Saints Mock Draft 1.0

It is almost draft day for the New Orleans Saints and to celebrate I did a mock draft on Pro Football Network’s mock draft simulator and boy, it was a good one!

Let’s go over each move I made and why and I’m curious to hear y’all thoughts as well!

Round 1 Pick 29- Trade down with the Rams giving them pick 29 and 165 for Pick 36 and 69: I traded down at 29 for two reasons. First off, there was still a ton of good options at on the board and knew only trading down 7 spots I could still find someone I wanted. Secondly, I wanted to acquire extra capital in this draft in particular and you will see why when we get to pick 69. For context the Rams took Nolan Smith with Pick 29 and Chandler Zavala with pick 165

Round 2 Pick 36- Zay Flowers (WR): I mean c'mon y'all what a steal at pick number 36. Arguably the first- or second-best receiver in this class his size could be a reason he falls into the early second, but he would fit perfectly on this Saints team. Would allow MT and Olave to operate on the outside and Zay could play in the slot and give you arguably a top 3 receiver room. Way too good to pass up in this spot.

Round 2 pick 40- Mazi Smith (DT): Arguably the most likely option in this entire mock draft is Mazi Smith to the Saints at 29 or 40. Here I was able to wait until 40 and snag a plug and play DT right away. He is a phenomenal size and athlete for the position and would immediately become the best DT the team has. Whether that says more about the state of the Saints defensive line or not is up to you but, still a massive get at 40 in a massive position of need.

Round 3 Pick 69- Zach Charbonnet (RB): A downright bully ball runner Charbonnet also has the potential to be a every down back if the coaches can take advantage of his frame. At UCLA he was a man and averaged 6.7 yards per carry which was good for 4th in the FBS. He also showed surprisingly decent wiggle with how hard he runs and very good hands and a good catch radius out of the backfield. This draft once again has many talented backs especially in the 2nd to 3rd round range and here we were able to get arguably a top 3 back in this class with potential to eventually replace AK and good enough talent straight away to be the Thunder to AK Lightning.

Round 3 pick 71- Drew Sanders (LB/Edge): Drew Sanders is a former 5 star and top overall player from the state of Texas. He committed to Bama and played sparingly before transferring to Arkansas and immediately standing out, leading the team in tackles, sacks, forced fumbles and tackles for loss. His versatility is why I wanted him to fall to 71 very badly as he can be used as an inside linebacker or a stand-up edge rusher. He has great length and is extremely explosive when finding the ball or rushing the passer. By far the steal of the draft at 71

Round 4 pick 115- Zacch Pickens (DT): Another member to add to the defensive front I went Zacch Pickens here. He is a very quick athlete and uses that quickness and speed well when rushing the passer or stopping the run. While he has a below average frame, he is a quality rotation/future starter piece for the Saints D-Line here.

Round 5 pick 146- Isaiah McGuire(Edge): An edge rusher with a ton upside and great length and immediate third down packages McGuire is a very powerful edge rusher that while he doesn't have a ton of refinement, the tools and gifts are there to become a great pass rusher with good coaching. In the meantime, you can use him as a powerful pressure creator on third down while you develop his run stopping and pass rushing arsenal and technique.

Round 7 Pick 227- Max Duggan(QB): A shot in the dark pick here in the 7th as I took a QB in Duggan who was a bit of a dark horse darling in CFB this year displaying toughness and clutch plays in big games for TCU. His leadership and toughness alone will get him a spot on someone roster to start the year and more than likely a practice squad QB but there is potential there.

Round 7 Pick 257- Marte Mapu(LB): A massive riser from unheard of to most to a guy that has a genuine shot of getting drafted thanks to a great senior bowl the linebacker was simply too good and has too much upside to pass up here at 257. While not great in any one area he is extremely versatile and has shown he can do a bit of everything. While versatility is good the downside is he doesn't quite excel in any one area, but hopefully with the right coaching he finds his niche, and at worst you get an extremely versatile linebacker in the 7th round and the Saints hit their small school quota!

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

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