If there’s a sliver lining to the New Orleans Saints falling out of first place in the NFC South, it’s that they’re lined up for a lucrative first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. And they need all the help they can get with an aging roster in need of reinforcements on both sides of the ball, to say nothing of an uncertain future at quarterback.
The experts at Tankathon currently project the Saints to pick at No. 12 overall after Week 12’s games. But we shouldn’t reduce their 2024 draft class down to just one selection. The Saints have a couple of picks coming back from other teams and they’re expected to receive some compensatory draft picks as well.
With that in mind, here are the updated Saints 2024 draft pick projections after Week 12:
- Round 1, Pick 12
- Round 2, Pick 49 (via Denver)
- Round 5, Pick 147
- Round 5, Pick 168 (compensatory)
- Round 5, Pick 171 (compensatory)
- Round 5, Pick 174 (compensatory)
- Round 6, Pick 192
- Round 6, Pick 209 (via Philadelphia)
- Round 7, Pick 237 (via Denver)
The Broncos keep winning games, which means that second rounder coming back from Denver is getting less valuable by the week. And the Saints are shorthanded in the early rounds after trading their picks in rounds two (to the Philadelphia Eagles to get Trevor Penning), three (to the Denver Broncos with Sean Payton), and four (to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up for for Jake Haener).
Knowing Mickey Loomis, expect many of those late-round picks to be packaged in more trades moving up earlier in the draft, assuming all of the compensatory picks are awarded as expected. Those will be confirmed in March along with the finalized draft order for all teams.
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