METAIRIE La. (AP) The New Orleans Saints added to star quarterback

 Drew Brees‘ already formidable array of receiving targets, taking Central Florida receiver Tre’Quan Smith in the third round of the NFL draft on Friday night.The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Smith, who entered the draft with one year of college eligibility left, had 54 catches for 1,082 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He was also part of a Golden Knights team that that finished Willie Roaf Jersey 2017 unbeaten and capped that campaign with a victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl.”When you get a player like me you get a person who’s a good ball hawk, who goes after the ball when it’s in the air – 50-50 balls, they’re mine,” Smith said on a conference call after his selection. ”And a hustler. I love to make plays for my other teammates. The game is just bigger than me. If you want to win, it’s a team sport. You’ve got to be selfless.”I love watching teammates make plays when something I did” contributed, Smith said. ”It makes me happy inside and it builds trust.”General manager Mickey Loomis described Smith as a receiver who has the speed, ability, intelligence and toughness to find a role in New Orleans’ dynamic offense, even if it’s blocking downfield for running backs Mark Ingram or Alvin Kamara.”He’s a good blocker. That’s important for our receivers to be good blockers and he’s definitely that https://www.thesaintsfanshop.com/Rickey-Jackson-Jersey ,” Loomis said. ”That’s part of that toughness.”Smith said the Saints had told him they liked his ”physicality” on plays in which he made key blocks downfield to spring teammates for extra yardage, as well as his ability to ”go get the ball when it was in the air.”Smith was the first player drafted by New Orleans on the second day of the draft. New Orleans did not have a pick in the second round this year, having dealt that away during last year’s third round as part of a trade that allowed the Saints to snag Kamara, the 2017 NFL offensive rookie of the year.In Thursday night’s first round, the Saints picked UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport 14th overall after trading up from 27th in a deal with Green Bay that also sent a fifth-round pick this year and a first-rounder next year to the Packers.Loomis said there were brief discussions about the possibility of trading up again, but it would not have been easy after the trade made a day earlier.”We’ve pretty much shot our gun,” Loomis said.New Orleans didn’t have a pressing need for a receiver.During free agency, the Saints brought in Cameron Meredith, who led Chicago in receiving in 2016 before missing last season with a knee injury. New Orleans’ receiving corps also includes Pro Bowler Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn and Brandon Coleman. But the club did lose restricted free agent Willie Snead to Baltimore.”This is a case of – at that point in the draft, where we were at – this is a player we had graded the highest,” Loomis said. ”This is a player that we liked a lot.”Smith said he considers himself a deep threat and a possession receiver. Loomis added that the Saints were impressed with Smith’s knack for gaining yards after the catch, suggesting that likely contributed to Smith’s considerable average of about 20 yards per reception.”I want to build a great relationship with Drew Brees,” Smith said. ”If I could Morten Andersen Color Rush Jersey , I’d be up there tomorrow.”Smith also noted that he hopes UCF’s no-huddle offense – which called for him to play multiple positions, memorize the play book and routinely respond to a quarterback audible at the line of scrimmage – has prepared him to adapt to New Orleans’ multiple offense.Smith never played youth football, playing more basketball until high school in south Florida. He calls himself a ”late bloomer.”But Loomis noted that the Saints’ scouting department had high regard for Smith ”early on” in the evaluation process.”We’re going to find out where we play him,” Loomis said. ”He’s a smart player who can fill a lot of roles for us. … He’s got a pretty large skill set.”— METAIRIE, La. (AP) — New Orleans Saints No. 1 draft choice Marcus Davenport will undergo minor thumb surgery now that the team has completed its mini-camp.But the lingering injury didn’t prevent him from demonstrating the skills that led the organization to pay a high price to acquire him. Davenport, a defensive end from Texas-San Antonio, is expected to be ready to go when the team reconvenes for the start of training camp in late July.“He’s explosive. He can run. He’s got a quick twitch,” Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen said. “All the stuff you saw on his college tape and everything he did at the combine. He’s every bit as explosive. He’s a good athlete, bends well. You can really see that on tape.”New Orleans saw enough of Davenport (6-foot-6, 265 pounds) before the draft to trade next year’s No. 1 pick and a No. 5 this year to the Green Bay Packers to move up 13 spots to select him.“Man, he is big and he’s long,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said. “He’s a tremendous worker. He is coming along really well. There is a strength element you feel and you saw it when he played (in college). And now he is really working on his pass rush, working on his pass rush plan and developing the three different pitches he needs to be effective when it is not just playing the run.”New Orleans hopes the addition of Davenport will continue the defensive improvement the Saints showed last season. The Saints allowed 40 fewer yards per game, 50 fewer passing yards and eight fewer points in 2017 compared to 2016. Additionally their sacks increased from 30 to 42 as the team improved from a 7-9 record to 11-5 and an NFC South title.“I see a guy who has all the qualities you’re looking for in a right defensive end Bobby Hebert Jersey ,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “I think the one thing that really stood out to us throughout the draft process was his ability to rush the passer. He’s got the size, he’s got the length, he’s got the athletic ability.”Nielsen said he has been impressed by more than Davenport’s athleticism.“I didn’t realize that he was a 3.8 student in college,” Nielsen said. “He picked things up really quickly in terms of the scheme and where to align. He’s a rookie and made a couple of mistakes, but still he’s really picked it up. He’s a very intelligent player so it was easy. It’s good when you can put in a lot of stuff and they can pick it up pretty easily.”Davenport had been practicing with the thumb injury until leaving practice early Tuesday. It was unclear if his departure was related to the thumb injury, and Davenport sat out practice Wednesday. Payton canceled the final practice Thursday and said Davenport could have surgery as early as Friday.The Saints expect Davenport to be a complement to Pro Bowl left end Cameron Jordan, who missed OTAs while recovering from offseason foot surgery and was excused from mini-camp because his wife was having a baby. Incumbent right end Alex Okafor has been limited while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered last season.Their absence has allowed Davenport to get additional work, especially with the first team.“We’re just working on everything right now — pass rush, runs, stunts — everything to make him a well-rounded, complete player with all the fundamentals,” Nielsen said. “It boosts the rotation. You’ve got another good player out there. It’s going to help us across the line.”Davenport showed the athleticism that enabled him to play wide receiver early in his high-school career.“Even when I was playing receiver I gravitated toward defensive ends,” Davenport said. “I always thought they were big and fast and when you sack the quarterback it’s a big deal.“I thought it was a cool concept. But when I first got (to Texas-San Antonio) I was there to catch balls and score touchdowns. Things change.”