Did the New Orleans Saints have a lot of picks in the draft?
As a result of the impressive maneuvering that New Orleans displayed in the 2022 NFL Draft, their options and ability to make moves in the first round of the NFL Draft this year was a bit limited. The Saints traded their first round pick this year, the tenth overall selection, to the Eagles last year as part of a deal that allowed New Orleans to obtain two first round picks in 2022. Normally, this kind of trade would mean that the Saints would be without a selection in Day One of the draft and his year, however, fate or luck, intervened.
With Denver seeking to hire a coach after the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, their head coach for just a single season, the Broncos approached New Orleans about acquiring the contractual rights to Saints’ former coach Sean Payton. Following some negotiations, the two sides agreed to a deal which sent Payton to the Broncos in return for the 2023 29th overall selection as well as a 2024 second-round selection.
While this pick is a far cry from the selection the team would have held in the event they did not make the trade last season, that pick being the tenth overall selection, it did allow the team to, somewhat serendipitously, stay in the first round to address one of their top needs, that being the defensive line.
Who did the Saints pick with their first round draft pick?
With the free agency departure this offseason of Shy Tuttle to divisional rival Carolina, a significant hole along the defensive line was the most pressing need the team had coming into the draft. It was this need that the team filled with the selection of defensive lineman Bryan Bresee – Clemson.
Bresee is a highly-talented player with upside that is off the charts. The drawback for Bresee has always centered on the fact that he has missed significant time with injuries. Having played just 25 games out of the 39 games, less than two-thirds of the possible games, in which he was a member of Clemson, he missed time due to shoulder surgery and a serious kidney injury. Nonetheless, he was consistently a disruptive force in the games he did play. He posted a sack rate and tackle for a loss rate much higher than most defensive linemen in this class. His ability to apply pressure on passing downs should be a welcome addition to a New Orleans defense that had the fourth-fewest quarterback hurries in the league and well into the lower half of the league when it comes to tackles for a loss.
Saints first-rounder Bryan Bresee signs rookie contract https://t.co/LX1EFwjN5V pic.twitter.com/BJ94VNFM7t
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 16, 2023
Who have the New Orleans Saints drafted in the 2nd round of the 2023 draft?
The Saints moved into Day Two of the draft with their most pressing immediate need addressed and proceeded down their needs list systematically, targeting a need that, while not immediate, was certainly pressing, that being an edge rusher that could be seen as an heir apparent to the aging, but consistently dominant, Cameron Jordan or, as a replacement for Carl Ganderson, whose contract is set to expire at the end of this season. In either case, or both cases, a defender needed to be added that could assume a starting role in short order, even as soon as this season should the team decide to part ways with one of the player or if one of the defenders was to become injured during the season. To that end, with the 40th overall selection in the draft, New Orleans selected defensive end Isaiah Foskey – Notre Dame.
Foskey is, quite honestly, a perfect selection for the Saints. In The ORANGE Report, I labeled Foskey the second best 4-3 defensive end in this draft class. With my top ranked 4-3 defensive end, Tyree Wilson – Texas Tech, coming off the board at the seventh overall pick, the value that Foskey represented over a round later is quite impressive. I fully expected him to be a first-round selection so, for him to fall a full nine picks into the second round was, essentially, a gift from the league to New Orleans. Look for Foskey to get some early rotational work as a rookie with him assuming the starting role that either Jordan or Ganderson will likely vacate at the conclusion of this season.
Who did the Saints pick in round 3?
Round Three presented a very different value proposition the Saints as they face the possibility of Alvin Kamara possibly facing a suspension at some point this season due to an altercation, he was a part of following the Pro Bowl in 2022 in which he faces charges of battery. While New Orleans did sign free agent Jamaal Williams this offseason in an effort to help mitigate the possible loss of Kamara, the team felt that an additional, and possibly more dynamic, running back option may be warranted. As such, the Saints selected running back Kendre Miller – TCU with their third-round selection, the 71st overall pick. Miller presents a more elusive option than Williams and also has both better vision and burst than him as well. Williams and Miller could serve as complimentary options at the position should Kamara face any long-term suspension, however, Miller could also serve as a long-term replacement for him as well as, at the end of this season, Kamara is at a point in his contract where the team could save money by opting to move on from him. The amount he is set to be paid increases by over ten million dollars when comparing this season to his paycheck for the 2024 season. As such, Miller may represent a significant way for the team to save money, provided he can produce in a manner even remotely similar to that which Kamara provides.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 01: New Orleans Saints Running Back Alvin Kamara (41) runs with the ball during the second half of the National Football League game between the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles on January 1, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)
On Day Three New Orleans added offensive tackle Nick Saldiveri – Old Dominion (pick 103), quarterback Jake Haener – Fresno State (pick 127), safety Jordan Howden – Minnesota (pick 146), and wide receiver A.T. Perry – Wake Forest (pick 195). This collection is relatively smaller than the Day Three selections of most teams with only four selections ultimately being made. The limited number of picks made by the Saints has the unintended consequence of necessitating that the team have a higher success rate in these selections for them to obtain the kind of value many other teams are able to achieve by making as many picks as they possibly can. While no one tends to get upset with teams if their late round selections fail to pan out, the upside these picks can hold is substantial. Out of the selections that the Saints made, one pick, in particular, stands out for me, that being wide receiver A.T. Perry. Perry was a player that, I felt, could have easily been viewed as a Day Two value. The reason for this revolves around his impressive combination of size, as he stands 6’-4” tall, and his speed, a recorded 40-yard dash time of 4.47 seconds at the NFL Combine, make him a high-intriguing deep threat and red zone target. With Michael Thomas often injured and the Saints often appearing ready to move on from him, Perry could easily be viewed as the next player up, should that time come.
What grade did the Saints get in the draft?
In terms of the value that New Orleans was able to extract from this draft, I must say, I am very impressed. With regard to immediate value, the Saints addressed many of their immediate and pressing needs over the span of the first two days of the draft. I have no issues giving the team a solid A grade for their efforts in this area. Meanwhile, their Day Three selections, while limited in number, do have some nice long-term value to them, especially the Perry selection I just mentioned. Here, too, namely on the strength of that Perry pick, I also feel comfortable giving New Orleans a grade of an A. Overall, a very solid, well-planned and executed draft.
