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Saints’ comp picks take a hit after NFL adjusts 2024 draft order

The New Orleans Saints saw several compensatory picks fall lower after the 2024 draft order was altered on Monday:

The NFL made an adjustment to the compensatory pick formula for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, which moved what was a sixth-round pick for the Cincinnati Bengals up to a third-round pick at No. 97 overall. So what’s the ripple effect for the New Orleans Saints?

Ultimately, this also moves the remaining compensatory picks behind 97 overall down one spot. The Saints began with picks at No. 167, 169, and 174, which will now all move down to 168, 170, and 175.

As a refresher, those three picks the Saints received are from losing David Onyemata, Marcus Davenport, and Kaden Elliss in free agency last year. They will not receive picks for Shy Tuttle, Andy Dalton, or Deonte Harty as those losses counteracted the additions of Nathan Shepherd, Jamaal Williams, and Khalen Saunders. The loss of Justin Evans will also not be factored in as a CFA (compensatory free agent) as he was countered by the signing of Jonathan Abram.

After this adjustment, here is what the Saints’ 2024 draft picks are looking like:

Round 1, Pick 14
Round 2, Pick 45 (via Denver Broncos)
Round 5, Pick 150
Round 5, Pick 168 (compensatory)
Round 5, Pick 170 (compensatory)
Round 5, Pick 175 (compensatory)
Round 6, Pick 190
Round 6, Pick 199 (via Philadelphia Eagles)
Round 7, Pick 239 (via Denver Broncos)

While the Saints are missing third and fourth round picks after last year’s trades, they ultimately have enough Day 3 picks to trade back into Day 2 if they so choose.

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NFL awards the Saints three compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL draft

The projections got it right this year. The NFL awarded the Saints three compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL draft:

The projections got it right this year. The NFL awarded the New Orleans Saints three compensatory picks in the 2024 NFL draft, all slotted into the fifth round:

Round 5, Pick 167
Round 5, Pick 169
Round 5, Pick 174

These extra draft selections were awarded as compensation for players the Saints lost in free agency last offseason — defensive tackle David Onyemata, defensive end Marcus Davenport, and linebacker Kaden Elliss. There was a possibility the Saints could have had that draft choice for Onyemata slotted into the end of the fourth round instead of the beginning of the fifth frame’s comp picks, given some uncertainty in different models, but it was always likelier to fall in this place.

So what will the Saints do with these extra picks? Their history suggests these draft resources will be spent trading up to target players in the earlier rounds. New Orleans has been given six comp picks over the last three draft classes and general manager Mickey Loomis has traded all of them in moves up the board, which you can read more about here.

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List of Saints’ 2024 NFL draft picks in each round

The latest projections are in. Here are the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 NFL draft picks in each round:

The 2024 NFL draft will be here before we know it, and it’s a critical event for the New Orleans Saints. With so many salary cap dollars going towards the team’s aging veterans, it’s vital that the Saints hit on as many picks as possible to replenish the roster with young talent.

And this year, the Saints are expected to receive nine picks — they already own six selections, but they’re anticipating three more as compensatory picks for losing free agents last offseason. Where those picks slot in and whether they even actually transfer is yet to be seen, but we’ll refer to the latest projections from Over The Cap and Tankathon to give you can idea of what the Saints should have to work with in April.

Here’s a quick look at each of their nine picks and and how they acquired each selection:

New Orleans Saints 7-round mock draft to jumpstart the offseason

Big changes are in store for the New Orleans Saints. Here’s our first 7-round mock draft to jumpstart the 2024 offseason:

The New Orleans Saints’ season is over and their spot in the draft’s first round is decided. That means it is time to start the season that his been more fun to watch the last couple of season, it’s time for mock drafts!

The goal for this draft is pretty clear for the Saints: address the trenches. They have players getting old or looking lost out there at times and need to bring in some fresh meat on both sides of the ball. There are other spots that could be addressed, but that should be the key. How the board falls could also really affect how the Saints look to attack this draft. And of course it all kicks off after free agency, giving New Orleans an opportunity to address their needs sooner.

Here is a starting point of expectations for this year with a full 7-round Saints mock draft:

NFL Draft Order Set Following Regular Season Conclusion

With the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft…

The NFL regular season came to an end on Sunday with the playoffs not being the only thing that were determined. Also of course was the NFL draft order for the 2024 NFL draft which could very well see a Notre Dame product get selected in the first 5-10 picks.

We all assume that Caleb Williams of USC and Drake Maye of North Carolina end up hearing their names called at No. 1 and No. 2 overall – but what does the rest of the order look line for non-playoff teams?

Here is how the NFL draft will setup with picks 1-18 in the 2024 NFL draft that takes place in Detroit.

Where the Saints will be picking in the 2024 NFL draft

Where the New Orleans Saints will be picking in the 2024 NFL draft:

The New Orleans Saints watched Arizona Cardinals kicker Matt Prater send a 51-yard try for the win wide right of the sticks, which locked up the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft for the black and gold.

Thanks to their weak strength of schedule, the Saints won tiebreakers with every other 9-8 team around the league. They’re going to be picking at No. 14 for the first time since 2018, when they traded up to that slot to pick Marcus Davenport. They previously picked Malcolm Jenkins (in 2009) and Renaoldo Turnbull (in 1997) at No. 14.

Will they stay put? That remains to be seen. The Saints are always aggressive in the draft with Mickey Loomis at general manager. But a lot of things could change between now and the first round of picks at the end of April. At least we know where they’ll start.

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2024 NFL draft order: Saints’ range of outcomes narrows after Week 17

Where are the Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft? The latest projection after Week 17 has narrowed down their range of outcomes:

We’re getting a better idea of the 2024 NFL draft order after Week 17’s games — for one thing, the Carolina Panthers have already locked up the first overall pick, which they unfortunately chose to trade to the Chicago Bears, who are on the clock. But where are the New Orleans Saints slotted in? Where might they end up?

At the moment, the experts at Tankathon project the Saints to own the No. 13 overall pick. But that could change depending on Week 18’s results. The lowest the Saints could go with a win over the Atlanta Falcons (but without qualifying for the playoffs) would be No. 16. Thanks to their low strength of schedule (.430), the Saints would win any tiebreakers with other 9-win teams that don’t reach the postseason. Right now, that means the Houston Texans (who traded their pick to the Arizona Cardinals) and Pittsburgh Steelers at Nos. 17 and 18, respectively.

What if the Saints lose to the Falcons next Sunday? Would that give them a big boost in the rankings? Maybe so. There’s a large clump of 9-loss teams, so it’s tough to say where New Orleans would slot in, partly because one of those teams are the Falcons themselves. Draft order is determined by strength of schedule before any other tiebreakers, and that’s an area they would likely have an edge on the Saints (at .423). So the highest pick the Saints could expect in the event of a Week 18 loss is probably No. 10 overall.

That’s too low to get a quarterback, and it’s unlikely head coach Dennis Allen would sign off on picking a rookie passer anyway. His goal is to support Derek Carr, not replace him, and that is a good spot to find a high-end offensive lineman or pass rusher who could help address the Saints’ most critical needs. But if there’s a year to finally trade down and acquire more picks, it’s this one: the Saints only own one other selection in the top four rounds (the No. 45 pick in the second round, coming back from the Denver Broncos) and they badly need to reload their roster. The Saints haven’t traded down since 2007, but they’re bound to break that streak sooner or later.

And there’s one other variable we haven’t hit on: what if the Saints beat the odds and clinch a playoff berth? At that point they’d be picking anywhere from Nos. 19 to 32 depending on how far they advance. Reaching the postseason has always been their goal and we should expect them to compete for that, not draft order jockeying. We should find out where exactly the Saints are picking in the first round in the weeks ahead, but don’t expect a full draft order to be finalized (with compensatory draft picks) until March.

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Where the Saints are picking in the 2024 NFL draft after Week 14

Where are the Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft after Week 14’s games? Here’s a quick look at the latest projections:

Where are the New Orleans Saints picking in the 2024 NFL draft after Week 14’s games? With picks coming back from the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles, it’s worth keeping up with other squads around the league as standings begin to settle going into the playoffs race.

But it’s all about the Saints. Here’s a quick look at the latest projections with Week 14 in the books, via Tankathon:

Round 1, Pick 12
Round 2, Pick 50 (via Broncos)
Round 5, Pick 146
Round 6, Pick 187
Round 6, Pick 204 (via Eagles)
Round 7, Pick 235 (via Broncos)

Fortunately that’s not all, it’s just the only the picks the Saints have to work with right now. They’re projected to receive three compensatory selections in the fifth round that would slot in at Nos. 167, 168, and 173 for having lost David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, and Marcus Davenport in free agency earlier this year. But those comp picks won’t be confirmed until March so they may end up differently than expected.

So how did we get here? Where are all of the Saints’ early-round picks? General manager Mickey Loomis traded them away. He sent New Orleans’ second-round pick (No. 43) to the Philadelphia Eagles to get another first-round pick in last year’s draft, which was spent on Trevor Penning. He also traded the Saints’ fourth-round pick (No. 113) to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up and get Jake Haener in this year’s draft. And Loomis sent the third-round pick (No. 78) back to the Broncos along with Sean Payton to facilitate that trade.

Loomis and the Saints went all-in on Dennis Allen’s vision for the team. What it’s gotten them is a losing record and a series of tiebreaking losses for the crown in the worst division in pro football, and now the cupboard is looking awfully bare.

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Saints move inside the 2024 NFL draft’s top-10 picks after Week 13

The Saints moved inside the 2024 NFL draft’s top-10 picks after Week 13. They have higher ambitions, but a lucrative draft pick is a solid silver lining:

There aren’t many silver linings for a 5-7 football team that envisioned itself as a playoff contender, but a lucrative pick in the 2024 NFL draft is one of them. And the New Orleans Saints are currently projected to pick at No. 9 overall after losing to the Detroit Lions.

And they’ll stay there regardless of other games’ results, at least this week. The Saints are tied for the lowest strength of schedule (.367) in the league which gives them an edge in any tiebreakers with other teams.

Here are the Saints’ projected 2024 draft picks, per Tankathon:

Round 1, pick 9
Round 2, pick 47 (via Denver Broncos)
Round 5, pick 144
Round 5, pick 168 (compensatory)
Round 5, pick 171 (compensatory)
Round 5, pick 174 (compensatory)
Round 6, pick 189
Round 6, pick 209 (via Philadelphia Eagles)
Round 7, pick 235 (via Denver Broncos)

If you’re curious, here are the teams slotted in ahead of the Saints through the first eight picks:

Chicago Bears (via Carolina Panthers)
New England Patriots
Arizona Cardinals
Washington Commanders
Chicago Bears
New York Giants
New York Jets
Tennessee Titans

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Where the Saints are projected to pick in 2024 NFL draft after Week 12

Where the New Orleans Saints are projected to pick in 2024 NFL draft after Week 12:

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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