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Saints reopen Ohio State pipeline in way-too-early 2025 mock draft

The Saints reopened their Ohio State pipeline in this way-too-early 2025 mock draft, but would they really pass on every first-round QB to do it?

It’s too early to seriously predict which players might be picked in the 2025 NFL draft, but the event draws interest year-round and speculation won’t slow down just because we’re in a quiet stretch on the calendar.

The latest way-too-soon 2025 mock draft comes from Curt Popejoy over at Draft Wire. While the New Orleans Saints have a solid position at No. 9 (which would be the payoff for struggling through a hard-to-watch season with fewer wins than losses), in this projection New Orleans passed on every quarterback in the draft. The first passer, Georgia’s Carson Beck, wasn’t drafted until No. 16.

For all the talk about next year’s class being better (which is a popular draft narrative every year, whether it’s true or not) there’s a real possibility the Saints could be stuck with mediocrity under center. If the Saints are bad enough to be picking this high, it’s because Derek Carr is playing poorly enough to be replaced.

Instead of drafting Beck or any other quarterback to replace Derek Carr, the Saints started this mock draft by spending the ninth overall pick on his Georgia teammate: left tackle Earnest Greene III. That pick is easy to understand. New Orleans has struggled to get much out of Trevor Penning after drafting him in 2022’s first round, and he’s now moving to right tackle while their 2024 first rounder, Taliese Fuaga, is being asked to play on the left side. If Penning is a total bust and Fuaga has to move back to his college position, it makes sense to draft a true left tackle to man that spot. Maybe the vision is for Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener to push Carr for the starting gig in 2025.

While that first-round pick makes plenty of sense, it’s easier to get excited about the Saints’ haul in Round 2. They selected Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson at No. 41 overall, making him the sixth running back to be picked in the first two rounds. That would be a huge shift after just one running back was drafted in that range this year.

Henderson has been a big-play threat at Ohio State, scoring 32 touchdown runs while picking up 10 or more yards on 71 of his 445 career rushing attempts. He’s averaged an impressive 6.2 yards per carry with the Buckeyes. There’s a real possibility that Alvin Kamara won’t be on the team next year (between his contract status and ) so the Saints could be on the lookout for a new lead running back. That’s the vision for Kendre Miller but he needs to prove he can handle that kind of workload after injuries interrupted his rookie year. Either way, someone like Henderson could be on their radar in 2025.

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The Athletic gives Saints’ draft class thus far a rare Grade A

The Athletic gives the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 draft class thus far a rare Grade A. Can they keep it up on Day 3?

The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner and Scott Dochterman took on the tough task of grading every pick all 32 NFL teams made in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL draft, and their early reviews are very positive for the New Orleans Saints.

Which is very encouraging to hear, seeing as the Saints have only made two picks so far. They need to get the most out of first-round right tackle Taliese Fuaga and second-round cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, so this is at least a good start. Here’s what Baumgardner wrote of Fuaga’s fit at No. 14:

The rush on quarterbacks really helped out a lot of teams in the back half of Round 1. It helped the Saints here, in a big way. Fuaga was a top-two tackle on some NFL boards, top-three on several more. And there wasn’t a team in the league more in need of tackle help than the Saints, who just landed a road grader.

Fuaga (6-5, 324) was dominant at times on the Beavers’ right side last season, as arguably the best run blocker in the country. This is a culture pick as much as anything else, too — Fuaga will help improve the team’s overall toughness up front. Great value for the Saints in the middle of the first round.

Grade: A

Here’s why Dochterman says the Saints earned such a high grade after trading up for McKinstry in Round 2:

New Orleans picked up a first-round talent, at its biggest position of need, in the second round. A fluid, versatile defensive back, McKinstry started 33 games at Alabama over three seasons. He intercepted just two career passes but defended 25 others and netted five tackles for loss. McKinstry (5-11, 199) ran a 4.47 40 at his pro day, and his 10-yard split of 1.44 seconds is considered elite.

Grade: A

For context on how rare this is, just two teams received an A-grade in each of the first two rounds: the Saints, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and Los Angeles Chargers. While the Saints and Lions didn’t have a third-round pick, the Steelers, Chargers, and Giants did, and they each continued to receive an A. The Eagles came up just short with a B-plus for picking Houston Christian’s Jalyx Hunt late in Round 3.

So out of 32 teams only six earned A’s in the first two rounds. Of those six, three kept it going into the third round. That’s some tough grading but the Saints are on the right side of it. Let’s see if they can sustain it with more smart pickups on the third and final day of the 2024 draft.

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Report: Saints calling teams to trade up in Round 1 of 2024 draft

NFL Media draft expert Daniel Jeremiah reports that the Saints are calling teams about trading up in Round 1 of the 2024 draft:

Are we in for another Mickey Loomis special? NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah shared a big piece of information in his final 2024 mock draft, which he had previously only alluded to on social media.

“The Saints have been calling teams to try to trade up, and I assume they want one of the top offensive tackles,” Jeremiah wrote, predicting the Saints will ultimately stay put and select Washington Huskies left tackle Troy Fautanu. He continued, “I’m not sure how they have the OTs stacked on their board, but I do feel highly confident that New Orleans will be taking a bookend blocker in Round 1.”

Jeremiah has been on the Saints’ case for a while; he previously tweeted that he couldn’t find a team with a bigger need in this draft class than the Saints have at offensive tackle, later adding that everything he’s hearing from sources around the league is that teams are working the phones to move up in trades for their favorite offensive tackles.

Which leads us to two different conclusions. The reasonable takeaway would be that the Saints are such an obvious fit for a first-round offensive tackle that other teams are working to move ahead of them, in case the blocker they like most is in New Orleans’ sights. If a team rates, say, Alabama’s JC Latham highest but fears the Saints will pick him, they’ll be calling now to try and leapfrog New Orleans.

Now the other conclusion: it’s the Saints themselves who are trying to get out in front. That’s backed up by what Jeremiah is reporting in his final mock draft, and it’s reasonable to think Loomis would work the phones upon hearing how other teams are trying to move ahead of him. It’s clear that the Saints desperately need a bookend tackle (two, really; Trevor Penning hasn’t earned anyone’s trust on the left side).

If Loomis sees a path towards getting this year’s best blocker, he’s going to act aggressively and pursue it. He has the rare job security to justify it. If the pick busts like Penning or Marcus Davenport, he’s confident he’ll be safe. He’s gotten away with these bad gambles before and he’ll try them again, sooner or later. Maybe he tries it as soon as Thursday night. It just seems ill-advised when this is such a deep draft class at offensive tackle. The Saints could probably stay put and still get a starting-quality blocker (like Fautanu), or else a difference-maker at another position. We’ll see how it plays out soon enough.

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2024 NFL mock draft roundup: Experts split on what Saints do at No. 14

The New Orleans Saints are selecting in the middle of the first round for the 2024 NFL draft, slotted in at No. 14. With a lot of variables in the draft, it’s hard to know who will be on the board when they get on the clock. That is reflected in most mock drafts as there is not a lot of consensus on who the Saints will select, outside of a couple repeat names.

We’ve rounded up the latest 2024 NFL mock drafts, where experts are mixed on what the Saints should do with the No. 14 overall selection. Here’s who those in the know like for New Orleans going into Senior Bowl week:

College Football Playoff All-Time Team Results

Who will be the next team to be added to the list of CFP invitees?

Monday night wraps up the 2022 college football season as the College Football Playoff championship game takes place between reigning champion Georgia and Cinderella story, TCU. Can Georgia become the first team in the College Football Playoff era to repeat as national champions?

Some teams have come close but nobody has won it all two years in a row since the current system went into place starting with the 2014 season. As we’re just hours from the ninth CFP drawing to an end, why not look back at the first nine years of this system and see how all invitees have fared all-time.

Saints invest in the trenches in 5-round 2024 mock draft

The Saints made the trenches a priority in this five-round 2024 mock draft, starting off strong with Florida State sack artist Jared Verse:

It’s a rainy Saturday in November with tons of 2024 NFL draft prospects competing in their college matchups, so we’ll take a spin on the Pro Football Focus mock draft simulator to try and find some help for the New Orleans Saints.

Obviously it’s too soon to seriously guess about their team needs when we’re only midway through the current regular season (with a busy free agency period on the horizon), but it’s worth keeping tabs on who is impressing college football fans and NFL scouts ahead of the next draft cycle.

With that in mind, here are our picks through five rounds with analysis for each selection:

Saints invest top picks on defense in updated 2024 mock draft

Mock Draft Monday: The Saints invested their top picks on defense in these updated 2024 projections, but do they really need another corner?

It’s another week and another Monday, so it’s time to review another mock draft. The latest projections from Curt Popejoy at Draft Wire have the New Orleans Saints investing their top 2024 NFL draft picks on defenders — but do they really need another cornerback?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Popejoy’s mock draft starts strong with the Saints landing Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton. “Johnny” Newton would be a dynamic playmaker to pair with Bryan Bresee in the middle of the New Orleans interior line; he’s the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in college football and has the athleticism to line up all over the formation.

NFL teams may question Newton’s length by pro standards (he’s listed at 6-foot-2 with 32-inch arms) but he weighs in at 295 pounds and has enough proven production to outweigh those concerns. The Saints should draft him if they can. Malcolm Roach could be leaving in free agency in the spring and their two veteran pickups this offseason, Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders, haven’t fully met expectations on top of the depth chart.

So what about that second-round pick coming back to the Saints from the Denver Broncos? Popejoy made a curious selection here in linking New Orleans to Iowa State cornerback T.J. Tampa. Now, Tampa is a fine player, making full use of his physical tools to break up a lot of passes — Pro Football Focus charting found he has forced 19 incompletions in two years as a starter, and counting. If anything, he’s a little taller than the Saints usually prefer at 6-foot-2.

But what would a boundary cornerback add to the Saints defense next season? Marshon Lattimore is still in his prime, and though Paulson Adebo will be entering a contract year the team already has Alontae Taylor coming along well. They’ve developed other competent backups like Isaac Yiadom, so spending a top-40 pick on a corner wouldn’t be the best use of resources. It’s arguably the strongest position group on their team. Tampa would be a luxury they can’t really afford given protection issues along the offensive line and poor quarterback performance.

So who could be better options in the second round? Here are the next five players to go off the board in this mock draft:

WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
WR Johnny Wilson, Florida State
LT Jordan Morgan, Arizona
DT Kris Jenkins, Michigan
DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State

We’ve got a long way to go until the 2024 draft kicks off. The Saints are only halfway through their season, and they’re always more active in free agency while working to address team needs before the draft anyway. If they can’t reach the postseason, it’s worth asking whether they’ll have the decision-makers in the building we expect. Dennis Allen’s job should be on the line if he can’t get the Saints into the playoffs, and that’s far more important than any draft picks waiting to be made six months from now.

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Saints did a great job reading the draft board, making moves to get their guys

The Saints caught some heat for trading up so often, but they did a great job reading the draft board to make moves and go get their guys:

We’ve got to give credit where it’s due: the New Orleans Saints had a good read on which way the wind was blowing during the 2023 NFL draft, and several times they made moves at the right time to get out in front of some leaguewide trends. It may have been costly (and some experts may disagree with their final pick), but time and again the Saints got their guy before their competition had a chance to snap them up.

It started in the third round, when the Saints picked TCU running back Kendre Miller at No. 71 overall. No other running back had been picked to that point since UCLA star Zach Charbonnet was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 52, midway through the second round. But three more running backs would be taken off the board in Round 3 after the Saints picked Miller: Tulane’s Tyjae Spears at No. 81 (to the Tennessee Titans), Texas A&M’s Devon Achane at No. 84 (to the Miami Dolphins), and Auburn’s Tank Bigsgy at No. 88 (to the Jacksonville Jaguars).

Then the Saints shocked everyone by pulling off a trade before the next day’s picks even got started, vaulting up a dozen spots to get the first pick in Round 4 at No. 103. They used that opportunity to get their top offensive lineman, Old Dominion’s Nick Saldiveri (a college right tackle who is confident he can play anywhere), the first of ten blockers who would be going off the board by No. 122. Six of them were picked by the time the Saints would have made their initial selection at No. 115.

But wait, there’s more. The Saints traded again in the fourth round to get in position at No. 127 — this time targeting Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener. That kicked off a run on passers that continued into Round 5, with seven of them being taken in the next 37 selections (and five by No. 140). The Los Angeles Rams spun their decision to pick Georgia’s Stetson Bennett at No. 128 as him being their favorite quarterback in the class, but nobody’s buying that. He was a consensus seventh-round prospect and it’s blatantly obvious the Saints snaked them to get Haener, sending the Rams into a panic. Maybe.

At any rate, the Saints got their guys. And more often than not they made their picks at the right time. New Orleans catches a lot of heat for trading up so often and valuing picks and prospects differently than the rest of the league, and though it’s too early to say with certainty it sure looks like they made the right call this time.

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Touchdown Wire grades New Orleans Saints 2023 draft class with a solid B

Touchdown Wire grades the New Orleans Saints 2023 draft class with a solid B, having addressed their top needs with highly productive college talent:

However you feel about the New Orleans Saints’ 2023 draft class, they came away with players who were highly productive players and (in many cases) team captains and high-level athletes at some of their top positions of need.

So how does that translate to an overall draft grade? Here’s a take on the Saints draft class from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, who graded them with a solid B. He likes what the Saints accomplished across the board:

The Saints lost a lot of talent along their defensive line in free agency, and they addressed that with authority in this draft. If Bryan Bresee can stay healthy, he’ll be one of the best interior disruptors in this entire draft class. He’s a natural one-gap penetrator, and you can line him up everywhere from nose shade to edge. I liked Isaiah Foskey’s tape more than some people I’ve talked to, and head coach Dennis Allen won’t have any trouble taking Foskey’s 12 sacks and 33 total pressures from last season and extracting that kind of production in his concepts.

The steal of this group is Wake Forest receiver A.T. Perry, who I thought would go in the second day. Perhaps the Demon Deacons’ offense is tough for NFL people to project (I would understand that), but Perry caught 81 passes for 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. I’m not sure how much “projecting” you need to do there. And the Saints can have Fresno State Alumni Day every day with Derek Carr and Jake Haener, who is a quality developmental quarterback.

Sure, the Saints did some things that won’t sit right with everyone. They traded up a few times and may have reached on some prospects higher than the consensus opinion suggests they should have been picked. But at the end of the day, if the Saints got players who can help this team win football games, no one will even remember what was given up to acquire them.

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Grading every Patriots pick in 2023 NFL draft

How did the Patriots fare in the draft?

The NFL had one of the more unpredictable draft weekends in recent memory with a plethora of trades and players falling or going earlier than expected.

The New England Patriots had their own unique draft when they took 12 players. They usually only select around nine on average. So this came as a shock when many around the league expected them to trade up and get aggressive.

Now that we have had some time to reflect and are in UDFA mode, let’s review each pick and hand out some grades.