The New Orleans Saints head into the 2025 draft with nine picks and a lot of questions to address, but what are the most pressing?
That's the answer we set out to address in the latest edition of Inside Black & Gold. Hear the full breakdown in the player below.
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To get to an answer on this subject, I started with a simple premise: The Saints are set to make a pick, and have identical grades on one player at every position. Who would they be picking?
You'll have to suspend disbelief for a bit here, because of course this scenario is implausible. There will almost always be some kind of differentiating factor between prospects in terms of talent, but ties do happen. In those instances it's typically going to be need that serves as the differentiator, and that's effectively what we're trying to establish here.
The next step is defining need, which is difficult to do. There's immediate need in terms of not having an established starter at a particular position, and then there's long-term need, such as a position where you have a starter but they're not someone you can rely on for multiple seasons. Every situation is going to be a bit different, so you'll have to accept some nuance and evaluate the importance to the team as it currently exists. The concept of need is also going to hit a bit differently for a team like the Saints, one that's shifting into a new head coaching era and simply needs to stack quality players to get the ship back headed in the right direction. That's going to be much different than it was in, say, 2018, for a team that felt like it was a player or two away from a title run.
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It's also important to note that rating a position low in terms of need doesn't mean you won't draft a player at that position, but it'd be about something else. That player would need to have a grade high enough to justify the pick.
With all that in mind let's go about ranking positions in terms of need. I've broken it up into 12 positions, with No. 12 being the position of least need and No. 1 being the most need.
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12. Inside linebacker
Depth chart: Demario Davis; Pete Werner, Anfernee Orji, Jaylan Ford, D'Marco Jackson, Nephi Sewell, Isaiah Stalbird
Why: Generally speaking when you have two entrenched starters, even older veterans, the relative need at that position will be tamped down. The new defense the Saints asks the inside linebacker position to do a bit less, so my focus is elsewhere. I feel good about my two starters, I have a few quality backups and I feel good about the team's ability to develop players here.
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11. Safety
Depth chart: Tyrann Mathieu, Justin Reid, Jordan Howden, J.T. Gray, Millard Bradford
Why: I could probably copy and past a good chunk of what I wrote above and be fine. I don't have any real concern about what I'm getting out of my starters, but I do have a bit more concern about what's behind them. Tyrann Mathieu battled injuries last year and the players that needed to step up often did not. I wouldn't mind seeing an investment at this position in the draft, but the Saints have seemed more than happy to handle this role through free agency.
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10. Nickel corner
Depth chart: Ugo Amadi, Alontae Taylor
Why: This position is a tough one to gauge, because it all depends on how the Saints plan to deploy Alontae Taylor. If they go back to having him in the slot, I feel great about it. If the plan is to keep him on the outside, the need here climbs quickly. We'll have to wit and see.
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9. Tight end
Depth chart: Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Taysom Hill, Jack Stoll, Dallin Holker
Why: There's definitely space for another high upside player in this room, but It's on the bottom half of my needs list for a few reasons. The first is that you paid Juwan Johnson this offseason, so there's got to be a plan to deploy him. The second is that I'm gonna need more blocking out of my second TE, something that's pretty easy to find in the draft. You could always swing for the fences at this position, but the need to force anything just isn't there.
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8. Offensive tackle
Depth chart: Taliese Fuaga, Trevor Penning, Landon Young, Josh Ball, Josiah Ezirim
Why: This might be a little controversial. Trevor Penning is headed into the final year of his rookie deal and I don't expect the Saints to pick up his option. I wouldn't be surprised, though, to see him inked to a more reasonable extension, because I think what he showed last year was enough to make me feel like he can develop into a solid starter. If you land an obvious upgrade in the draft, fantastic, but I feel OK about my tandem right now with Penning and Taliese Fuaga.
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7. Wide receiver
Depth chart: Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks, Cedrick Wilson, Kevin Austin Jr., Bub Means, Mason Tipton, Dante Pettis
Why: I still really like the pairing of Shaheed and Olave, I just can't shake the feeling that there's one more piece missing to bring it all together. Cooks adds a veteran presence and a safety net skillset, but one bigger-bodied possession receiver who you have to account for over the middle of the field would open up things significantly for the other guys. This is an 11 personnel league now, and I just don't think the Saints have the receivers to do it.
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6. Defensive tackle
Depth chart: Bryan Bresee, Nathan Shepherd, Davon Godchaux, Khalen Saunders, John Ridgeway, Khristian Boyd, Ryder Anderson
Why: You could sell me on an argument that this is too low. At this point I'm moreso just a bit murky on the alignments we're going to see, thus it's hard to pinpoint exactly what this group is going to look like. I actually think Bresee's skillset fits the 3-4 defensive end role much better than what he's been asked to do at this point, and Godchaux will be fine as a nose. Figuring out the rest is the biggest question and that'll be the case whether I add a high-profile rookie to the mix or not.
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5. Outside corner
Depth chart: Alontae Taylor, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Isaac Yiadom, Rico Payton, Rezjohn Wright, Tra Fluellen
Why: We've seen in the past the Saints don't feel comfortable with just two starting-caliber outside corners, so I expect them to be aggressive to bring another one in. All we have to do is go back to last season to see how quickly the best laid plans can go away with a few key injuries. The addition of Ike Yiadom should help from a depth perspective, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with another marquee name in the mix. I'm hopeful that Kool-Aid can be a much more consistent presence in Year 2, and Alontae might shift back to the slot in nickel sets.
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4. Running back
Depth chart: Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jordan Mims, Velus Jones
Why: Not unlike cornerback above, I don't feel comfortable at running back when I only have a starter that I'm confident in. That's where the Saints are, with a 30-year-old Alvin Kamara still the only known commodity at a position that has only gotten more important in recent years with how defenses have been limiting passing games. Alvin is at the point in his career where, as good as he continues to be, he needs to be part of a tandem. Kendre just doesn't seem to be that guy, and while I'm hopeful that CEH can recapture some of that LSU magic, I really want to see the Saints dedicate some draft assets to a high-profile name at this position.
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3. Guard/center
Depth chart: Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Dillon Radunz, Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young, Kyle Hergel, Will Clapp
Why: Of all the positions listed here, this is the first where I don't think the Saints necessarily have a starter right now. That's specifically in reference to left guard, but if you only have four OL starters before accounting for injuries, that's a problem. The good news is I feel solid about the other four, and there'll be some competition with guys like Radunz and Saldiveri. I see no excuse for not investing in the interior OL, because elite options at those positions can often be found in the second or third round. It's just a matter of doing it.
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2. Quarterback
Depth chart: Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener, Ben DiNucci, Taysom Hill
Why: As of today Derek Carr remains the Saints starting quarterback, but how much longer will that be the case? One thing is definitely true ... the Saints should be in the quarterback business. When your QB need is this high, whether it's No. 1 or not, you're looking at QBs and need your signal-caller of the future. I don't expect Carr to be the starter in 2024. I expect the Saints to draft a QB. The real question is whether that rookie impresses enough to take the job outright, or Rattler gets a chance to show what he has first.
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1. Edge/outside linebacker
Depth chart: Chase Young, Carl Granderson, Cam Jordan, Isaiah Foskey, Jonah Williams
Why: I chose to be literal in the sense of this list. If you don't have a quarterback the rest doesn't really matter all that much, but I still don't see it as the biggest need. That's because the Saints are shifting defenses, and while I feel like they have some of the pass-rushing pieces they'll want, there's still a gaping hole in the form of a weakside outside linebacker/edge rusher who can get upfield, drop into coverage and chase plays down to the backside. I actually think, not unlike Bresee, this could suit Foskey's abilities a bit better than what he's been asked to do so far, but I still think Staley's defense really needs a player tailormade to his scheme at the NFL level. The first round of this draft is a perfect place to find that.
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