The New Orleans Saints' 2025 draft is in the books, and that means immediate (and way too early) grades for each class.
The Saints landed nine players, including Texas OT Kelvin Banks at No. 9 and Louisville QB Tyler Shough at No. 40. So where do the media pundits feel the Saints landed in their report cards?
The answer: Not particularly high. Here's how grades shook out among the 18 report cards surveyed.
A-: 1
B: 3
B-: 4
C+: 4
C: 4
D+: 2
The good news is the Saints landed 8 grades above the B- line, but they had several below that mark as well, including two in the D range. Low marks highlighted what they saw were reaches early in the draft, while higher grades highlighted the strong Day 3 and picks in the later rounds.
"Reach, reach, reach. That's what I have in my notes for the Saints," wrote ESPN's Mel Kiper. "Too many reaches. I was critical of their first round. I was similarly critical of their second and third rounds. Some of that centered on their QB approach -- I had a much higher grade on Shedeur Sanders than I did Tyler Shough, whom they took at No. 40. But I just didn't love their value throughout."
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The lone A grade in this roundup? That came from Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. Here's what he had to say.
"Shough is the Saints’ first top-two round QB draft pick since 1971," Dunleavy wrote. "He’s 25 years old and ready to play if Derek Carr is out for the season. Banks was a late riser who started from Day 1 at Texas. The Saints might have won rounds three and four."
The 18 picks averaged together lands at roughly 78.4, or a C+/B- range.
Scroll below for a rundown of the rest of the grades and links to each.
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Pro Football Network
Grade: C
Why: "The vision is sound, but the execution is open to questioning. ... If the team commits to [Tyler Shough] season, taking a cautious approach with Derek Carr, then this grade would move closer to a ‘B’, but without clarity to his 2025 role, an older prospect comes with plenty of roster building risk."
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CBS Sports (Pete Prisco)
Grade: C
Why: "First-round offensive linemen Kelvin Banks will help solidify that unit up front and will develop into a good player. I didn't like Shough in the second, but the rest of their draft was solid. Shough has to develop into a starter for this to be a good draft -- and I wonder if he can."
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CBS Sports (Leger Douzable)
Grade: C+
Why: "The Saints got some much-needed help on the offensive line with Kelvin Banks Jr. which will most likely move Taliese Fuaga to right tackle and put Banks at left tackle. The Saints needed a quarterback, especially with the uncertainty of Derek Carr's shoulder, but taking Tyler Shough in the second round when he'll be 26 years old when the season starts is a bit of a head-scratcher. He was only healthy for one year of his college career. I like the value of getting DT Vernon Broughton in the third round, and S Jonas Sanker could be the replacement for Tyrann Mathieu when he moves on."
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CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso)
Grade: B
Why: "Saints entered this draft with a plethora of needs, so it wasn't so much about trying to address them. It was more about selecting quality players. They mostly did that, although the Shough pick at No. 40 overall was remarkably too rich."
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NBC Sports
Grade: C
Why: "I’m a big Kelvin Banks Jr. fan and the future of this offensive line looks promising, but the Saints are betting a lot here on Tyler Shough. That’s clearly a risky proposition as he’s had a plethora of injuries in college, entering a roster that has a very banged up starting quarterback in Derek Carr."
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ESPN (Mel Kiper)
Grade: B-
Why: "Reach, reach, reach. That's what I have in my notes for the Saints. Too many reaches. I was critical of their first round. I was similarly critical of their second and third rounds. Some of that centered on their QB approach -- I had a much higher grade on Shedeur Sanders than I did Tyler Shough, whom they took at No. 40. But I just didn't love their value throughout."
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Fox Sports (Rob Rang)
Grade: B
Why: "I thought the Saints did a nice job of adding quality players in the middle rounds. I'm especially high on their fourth-round selections of linebacker Danny Stutsman and cornerback Quincy Riley, who led all DBs in this class with 15 interceptions at the college level."
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PFF
Grade: C+
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Associated Press (Rob Maaddi)
Grade: C+
Why: "Versatile OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (9) fills a need. Passed up Shedeur Sanders and made Tyler Shough (40) the third QB selected earlier than projected. DL Vernon Broughton (71) and S Jonas Sanker (93) were solid additions. RB Devin Neal (184) stands out among the Day 3 picks."
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Fantasy Pros (Andrew Erickson)
Grade: D+
Why: "This team should have just rolled into the season with Spencer Rattler in a full rebuild, instead of messing around with a second-round quarterback, Tyler Shough. The track record of QBs hitting his range is almost non-existent. And I think they should have just taken Shedeur Sanders instead, especially knowing he would be available on Day 3."
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SB Nation
Grade: C+
Why: "This was the closest to throwing darts at a board without drafting Jaxson Dart. If there’s a vision in New Orleans I don’t see it. Kelvin Banks Jr. was a massive overdraft for a guy who might not be able to make it as an NFL offensive tackle. There’s a real chance he’ll need to be kicked inside, in which case the Saints would have been better taking a guard. Tyler Shough as the third QB off the board is a choice. He’s old, he’s been hurt — and it felt like the Saints just took a caretaker QB with a 2nd round pick when they needed so much more."
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USA Today (Nate Davis)
Grade: B
Why: "There’s a reason underrated GM Mickey Loomis has been on the job for a quarter century. Good chance he just about perfectly married value to need with his first three selections, who might all be starters in 2025: First-round OT Kelvin Banks Jr., second-round QB Tyler Shough and third-round DL Vernon Broughton. Third-round S Jonas Sanker and fourth-round LB Danny Stutsman could find themselves in prominent roles – and making an impact – soon enough."
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Sports Illustrated
Grade: C
Why: "It’s hard to knock a team for taking a tackle in the first round, but the Saints reached for Banks, who might be better suited as a guard. Perhaps trading down would have been the best approach, or drafting the best available defender at No. 9. New Orleans also took a risk by taking Shough in the second round. He’s a pro-ready quarterback who could step in right away in case the team parts with Derek Carr. But Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe were both still available and would have offered more upside. New Orleans probably should have prioritized adding youth to an older defense, now knowing that Sanders and Milroe were on the board after the second round."
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New York Post (Ryan Dunleavy)
Grade: A-
Why: "Shough is the Saints’ first top-two round QB draft pick since 1971. He’s 25 years old and ready to play if Derek Carr is out for the season. Banks was a late riser who started from Day 1 at Texas. The Saints might have won rounds three and four.'
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Bleacher Report (Kristopher Knox)
Grade: D+
Why: "Unfortunately, the Saints didn't do the best job of maximizing value early in the draft, and it's fair to wonder if taking Shough over quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe was a massive mistake."
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NFL Dot Com (Chad Reuter)
Grade: B-
Why: "The Saints needed to find an offensive lineman and quarterback in the first two days. Banks wasn't always considered a top-10 talent through the pre-draft process and Shough has missed time with injuries, but both players have a chance to be good NFL starters. Broughton and Sanker bolstered depth on defense but there might have been better options on the board at their respective positions."
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The Ringer (Danny Kelly)
Grade: B-
Why: The Saints bolstered a big position of need in grabbing Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, adding a bookend opposite last year’s first-rounder Taliese Fuaga. That should help New Orleans lay the foundation for a new-look offensive line. I like that the team didn’t panic at the quarterback position, too, waiting until the second round to grab Louisville’s Tyler Shough."
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Athlon Sports (Luke Easterling)
Grade: B-
Why: "Taking QB Tyler Shough over Shedeur Sanders will be scrutinized for years to come, and the former's age and injury history makes it a questionable pick at best. He was a fourth-round grade on my board. After that, New Orleans rattled off four straight picks that addressed every level of their defense, getting tone-setters in DL Vernon Broughton, S Jonas Sanker and LB Danny Stutsman before landing one of the biggest steals in the entire draft with fourth-round CB Quincy Riley."