Saints take FSU cornerback Patrick Robinson in first round

It turns out Peter King of Sports Illustrated was right about the Saints taking a cornerback with the last pick of the first round in the NFL draft.

He was just wrong about the player.

Five spots after the New England took cornerback Devin McCourty of Rutgers – King’s guess – New Orleans grabbed FSU’s Patrick Robinson late Thursday night. It was the second consecutive year they took a cornerback in the first round, with Robinson following Malcolm Jenkins.

Robinson (5-11, 190) made 52 tackles with 11 breakups and two forced fumbles for the Seminoles last year.

He’s got good size and speed,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. He’s been very productive at Florida State. You could see it on the tape. You saw his speed, you saw his size. We’ve added another defensive back who has ball skills and plays with confidence.”

After making six interceptions as a sophomore, Robinson had only more for the rest of his career and none last year. He was the fifth cornerback selected.

I’m just honored to be picked in the first round,” Robinson said. It was very exciting for me. I know they play a lot of man-to-man defense and that’s something I was doing when I was at Florida State, so that’s a great thing for me.”

New Orleans finished 26th in the NFL in passing yards allowed – giving up 236.6 – but that number was misleading. Since the Saints took early leads in most of their games, opponents had to throw often in an attempt to catch up. The Saints were third in pass efficiency defense, first in interceptions and tied for fourth in lowest completion percentage allowed.

Saints starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter were one of the best tandems in the NFL, but the defense struggled against the pass when Greer missed seven games with a sports hernia injury and Porter was sidelined for four games with a sprained left knee. Nickel corner Randall Gay, in particular, was a target.

We went through some injuries, and we all appreciate the importance of having solid play out there,” Payton said. When we were healthy, you saw the difference defensively. It’s a position that’s hard to find in free agency.”

Robinson’s selection also frees the Saints to move Jenkins to free safety if they do not re-sign NFL interceptions leader Darren Sharper. Jenkins, whom some NFL teams projected as a safety and others looked at as a cornerback, finished with 55 tackles and an interception.

They’ll be a lot of scenarios discussed, and we’ve got a lot of time to sort it out,” Payton said. Malcolm had an outstanding season in his first year and made a lot of plays that impacted games. We’re excited about another young corner.”