It is one of the best parts of the NFL calendar, the draft. This year’s draft in Pittsburgh will start on Thursday, April 23 with the first round. The New Orleans Saints are in a prime position this year to finally begin turning around a franchise that has been lost for most of this decade.
Last season proved that the Saints have found its new head coach for the future in Kellen Moore and franchise quarterback in Tyler Shough. Now it is up to general manager Mickey Loomis and the front office to give Moore the personnel and Shough the weapons needed to succeed going forward.
The Saints are in an excellent position to do just that this year with eight total picks, including the eight overall pick. This puts the organization in an excellent position to draft a franchise changing player. This is also likely be the first year the Saints take a position other than offensive or defensive line since 2022 when they picked Chris Olave.
While this draft is somewhat weaker than the ones we have had the past couple of years, there are some real stud players that can make an immediate impact for the team.
Starting on the defensive side of the ball, there are two clear favorites for the Saints and have been mocked at pick eight by a number of experts like Mel Kiper and Jordan Reid.
The first player is Ruben Bain Jr, an edge rusher out of Miami(FL). Bain was an unstoppable force for the Hurricanes on their way to the National Championship game this past season. He recorded 54 total tackles, including 9.5 sacks and even grabbed an interception. Though the box score only tells part of the story.
Bain has dominant, explosive power and is fully capable of wrecking game plans for opposing offenses who are not ready. This is in spite of the red flags typical with his position, like shorter arms, yet his combine and pro-day performances did much to quiet this critique as he showed off his natural athleticism.
The Saints need someone to replace Cam Jordan, who has yet to resign with the team, or any other team for that matter. New Orleans needs some young, explosive power to pair with Chase Young who just came off his best season since his rookie year.
The other defensive player is from LSU, and it was fan favorite cornerback Mansoor Delane. Delane is an absolute lockdown corner, capable of shutting off an entire part of the field for opposing quarterbacks, essentially becoming a black hole.
He would be able to come in and start for the Saints since the secondary took some hits over the offseason, including the loss of Alonte Taylor to the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Delane would also be the first LSU player drafted by the Saints since Will Clapp in 2018. Delane would quickly become a fan favorite in New Orleans, more so if he plays up to or even better than expected.
Yet what is so interesting about this draft is the offensive prospects. The Saints were initially expected to draft running back phenom Jeremiyah Love out of Notre Dame. Plans changed after New Orleans signed Travis Etienne Jr. in free agency, which the NFL community took as a sign that he would go even earlier than eight.
So the focus for offense changed from Love to one of the receivers in the class. While the draft class overall is down compared to previous years, the receiver class is on the higher side this year, and pretty deep.
There are two stand out receivers that the Saints have the chance to grab with their pick.
The favorite is Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, the consensus number one wide receiver of the draft. Tate was a perennial second option at Ohio State, being overshadowed by the generational talent that is Jeremiah Smith. That was a special situation though, as at any other college he would have been the clear wide receiver one.
Tate projects to be a “Z” receiver with a good ability to go deep. While his 4.5 speed does not seem like he could just run by defenders, his 6’2” frame paired with good athleticism allows him to go up for deep balls, even over defenders.
He might have the best body control in the class, so if a ball is thrown within his catching radius, he will come down with it. Paired with Chris Olave, the Saints receiving corps would get a much needed boost and should help elevate Shough’s play even further.
The other possible receiver is Jordyn Tyson out of Arizona State University. Tyson has almost everything you could want in a wide receiver in the NFL. He has good size and speed, capable of running routes thanks to coaching from Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. He can play all three wide receiver sports and is capable of putting a team on his back.
The biggest issue with Tyson is his injury history. He has never played a full season at the college level, even missing the full 2023 season as he was recovering from a bad knee injury he suffered at the back end of his freshman year at Colorado, tearing his ACL, MCL and PCL.
It would be a true gamble by the Saints to take Tyson, but if it pays off, then Tyson has the potential to be the best receiver in this class.
There is also the chance that the Saints trade up, which Loomis has done in the past. The biggest target for this would be the Arizona Cardinals who are rumored to be looking for a trade down. The only player the Saints would make that trade for is Texas Tech edge David Bailey, who is by far the best edge prospect in a deep edge class.
As the Saints make their way through the draft other areas of concern are interior offensive line, linebackers, secondary, and tight end.