Tag: prospects

Saints assistant GM Jeff Ireland spotted scouting NFL prospects at Florida State

New Orleans Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland was spotted scouting NFL prospects at Florida State practice:

This feels noteworthy.  The Tallahassee Democrat’s Ehsan Kassim reported last week that New Orleans Saints college scouting director Jeff Ireland was in attendance at one of Florida State’s practices before their road game at Boston College (which they narrowly won 31-29). NFL scouts are on the road often this time of year, but it’s interesting to see an assistant general manager taking such a hands-on approach.

But FSU makes sense as somewhere to go looking for talent. Playmaking defensive end Jared Verse is a top-ten prospect (maybe top-five) in the 2024 draft class, and his teammate Keon Coleman is building momentum as a first-round prospect at wide receiver. Running back Trey Benson and wide receiver Johnny Wilson are also earning early-round buzz. Quarterback Jordan Travis has drawn high expectations, too.

There are mid-round prospects worth looking into like tight end Jaheim Bell, defensive linemen Fabien Lovett and Braden Fiske, and cornerback Fentrell Cypress, too. It’s too soon to draw any credible links between the Saints and players who might enter the 2024 draft, much less suggesting they’ll draft them just because Ireland stopped by campus one day in September. But it’s an interesting data point to keep in mind and maybe circle back to in the spring.

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Week 3 Scouting Notebook: A look at potential Chargers prospects in 2024 NFL draft

Here are a handful of prospects for Chargers fans to watch in Week 3.

The third week of college football is here, which means we are back with another edition of the Scouting Notebook.

The Scouting Notebook will feature prospects to keep an eye on throughout the day. While some may think it’s too early to start talking about the 2024 NFL draft, there’s never a bad time to talk about the future of the Chargers.

With that being said, here are a handful of prospects to watch for in Week 3.

Saints send five scouts to survey Tulane-Ole Miss game

The Saints weren’t just one of the only teams to send multiple scouts to survey Tulane’s matchup with Ole Miss. They had five representatives at Yulman Stadium on Saturday:

It was a wild scene at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium on Saturday afternoon with the Green Wave hosting Ole Miss in front of a sold-out crowd and a large group of NFL scouts. Our own Crissy Froyd reported that a dozen teams had scouting personnel at the game — with just two teams, the New York Giants and hometown New Orleans Saints, sending multiple scouts to the game.

The Giants had two representatives in the building. But the Saints had five. It makes sense to maintain a presence at local games like this, but it’s noteworthy that the Saints sent so many people to watch the 2024 draft prospects competing in a hard-fought game.

Unfortunately, some of the game’s best NFL prospects were sidelined by injuries. Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt was held out due to a knee issue. Ole Miss tight end Caden Prieskorn was sidelined after late-summer foot surgery. Still, Prieskorn’s teammate Michael Trigg (a potential early-round pick at tight end) caught a 21-yard touchdown pass, but there are some reps the Tulane offensive line will be wanting back after backup quarterback Kai Horton struggled under pressure in the second half.

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Saints among several teams scouting NFL prospects at BYU’s home opener

The Saints were among several teams scouting NFL hopefuls at BYU’s home opener — including Kingsley Suamataia, an early-round prospect at offensive tackle:

We told you to keep an eye on Kingsley Suamataia, didn’t we? The New Orleans Saints were one of several pro teams with scouts at BYU’s home opener with Sam Houston State on Saturday night, per BYU beat reporter and ESPN+ host Jason Shepherd, and Suamataia was by far the top prospect on the field.

He’s someone we highlighted over the summer as the Saints’ type of player. A former highly-prized recruit at Oregon, he transferred back home to finish playing college ball at BYU, and the 20-year-old is already drawing buzz as an early-round prospect in the 2024 NFL draft. He’s also the cousin of Saints linebacker Nephi Sewell (and his brothers Penei and Noah).

Suamataia was one of the nation’s better right tackles last year with the Cougars but has since returned to his high school position at left tackle. He’ll need to play well against top competition on BYU’s schedule to stay on the left side in the pros, but he has all of the athletic tools NFL coaches look for. It’s interesting that the Saints were on hand for his left tackle debut.

But Suamataia wasn’t the only NFL prospect in the game, though he’s the only one drawing first-round pick projections. He has teammates like junior linebacker Ben Bywater (who logged what felt like 30 tackles) with pro aspirations. There are other young guys up and down the depth chart — and some playing for Sam Houston State — who will be auditioning for NFL roster spots next spring. Their process starts here. A couple of nice plays in live action can create a strong first impression, setting up further interest at pro day workouts, and possibly lead to an offer as an undrafted free agent later on down the line. They need every chance they can get.

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New Orleans Saints scouting Tulane’s home opener vs. South Alabama

The New Orleans Saints are scouting Tulane’s home opener with South Alabama. Which prospects should be hot on their radar?

The New Orleans Saints’ college scouting staff is busy this week, the first full schedule of the 2023 college football season — with plenty of 2024 NFL draft prospects hitting the field. Our own Crissy Froyd is covering Tulane’s home opener at Yulman Stadium against South Alabama, and she reports that several NFL teams have sent scouts to observe the game in person.

Those teams include the Saints, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, and New York Giants in addition to Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy; Tulane standouts Tyjae Spears and Dorian Williams both impressed at the college all-star game earlier this year, and there’s a good chance some more promising players draw attention Saturday night.

So who could be hot on their radar? Five members of the Green Wave made the cut for the preseason Senior Bowl watch list: quarterback Michael Pratt, center Sincere Haynesworth, left tackle Cameron Wire, left guard Prince Pines, and cornerback Jarius Monroe. And five players from South Alabama are on that watchlist, too: quarterback Carter Bradley, wide receiver Caullin Lacy, running back La’Damian Webb, defensive tackle Wy’kevious Thomas, and safety Yam Banks.

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Saints spotted scouting Missouri vs. South Dakota in college football Week 1

The New Orleans Saints were spotted scouting NFL prospects at Missouri’s thrashing of South Dakota in college football Week 1:

The New Orleans Saints’ scouts were busy in the first week of the college football season, with team personnel reserving seats for Missouri’s game with South Dakota, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Eli Hoff. Other teams in attendance included the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals.

Many of the top 2024 NFL draft prospects in this game suited up for Mizzou (which helped them win a 35-10 landslide): defensive backs Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (who had a pass breakup and tackle for loss) and Kris Abrams-Draine, left tackle Javon Foster (who extended his streak of consecutive starts to 27 games), and linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper were among the standouts.

It’s a long season ahead, and many of these young athletes will have opportunities to show NFL teams what they’re capable of. But don’t expect the Saints to draft one of them just because they sent a scout to catch one of games. This is just one step in the process. With that said, making some plays and looking the part in live action can do a lot to make a strong first impression.

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2024 NFL draft watch list: Wide receiver prospects for the New Orleans Saints

2024 NFL draft watch list: Wide receiver prospects for the New Orleans Saints to pair with Chris Olave | @DillySanders

The New Orleans Saints drafted Chris Olave in the first round of the NFL draft last year and it worked to great success. Despite that move, many people still consider the Saints to have one of the weaker groups in the league.

The good news is that every receiver class seems to get better than the one before it. That seems to be the case again in 2024, as there are fantastic options no matter where you pick in the first round. With Michael Thomas’ health still looming and Rashid Shaheed still needing to improve as an all around receiver, it might not hurt to add another option.

Here are the names to keep an eye on as the college football season gets started:

2024 NFL draft watch list: Safeties for the New Orleans Saints

2024 NFL draft watch list: Safety could be a long-term concern for the New Orleans Saints | @DillySanders

The New Orleans Saints don’t have an immediate need at safety on their roster, but it is certainly looming. Tyrann Mathieu is aging and Marcus Maye has two years on his contract.

The team did select Jordan Howden in the most recent draft, but they could add some more dynamic players at the position in the upcoming draft cycle. There are a lot of fun ballhawks entering the draft in 2024, which could be intriguing to the Saints if they miss having a Marcus Williams-type player around. With Mathieu aging, they could also be looking at box safeties and more versatile pieces which this class has as well.

Here are the names to keep an eye on at Safety as the season begins to ramp up this week:

2024 NFL draft watch list: Tight ends for the New Orleans Saints

2024 NFL draft watch list: A game-changing tight end prospect for the New Orleans Saints could emerge in the fall | @DillySanders

The tight end room of the New Orleans Saints is not the best it’s ever been, but there is an exciting class of tight ends entering the 2024 NFL draft that could have a bunch of fans drooling.

Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau and even Jimmy Graham are certainly serviceable for an NFL roster but the group’s lacking a real game-changer that some of the league’s best offenses have. A lot of people expected the Saints to draft a tight end last year, but they actually did the opposite and traded one away. It might be time for them to strike in the 2024 draft.

Here are some of the names you need to be sure to remember as the college football season starts to kick off in just a couple of days:

2024 NFL draft watch list: Off-ball linebackers for the New Orleans Saints

2024 NFL draft watch list: Off-ball linebackers could still be a long-term concern for the the New Orleans Saints | @DillySanders

One of the thinnest positions on the New Orleans Saints roster is off-ball linebacker. Demario Davis and Pete Werner are both very good, but after that it is just a bunch of question marks. Add in the fact that Davis is getting up there in age and the team really needs to start looking at the future of the position.

Luckily for them, the linebacker group in this class is stronger than it has been in a while. There are a handful of great athletes that offer both pass rushing and pass coverage abilities. The class lines up with how the Saints like to utilize their linebackers.

Here are a couple of names to keep an eye on at the linebacker spot this season: