The New Orleans Saints didn't hide their draft plans over the last two days with quotes about building from the inside out and the NFL being a "big boy game."
So it should've come as now surprise that when the Saints turned in their draft card to make a pick at No. 9 overall in the 2025 NFL draft, the name written down was that of Kelvin Banks, the third offensive tackle picked in the first round in the past four drafts.
"Certainly I love the opportunity [to add an OT]," Moore said, speaking after the culmination of the first round. "Again, this is a trenches game. This is a game that’s won up front in a lot of ways."
Moore is fresh off a Super Bowl victory that relied heavily on a bruising offensive line group paving lanes for star running back Saquon Barkley and a dominant rushing attack. With Banks expected to slot in on a line that features 2024 first round pick Taliese Fuaga manning the other tackle spot, the Saints have a pair of elite bookends to build with. They also have a first round pick in RG Cesar Ruiz and a former high second round pick at center in Erik McCoy. The odd man out could be Trevor Penning, another first-round pick who took a step forward while starting 17 games at right tackle last season, but still has a lot of development ahead. He could potentially be an option at left guard, as could Banks.
The Saints are yet to announce where they intend to play Banks, though the player has indicated he'll be happy wherever he's needed to get the best five players on the field.
At the end of the day the strategy is clear and something Moore and GM Mickey Loomis are in lockstep on. Build through the lines with big bodies, then figure out the rest.
"Obviously my background has been around that in a lot of places I’ve been and certainly this place is invested in it and we feel like we can continue to do that and so we feel like we’re building a strength in that offensive line," Moore continued. "We’ve got a ton of really good talent there and we’re really excited about that.”
Banks, a 20-year-old who started for Texas at left tackle over the past three seasons, was the third tackle off the board behind LSU's Will Campbell (No. 4, Patriots) and Missouri's Armand Membou (7, Jets). He profiles as a high-character player who sold the Saints during visits at the scouting combine and Texas' pro day.
Ample starting experience split between the Big 10 and SEC doesn't hurt, either.
“A big part of this process is getting to know them as people and you quickly recognize the value that Kelvin has," Moore said, "seeing him, the reputation he has at Texas, that program just loves this guy, sees him as one of the leaders of that place and you feel like when you’re bringing those types of people in this building, they’re gonna help elevate our organization as well.”
The Saints opted to hold firm as the rest of the first round rolled through, with the Giants and Falcons making splash trades into the back end of the first round. There was significant buzz around the Saints in that regard in terms of a potential trade up for a quarterback. Instead the Saints go into Friday with three picks, and eight total over the final six rounds.
MORE FROM SAINTS HEAD COACH KELLEN MOORE
Did you explore trading up at any point in Round 1?
“Obviously it’s a lot of discussions as you go through this process. Those discussions certainly happened, but we felt good with where we were at.”
Do you know which QB Kelvin Banks will block for?
“We’ll let that process play itself out. Obviously Mickey kind of addressed that on Wednesday so yea, we’ll go through that.”
What's your outlook for Day 2?
“You feel like there’s still some names up there … you’re really fired up to see if we can find a way to get those guys and so it’ll be a really exciting process. We’ll go through it kind of just like we have for the last couple days. We’ll go through a lot of scenarios tomorrow, just playing out a bunch of opportunities that we may have and it’ll be fun to continue to build this thing.”
Were you surprised at how the QB draft picks played out (only 2 in Round 1)?
“No. Obviously I think, you know, Cam is an excellent player. Everyone kind of knew how that one was gonna go down and you figured at some point someone would pop up and take one and we’ll see how the rest of this thing goes.”
