With the end of the NFL season nearing, plenty of teams are already eliminated from playoff contention and are looking forward to draft season.
One of those teams is the New Orleans Saints, who are in a tricky situation right now. After years of structuring the team in an “all-in”-esque mentality, they fired head coach Dennis Allen and are now set to finish with a top-ten pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
There’s no easy way out of their current hole, and it’s hard to see their future direction. They still have plenty of pieces to be competitive, but it feels like they need a full-on rebuild to right the ship. This 2025 NFL Draft will tell us plenty about how they feel regarding the future of their roster.
New Orleans Saints 7-Round Mock Draft
Round 1, Pick 10: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
While the Saints are still on the hook for Derek Carr’s contract, they might as well continue to invest in building out the rest of the offense around him. Chris Olave is a superstar when he’s healthy and Rashid Shaheed is one of the fastest players in the league, but they need another playmaker on the outside to maximize their offense.
Tetairoa McMillan is my highest-graded wide receiver prospect in this class. There will be plenty said about his “lack of separation” but I think those narratives are well and truly overblown. He’s a ready-made NFL X wide receiver who can move around the formation.
Round 2, Pick 42: LT Overton, EDGE, Alabama
The Saints’ pass rush has tanked this season. With Cam Jordan getting older and older, the rest of the room has yet to pick up the slack. New Orleans sits 28th in pressure rate and 25th in sack rate. To make matters worse, Chase Young, Payton Turner, and Tanoh Kpassagnon are all pending free agents, and the Saints will need to make cap sacrifices somewhere.
New Orleans has consistently targeted these massive defensive ends who can play all three downs under general manager Mickey Loomis. While it’s not clear what their philosophy will look like under a new head coach, I doubt that preference will end.
LT Overton fits that to a T with his 290-pound frame. What’s surprising is the bend that Overton offers despite his size. He’s incredibly raw, but his tools are jaw-dropping.
Round 3, Pick 74: Jalen Rivers, OL, Miami (FL)
The buzz around Jalen Rivers has picked up steam here recently, to the point where I’ve heard him begin to draw top-100 (and maybe even higher) grades after the year. He’s a mammoth of a man with terrific movement skills and play strength.
For the Saints, I think he could be a plug-and-play replacement for Andrus Peat at left guard as a rookie.
Round 3, Pick 87: Mason Taylor, TE, LSU
With Juwan Johnson set to hit free agency and the Saints’ unfortunate cap space situation, New Orleans might not be able to keep him around. If so, they’ll have to find a cheaper replacement.
Taylor has a case as the best tight end in LSU history, as he ranks among the top in Tigers’ history in every receiving category. He’s one of the top pass catchers in this class regardless of position.
Round 4, Pick 111: Cobee Bryant, CB, Kansas
The Saints’ trade of Marshon Lattimore caps their ceiling in the cornerback room, but the trio of Kool-Aid McKinstry, Paulson Adebo, and Alontae Taylor is a quality young trio.
However, Adebo suffered a season-ending injury in October. Even worse, he’s headed for free agency. With his long-term status with the team in question, better to nab quality depth to replace him just in case. Cobee Bryant is an electrifying playmaker who fits the Saints’ mold at cornerback.
Round 4, Pick 123: Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tec
Alvin Kamara will finish his career as a Saint, but the rest of that running back room is altogether uninspiring. That room needs a splash of talent added to it to take some of the burden off of Kamara next year.
Round 6, Pick 186: Jay Toia, DT, UCLA
The Saints’ run defense has been abysmal this season and it starts with the interior of their defensive line. While one pick won’t solve that problem, this one would be a step in the right direction.
Jay Toia’s name is flying under the radar right now, but he has some superb play strength and pad level, making him one of the top run defenders in this class.
Round 7, Pick 245: Fadil Diggs, EDGE, Syracuse
With the Saints set to lose multiple pass rushers to free agency and Cameron Jordan getting closer and closer to retirement, it’s never a bad idea to add depth to their pass rush.
Diggs is another long defensive end at 6’5, 261 pounds who projects to be a subpackage rusher at the next level.
Round 7, Pick 250: Nash Jones, OL, Texas State
The Saints have four offensive linemen set to depart the team in free agency, with all of them forming critical depth pieces. It’s pretty unlikely that the Saints will keep all of those guys, so replenishing that depth is a must.
Nash Jones is an underrated player in this class who has played all over the offensive line in his career. He’s played over 3,500 snaps in his collegiate career, lining up at left tackle, right tackle, and guard in his five years as a starter.