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The NFL finally shared its full order of selections in the 2021 NFL draft on Friday, and it brings great news for the New Orleans Saints. It’s possible the league reverses course, but the current list of draft picks in all seven rounds includes the selection New Orleans was previously reported to have forfeited due to COVID-19 protocol violations. The Las Vegas Raiders were similarly penalized with a lost late-round draft pick, but it was apparently returned to them.
This could be an oversight by the league office. But it’s worth noting that the Minnesota Vikings are listed as forfeiting a seventh round draft choice due to league discipline for salary cap compliance issues, so you would think the NFL would list every other forfeited pick if there were any. So keep your fingers crossed that the Saints will have their additional seventh rounder in hand on draft day, barring an update from the league.
With that said: here are all of the Saints draft picks for 2021 as it currently stands, including compensatory selections and trade acquisitions.
- Round 1, Pick 28
- Round 2, Pick 60
- Round 3, Pick 98 (compensatory, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater)
- Round 3, Pick 105 (compensatory, vice president Terry Fontenot)
- Round 4, Pick 133
- Round 6, Pick 218 (compensatory, linebacker A.J. Klein)
- Round 7, Pick 229 (trade, nose tackle Malcom Brown to Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Round 7, Pick 255
The Saints are without their own picks in the third (traded last year to acquire linebacker Zack Baun), fifth (swapped for linebacker Kwon Alexander), and sixth rounds (exchanged to poach quarterback Tommy Stevens from the Carolina Panthers) due to previous moves, and we should expect more maneuvering from New Orleans given their aggressive history.
It’s worth noting the seventh rounder they got from Jacksonville was the more valuable of the Jaguars’ two picks in the final round, as it is the first selection in that round as opposed to their other choice at No. 249, 10 slots ahead of the draft’s final pick, “Mr. Irrelevant.”
So there’s a couple feathers for your cap. If the Saints hold onto all eight of these selections, it would be tied with 2006 for the second-most picks they’ve ever used in one draft class with Sean Payton calling the shots, behind 2015 (nine picks). Their four picks in the top 105 selections are tied with 2011 for the most behind 2017 (six) and 2015 (five), though 2007’s draft came close (running back Antonio Pittman was selected at No. 108).
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