There might not necessarily be a consensus player, but there's definitely a consensus need when you survey the mock draft universe on the eve of the 2023 NFL draft.
The position? Honestly, if it addresses the defensive line, it appears to be on the right track. Of the 32 mock drafts surveyed, all culled from NFLMockDraftDatabase.com, 29 had the Saints selected a defensive player in the first round. Of those picks, 15 went defensive end and 10 went defensive tackle.
Simple enough, right? The most common pick was DE Myles Murphy out of Clemson (7 picks), followed by DT Bryan Bresee (4 times) ... also out of Clemson. But four other DTs and DEs were picked at least three times in these mocks.
The only non-defensive player to be selected multiple times in the first round was Florida guard O'Cyrus Torrence, a popular pick to return home. Three cornerbacks were also mocked to the Saints, unsurprising considering it's a team that always seems willing to build on that position. The only offensive skill position player mocked to the Saints was Boston College standout Zay Flowers.
Here's a breakdown of how many times each selection was picked in the first round:
7 - Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
4 - Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
3 - Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
3 - Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE, Northwestern
3 - Calijah Kancey, DT, Pitt
3 - Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan
2 - O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
- Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Miss. State
- Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
- DJ Turner II, CB, Michigan
- Lukas Van Ness, DE, Iowa
- Brian Branch, S, Iowa
- Will McDonald, DE, Iowa State
- Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
Breakdown by position
- DE: 15
- DT: 10
- CB: 3
- G: 2
- WR: 1
- S: 1
- OFFENSE: 3
- DEFENSE: 29
In multi-round mock drafts, things got a bit more intriguing on the offensive side. Here's how the second round broke down in the nine mocks that went at least two rounds:
2 - Steve Avila, G, TCU
2 - Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
- Josh Downs, WR, UNC
- Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
- Byron Young, DL, Alabama
- O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
Eight of those mock drafts also included a third round, here's how it broke down in those:
2 - Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
- Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State
- Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston
- O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
- Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
- Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA
- Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
The NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday. The Saints go in holding picks: 29, 40, 71, 115, 146, 165, 227 and 257.
Scroll below for the rundown of all 32 mock drafts surveyed (multi-round mocks at bottom).
SPORTSKEEDA
- No. 29, Saints: Keion White, Edge, Georgia Tech
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LA TIMES (Sam Farmer)
- No. 29, Saints: Adetomiwa Adebawore, DL, Northwestern
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NFL DOT COM (Bucky Brooks)
- No. 29, Saints: DT Calijah Kancey, Pitt
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NFL DOT COM (Eric Edholm)
- No. 29, Saints: Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan
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CBS SPORTS (Pete Prisco)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson
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CBS SPORTS (Garrett Podell)
- No. 29, Saints: Bryan Bresee, DL, Saints
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CBS SPORTS (Ryan Wilson)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson
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CBS SPORTS (Emory Hunt)
- No. 29, Saints: Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE, Northwestern
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CBS SPORTS (Heath Cummings)
- No. 29, Saints: Pick traded to Seahawks … Hendon Hooker
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CBS SPORTS (R.J. White)
- No. 29, Saints: O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
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CBS SPORTS (Cody Benjamin)
- No. 29, Saints: Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan
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CBS SPORTS (Bryant McFadden)
- No. 29, Saints: Calijah Kancey, DT, Pitt
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AUDACY (Chris Emma)
- No. 29, Saints: Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Mississippi State
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FOX SPORTS (Jason McInture)
- No. 29, Saints: Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
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NY DAILY NEWS (Pat Leonard)
- No. 29, Saints: Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
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PRO FOOTBALL NETWORK (Dalton Miller)
- No. 29, Saints: Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
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USA TODAY (Nate Davis)
- No. 29, Saints: DJ Turner II, CB, Michigan
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NBC SPORTS (Peter King)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
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NBC SPORTS (Kyle Dvorchak)
- No. 29, Saints: Lukas Van Ness, DE, Iowa
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THE SPORTING NEWS (Jacob Camenker)
- No. 29, Saints: Brian Branch, S, Alabama
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THE ACTION NETWORK (Nick Guarisco)
- No. 29, Saints: Adetomiwa Adebawore, DT, Northwestern
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THE DRAFT NETWORK (Jamie Eisner)
- No. 29, Saints: Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
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SPORTSNAUT (Matt Johnson)
- No. 29, Saints: O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
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PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (Sam Monson & Steve Palazzolo)
- No. 29, Saints: Will McDonald, Edge, Iowa State
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MULTI ROUND
DRAFTWIRE (Natalie Miller)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson
- No. 40: Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
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TANKATHON (staff)
- No. 29, Saints: Calijah Kancey, DT, Pitt
- No. 40: BJ Ojulari, DE, LSU
- No. 71: Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State
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AUDACY/WWL (Steve Geller)
- No. 29, Saints: Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan
- No. 40: Steve Avila, G, TCU
- No. 71: Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
AUDACY SPORTS/WWL (Jeff Nowak)
- No. 29, Saints: Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
- No. 40: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
- No. 71: Nathaniel Dell, WR, Houston
- No. 115: Andrew Vorhees, G, USC
- No. 146: Davis Allen, TE, Clemson
- No. 165: Olusegun Oluwatimi, C, Michigan
- No. 227: Tyrus Wheat, Edge, Mississippi State
- No. 257: Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd
*Non-Saints picks simmed by pff
THE 33RD TEAM (Staff)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson
- No. 40: Byron Young, DL, Alabama
- No. 70: O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
- No. 115: Isaiah McGuire, Edge, Michigan
- No. 146: DeWayne McBride, RB, UAB
- No. 165: Elijah Higgins, WR, Stanford
- No. 227: Max Duggan, QB, TCU
- No. 257: Eli Ricks, CB, Alabama
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NFL DOT COM (Chad Reuter)
- No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, Edge, Clemson
- No. 40: Steve Avila, G, TCU
- No. 71: Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
- No. 115: Brandon Hill, S, Pitt
- No. 146: Keondre Coburn, DT, Texas
- No. 165: Jake Haener, QB, Fresno State
- No. 227: Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati
- No. 257: Patrick O’Connell, LB, Montana
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PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS (staff)
- No. 29, Saints: Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson
- No. 40: O’Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida
- No. 71: Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA
- No. 115: Ji’ayir Brown, S, Penn State
- No. 146: Byron Young, DT, Alabama
- No. 165: Jake Haener, QB, Fresno State
- No. 227: Anfernee Orji, LB, Vanderbilt
- No. 257: Habakkuk Baldonado, Edge, Pitt
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WALTER FOOTBALL (Walter Cherepinsky)
- No. 29, Saints: Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
- No. 40: Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
- No. 71: Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M
- No. 115: Aidan O’Connell, QB, Purdue
- No. 146: Jordan Battle, S, Alabama
- No. 165: C.J. Johnson, WR, East Carolina
- No. 227: Deslin Alexandre, DE, Pitt
- No. 257: Ronnie Bell, WR, Michigan
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WALTER FOOTBALL (Charlie Campbell)
No. 29, Saints: Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
No. 40: Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
No. 71: Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
No. 115: Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
No. 146: Cameron Latue, TE, Alabama
No. 165: Garrett Williams, CB, Syracuse
No. 227: Eric Abojei, OT, Wyoming
No. 257: Tre Tucker, WR, Cincinnati
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