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Everyone has an opinion on what the New Orleans Saints should do to get better in the 2025 NFL draft -- and it's a safe bet that there are a ton of different opinions inside the Saints' building, too. And some analysts are better at gauging the team's needs and how they could best address them than others. Others fall short.
No shade to ESPN's Field Yates, but the mock draft he put together would almost be a worst-case scenario for the Saints. Fans have seen these moves happen and flame out before. Yates put in the work to predict the first two rounds of picks, but his choices for the Saints would be a hard sell.
To begin with, Yates has the Saints drafting an athletic defensive end who didn't produce in college at the ninth overall pick. Here's his case for Texas A&M product Shemar Stewart:
"I've said this about Stewart throughout the predraft process: The general manager who uses a high pick on him will need a lot of cachet. Stewart is a risky pick with exactly 1.5 sacks in each of his three collegiate seasons. Mickey Loomis fits that GM bill perfectly, though, and the Saints haven't been afraid of taking toolsy pass rushers in the first round in the past (including Payton Turner in 2021 and Marcus Davenport in 2018). This would be the ultimate big swing given Stewart's upside at the position. I see acceleration and power when I watch him play."
That isn't very compelling. Yates pointing to previous busts like Turner and Davenport as reasons for the Saints to roll the dice again on Stewart, rather than cautionary tales to learn from, is worrisome. The Saints have swung and missed on this archetype of player before. Stewart might develop into a star but that isn't a bet the Saints ought to be making. It doesn't matter if he has all the talent in the world if he can't use it to make plays. A total of 4.5 sacks and a dozen tackles for loss in 37 career games just isn't worth a first round pick.
Yates' next pick, at No. 40 overall in Round 2, was much better. He likes them to draft Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins, who would bring a lot to the receivers room:
"The Saints need a receiver who brings more size and speed to the table than their current corps, and Higgins has plenty of both. He's 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, traits that helped him to 1,183 yards and nine scores last season."
Like Stewart, Higgins has sky-high athletic potential. Where they split is that Higgins shows he knows how to use it. He can run past defensive backs or box them out at the catch point when they do match his stride. Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Brandin Cooks all weigh in at or under 6-foot-0 and about 190 pounds. Getting the significantly-taller Higgins into the mix would go a long way towards opening up the offense.
But now we've gone off the rails. Yates has the Saints trading up into Round 2 for a quarterback: Ohio State Buckeyes signal-caller Will Howard. Here's why Yates argues the Saints should send a fourth-round choice (No. 112, which Yates mistakenly said was a fifth rounder the Saints don't own) to the Washington Commanders so they can move up from No. 71 to No. 61:
"Derek Carr's contract restructure means he will stick in New Orleans for at least one more season, but nothing is guaranteed beyond that. Spencer Rattler flashed in his rookie season, but he's no sure thing as a 2024 fifth-rounder. Howard, though, is accurate and mobile. He threw 35 touchdown passes last season, and he ran for seven more scores."
Howard was solid last season, but why trade up for him? Who is going to pick him between Nos. 61 and 71? Yates doesn't have another quarterback going off the board in Round 2 after this, and of the teams picking before the Saints in Round 3, the New York Giants already got their quarterback (Shedeur Sanders at No. 3), as did the Cleveland Browns (Tyler Shough at No. 33), while the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New England Patriots don't need one. The Las Vegas Raiders traded their pick to Kansas City in this scenario. Howard probably falls to the Saints here.
Besides that, there are other comparable talents still available in Yates' mock. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was still on the board at this point. So was Alabama star Jalen Milroe. If the Saints like Howard so much more than them and feel a need to trade up for him, fine, but it's hardly a consensus that he's so much better than his peers. And this is a little beside the point, but trading No. 112 just to move up ten spots a round sooner is a bad overpay.
Unfortunately, this mock draft feels very on-brand for the Saints. Overdrafting a raw athlete in the first round and making an unnecessary trade in the second frame is right in their wheelhouse. We've seen them make these errors before and Mickey Loomis could very well do it again. Hopefully they've done a better job learning from their mistakes than we're giving them credit for. The Saints won't get out of the mess they've made for themselves without making better decisions on draft day.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: ESPN's new mock draft is full of familiar mistakes for Saints fans
Continue reading...
No shade to ESPN's Field Yates, but the mock draft he put together would almost be a worst-case scenario for the Saints. Fans have seen these moves happen and flame out before. Yates put in the work to predict the first two rounds of picks, but his choices for the Saints would be a hard sell.
To begin with, Yates has the Saints drafting an athletic defensive end who didn't produce in college at the ninth overall pick. Here's his case for Texas A&M product Shemar Stewart:
"I've said this about Stewart throughout the predraft process: The general manager who uses a high pick on him will need a lot of cachet. Stewart is a risky pick with exactly 1.5 sacks in each of his three collegiate seasons. Mickey Loomis fits that GM bill perfectly, though, and the Saints haven't been afraid of taking toolsy pass rushers in the first round in the past (including Payton Turner in 2021 and Marcus Davenport in 2018). This would be the ultimate big swing given Stewart's upside at the position. I see acceleration and power when I watch him play."
That isn't very compelling. Yates pointing to previous busts like Turner and Davenport as reasons for the Saints to roll the dice again on Stewart, rather than cautionary tales to learn from, is worrisome. The Saints have swung and missed on this archetype of player before. Stewart might develop into a star but that isn't a bet the Saints ought to be making. It doesn't matter if he has all the talent in the world if he can't use it to make plays. A total of 4.5 sacks and a dozen tackles for loss in 37 career games just isn't worth a first round pick.
Yates' next pick, at No. 40 overall in Round 2, was much better. He likes them to draft Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins, who would bring a lot to the receivers room:
"The Saints need a receiver who brings more size and speed to the table than their current corps, and Higgins has plenty of both. He's 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash at the combine, traits that helped him to 1,183 yards and nine scores last season."
Like Stewart, Higgins has sky-high athletic potential. Where they split is that Higgins shows he knows how to use it. He can run past defensive backs or box them out at the catch point when they do match his stride. Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and Brandin Cooks all weigh in at or under 6-foot-0 and about 190 pounds. Getting the significantly-taller Higgins into the mix would go a long way towards opening up the offense.
But now we've gone off the rails. Yates has the Saints trading up into Round 2 for a quarterback: Ohio State Buckeyes signal-caller Will Howard. Here's why Yates argues the Saints should send a fourth-round choice (No. 112, which Yates mistakenly said was a fifth rounder the Saints don't own) to the Washington Commanders so they can move up from No. 71 to No. 61:
"Derek Carr's contract restructure means he will stick in New Orleans for at least one more season, but nothing is guaranteed beyond that. Spencer Rattler flashed in his rookie season, but he's no sure thing as a 2024 fifth-rounder. Howard, though, is accurate and mobile. He threw 35 touchdown passes last season, and he ran for seven more scores."
Howard was solid last season, but why trade up for him? Who is going to pick him between Nos. 61 and 71? Yates doesn't have another quarterback going off the board in Round 2 after this, and of the teams picking before the Saints in Round 3, the New York Giants already got their quarterback (Shedeur Sanders at No. 3), as did the Cleveland Browns (Tyler Shough at No. 33), while the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New England Patriots don't need one. The Las Vegas Raiders traded their pick to Kansas City in this scenario. Howard probably falls to the Saints here.
Besides that, there are other comparable talents still available in Yates' mock. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was still on the board at this point. So was Alabama star Jalen Milroe. If the Saints like Howard so much more than them and feel a need to trade up for him, fine, but it's hardly a consensus that he's so much better than his peers. And this is a little beside the point, but trading No. 112 just to move up ten spots a round sooner is a bad overpay.
Unfortunately, this mock draft feels very on-brand for the Saints. Overdrafting a raw athlete in the first round and making an unnecessary trade in the second frame is right in their wheelhouse. We've seen them make these errors before and Mickey Loomis could very well do it again. Hopefully they've done a better job learning from their mistakes than we're giving them credit for. The Saints won't get out of the mess they've made for themselves without making better decisions on draft day.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: ESPN's new mock draft is full of familiar mistakes for Saints fans
Continue reading...
