Payton Turner Talks Saints D-Line, Health, Season's Goals

New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner talks about his role, the defensive line, his health, and goals for the new season.

New Orleans Saints former first-round pick, defensive end Payton Turner, was supporting his alma mater Houston Cougars at their NFL Pro Day on Saturday afternoon. 

Houston area reporter Aaron Wilson interviewed Turner, and quizzed him about the Saints' defensive line, his health, and outlook for this season.

Credit: Stephen Lew and Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

TURNER'S TIME WITH DAVENPORT GONE

"I'm excited," Turner said.  "We got some new pieces in free agency, probably going to get some more in the draft and then just reload on defense.  We lost some D-Tackles, but you know they're good players, and we'll figure out how to replace them and everything.  I'm happy for them.  But I'm excited about our year coming up, so I think it's something good.

Wilson asked about the departure of Marcus Davenport in free agency and how his role will be in the Saints' defense.

"It's an opportunity for me to step up and just prove why they got me in the first round.  We got some good players at the [defensive] end and the whole d-line across the board.  Just going to earn it in camp and then just going out and playing well is my main focus right now.

Turner was referring to Saints' free agent losses of David Onyemata signing with Atlanta, and Shy Tuttle joining Carolina.  However, New Orleans countered by signing defensive tackles Khalen Saunders (Chiefs) and Nathan Shepherd (Jets).  Both should add more size, pressures, and run-stopping ability to the New Orleans defensive line.

Nov 20, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner (98) is carted off the field with an injury in the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

TURNER ON HIS HEALTH AND GOALS

In terms of this health, Turner answered, "I feel good. I've been doing rehab, prehab, and everything in between, trying to get ready for this next season. The season is so long, so I'm excited about it, though."

Injuries have plagued Payton Turner during his first two seasons with New Orleans.  Since drafting him as the 28th overall selection in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he's had just 13 game appearances, five as a rookie and eight in 2022.  During his short NFL career, the Houston native has recorded 28 tackles, three sacks, six QB hits, and eight TFLs in his short NFL career.

Turner ended the interview by stating, "I got a lot of goals. I'm not going to share them right now. But I got a lot of goals.  Big team goals. I'm hoping that we're out there in the Superbowl. So that's the goal all of the time."

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