Who would you say was the sleeper pick of the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 draft class, who could climb the depth chart and help out on game days? With the Saints spending so many of their 2025 draft picks on Day 3, in the later rounds, there are plenty of options to choose from. There will be many rookies starting at the bottom of the roster and working to make their own luck.
But some have landed in better circumstances than others, with a real path to dressing out and making plays on game days. According to Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire, that’s former Pittsburgh Panthers wideout Bub Means:
The Saints came into the 2024 draft with some speed on offense already with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry, but in an NFL where it’s all about creating and defending explosive plays, more acceleration is always good. To that end, New Orleans welcomed Pitt receiver Bub Means to its roster with the 170th overall pick in the fifth round.
In his 2023 season, Means caught 41 passes on 82 targets for 718 yards and six touchdowns. That catch rate may have you wondering about Means’ hands until you go back and review Pitt’s quarterbacks. As Greg Cosell and I got into in this week’s “Xs and Os,” Means is virtually guaranteed to be more productive and efficient with a quarterback who can actually get him the ball.
New "Xs and Os with @gregcosell" Pitt WR Bub Means was a vertical threat last season despite the fact that his quarterbacks were… well, not great. He brings a lot of juice to the @Saints' receiver room. https://t.co/JMhhtEbb1O pic.twitter.com/ac47giHOKD
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) May 1, 2024
Means is an easy player to root for, as we found out in an exclusive interview with our own Jeremy Trottier. He’s got a dynamic skill set, a team-first mindset, and a magnetic personality that should quickly endear him to Saints fans. Of course there are things he needs to work on in order to get on the field ahead of more-experienced teammates like A.T. Perry and Cedrick Wilson Jr., but he’s got plenty of potential. Now it’s on Klint Kubiak and his new Saints offensive coaching staff to help Means meet it.
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