Sheesh: here’s a unique mock draft from AL.com’s Mark Inabinnett, who shared his take on what the first round of the 2023 NFL draft just might look like. And he has an earthshaking move in mind for the New Orleans Saints.
It’s draft night. The Saints are on the outside looking in, at first, and then they make a big trade into the top 10 picks, targeting a high-profile prospect out of Texas Tech. But it’s not Patrick Mahomes, like it should have been back in 2017. It’s outside linebacker Tyree Wilson, who projects to line up at defensive end in Marcus Davenport’s spot for New Orleans.
Here’s what Inabinnett had to say about the trade that saw the Saints vault from No. 29 all the way up to No. 6:
An outside linebacker for the Red Raiders, Wilson could turn into a defensive end with an impressive wingspan for the Saints, who send the 29th and 40th picks in this year’s draft plus a 2024 second-round selection to jump ahead 23 slots in the first round. Cameron Jordan isn’t getting any younger.
Wilson does bring very exciting physical tools. At 6-foot-5 and 271 pounds with rare 35.3-inch arms, he doesn’t just fit the athletic prototype the Saints value at the position. He surpasses it. While we know he can move well from his college game tape, he hasn’t yet undergone the standard timing drills. Per doctor’s orders, he’s waiting until a mid-April workout to run and jump in front of NFL scouts after having some “hardware” removed from his foot following a Nov. 2022 surgical procedure.
So he’s a gifted athlete from a Texas school with an injury history and questions about his exact NFL position. He’s even lining up in the same spot that Davenport just vacated, and the Saints had to trade up to get him. You couldn’t script this any better to fit what we’ve seen from New Orleans in recent years.
At least he was somewhat productive in college. Wilson played 1,663 snaps in 35 career games at Texas Tech and, briefly, Texas A&M in 2019 while totaling 121 tackles (including 32 tackles for loss) but just 17 sacks. He broke up one pass, forced one fumble, and had a single fumble recovery. Maybe he’ll be more impactful in the pros.
If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that the Saints didn’t put their 2024 first-round pick on the table. They quite literally can’t afford to bottom out and risk sending a top-five pick to another team again, as was very nearly the case this year. But given the state of their depth chart, you’d have to hope this is a year when Saints general manager Mickey Loomis finally sees the wisdom in trading down and getting more picks rather than moving up and putting all their eggs in one basket.
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