner

2021 NFL Draft photos of New Orleans Saints first round draft pick Payton Turner, defensive end out of Houston.

New Orleans Saints

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Payton Turner, Defensive End, Houston, New Orleans Saints 1st round draft pick.

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Payton Turner, Defensive End, Houston, New Orleans Saints 1st round draft pick.

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Houston Cougars defensive tackle Ed Oliver, left, helps Houston Cougars defensive lineman Payton Turner (98) with his pads during warm ups before the start of a NCAA college football game against the Rice Owls Saturday, Sep. 1, 2018, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

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Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner (98) rushes during an NCAA football game against Central Florida on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

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Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner (98) rushes against Edward Collins (70) during an NCAA football game against Central Florida on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

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Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner (98) rushes against Edward Collins (70) during an NCAA football game against Central Florida on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020 in Houston. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson)

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Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner, right, celebrates his sack of BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, bottom left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

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Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, left, throws a pass as Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner applies defensive pressure during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

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Houston defensive lineman Payton Turner, left, tries to break up the pass by SMU quarterback Shane Buechele (7) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

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American Team defensive lineman Payton Turner of Houston (98) walks on the field during the NCAA Senior Bowl college football game in Mobile, Ala., Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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American Team defensive lineman Payton Turner of Houston (98) walks off the field during the American Team practice for the NCAA Senior Bowl college football game in Mobile, Ala. Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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American Team defensive lineman Payton Turner of Houston (98) runs during the American Team practice for the NCAA Senior Bowl college football game in Mobile, Ala. Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Defensive lineman Payton Turner of Houston (98) warms up during the American team practice for the NCAA college football Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Rusty Costanza)

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Defensive lineman Payton Turner of Houston (98) talks to fellow players during the American team practice for the NCAA college football Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Rusty Costanza)

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Erik Williams #1/2016 Erik Williams #1