The New Orleans Saints had massive contributions from their rookie class throughout the 2025 season, and that group can now claim a new title.
The Saints scouting staff was announced Wednesday as the winner of the 2025 "Best Draft" award, an honor handed out annually by Inside the League. The Saints and the NFL's other 31 teams are currently in Indianapolis for the league's annual scouting combine.
Saints assistant GM and Scouting Director Jeff Ireland was on hand to accept the award along with members of his staff.
The other finalists for the award were the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. The Saints were also the winner of the inaugural edition of the award for their 2017 class.
The Saints' class was distinguished by a potential franchise quarterback in Tyler Shough and a rookie left tackle who started all 17 games. They also got starting work out of three other players in CB Quincy Riley, S Jonas Sanker and RB Devin Neal.
Here's a reminder of the whole class:
- 9. Kelvin Banks, OT (Texas)
- 40. Tyler Shough, QB (Louisville)
- 71. Vernon Broughton, DT (Texas)
- 93. Jonas Sanker, S (Virginia)
- 112. Danny Stutsman, LB (Oklahoma)
- 184. Devin Neal, RB (Kansas)
- 248. Moliki Matavao, TE (UCLA)
- 254. Fadil Diggs, DE (Syracuse)
Shough took over as the starter in Week 9 and led the Saints to a 6-11 finish after a 1-7 start. His run included a four-game winning streak and a pair of 300-yard passing games while setting virtually all rookie passing records for the franchise.
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The Saints' rookie class was previously named by ESPN as the "most productive" in the 2025 season, and there's still room to grow. Third round pick Vernon Broughton remains a wild card after suffering a season-ending injury in a Week 2 matchup against the 49ers. Diggs also saw action early in the season with Chase Young out with injury, while Matavao was signed to the roster late in the year with mounting injuries at tight end. Both players spent a bulk of the year on the practice squad.
The infusion of young talent has the Saints appearing to have a positive trajectory after five consecutive postseason misses. The challenge will be to double down on that draft success this April, with the Saints owning eight total picks, including No. overall.