METAIRIE -- The New Orleans Saints made a trade in the fifth round of the NFL draft to add more depth to their defensive line, taking North Carolina State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley 144th overall.

In the trade, the Saints handed over the first of their two fifth-round choices, the 146th overall pick, and their seventh-round pick to the Detroit Lions.

By Stan Gilliland / The Associated Press

N.C. State defensive tackle DeMario Pressley, 92, was the Saints first pick in the fifth round in the 2008 NFL draft.

The 6-3, 301-pound Pressley was considered one of the top college prospects in the country coming out of high school in North Carolina but struggled with injuries during his junior and senior years at NC State.

Coming back from a sprained knee in 2007, he started seven games, played in 10 and was in on 41 tackles with 1 1/2 sacks. Pressley also was credited with seven stops for losses. He broke up one pass and intercepted two.

Pressley said he felt he was worthy of going much higher in the draft, but that scouts were scared away by his knee injury and a wrist injury late in his junior season.

"They always would ask me if I'm healthy ... am I prone to injuries," Pressley said. "Those two injuries were like the only major ones I had my whole four years there. They both were kind of freak accidents and I'm a tough guy, so I can handle it."

Pressley said he was thankful the Saints believed in him.

"This offseason and this preseason I'm going to really show everybody what I can do," Pressley said.

New Orleans did not have a pick in Sunday's third or fourth rounds. The Saints traded their third pick to New England a day earlier as part of a deal that allowed them to move up to pick Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis seventh overall.

That deal also sent the Patriots' fifth-round choice, 164th overall, to New Orleans, and the Saints used it on Nebraska offensive tackle Carl Nicks.

In the sixth round, the Saints used their final pick of the draft, 178th overall, on Winsconsin place kicker Taylor Mehlhaff.

The left-footed Mehlhaff, the first place kicker chosen in the draft, was Wisconsin's second-leading scorer in school history with 295 points. His 50 field goals were second all-time at Wisconsin. His 145 converted extra points on 148 attempts set a school record.

The Saints had not drafted a kicker since 1982, when they picked Morten Andersen in the fourth round.

New Orleans' fourth pick went to the Jets in late February as part of a trade that sent linebacker Jonathan Vilma to the Saints.

Pressley's selection marked the third defensive player the Saints had taken in their first three picks. Their second-round selection was Indiana cornerback Tracy Porter.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)