The 2024 season was one to forget for the New Orleans Saints, as the team went 5-12, suffering their worst season since 2005. This marked a fourth straight campaign without a playoff appearance and led to the firing of head coach Dennis Allen midseason, which leaves the team looking at a significant rebuild.
The Saints remain in the league’s worst cap situation, currently sitting at $52 million over the cap, meaning that free agency – as usual – isn’t much of an option heading into 2025. Despite this, the team desperately needs young talent as they search for longer-term replacements for veterans such as Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu, and Demario Davis.
Here, we’ll look at a 7-round mock draft that addresses various positions of need across the roster and should help kickstart this Saints rebuild.
Round 1. Tyler Warren: TE, Penn State
With the team’s first pick at number 9, we’re looking at the Saints picking Tyler Warren, a tight end out of Penn State. Drafting a tight end this high in the draft is likely to raise a few eyebrows, but in 2024, Warren was extremely impressive, with 1,451 total yards and 12 touchdowns, winning the John Mackey Award as the top tight end in the country.
Last year’s winner, Brock Bowers, had a sensational rookie year, and Warren has the attributes to follow that up with something similar. He is a superb athlete with extremely quick feet for a 6-foot-6 tight end. With Juwan Johnson a free agent at the end of this year, the Saints have an obvious gap at tight end, which could help re-energize a passing offense in the bottom ten last year.
Warren is the best tight end prospect in the draft and looks like a day one NFL starter, particularly considering his MVP performance against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, which was the highlight of a great year on one of college football’s best teams. This seems like a safe first pick for the Saints in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Round 2. Kenneth Grant: DT, Michigan
With pick no. 40, the Saints should be looking at Kenneth Grant, a defensive tackle out of Michigan. Grant was a national champion as a Wolverine in 2023 and was named Third-Team All-American this year after another stellar season. Grant is a freak athlete, running a sub-5 second forty despite weighing 339 lbs., with former coach Jim Harbaugh calling him a gift from the football gods.
Grant has declared for the draft a year early, and if he is still on the board in round 2, he’d be a great pick for the Saints. Grant has real game-wrecking ability and should add an exciting new dimension to a defense that ranked 3rd last in yardage last season.
If coached correctly, he could be one of the league’s best at the position if his pure, raw athleticism can be fully utilized.
Round 3. TreVeyon Henderson: RB, Ohio State
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Running back TreVeyon Henderson is an exciting prospect who should still be on the board at number 71. Following four successful seasons at Ohio State, where he put up 4,565 scrimmage yards, Henderson enters the draft as an explosive, dynamic back who looks like a constant big-play threat.
Henderson is one of the fastest draft tailbacks and a real threat on the ground and through the air. It’s possible that the Saints could look at him as a complement and then an eventual replacement for Alvin Kamara, who was a third-rounder eight years ago.
The biggest concerns about Henderson center around his injury issues, but a man who’s scored 48 touchdowns and been named All-Big-Ten three times should be exciting for any Saints fan.
Round 3. Jared Ivey: EDGE, Ole Miss (Via Washington)
The Saints will be on the clock again at 93* due to the Marshon Lattimore trade with Washington. Here, they should address the looming departure of franchise legend Cameron Jordan, whose production has declined recently, with just six sacks in the last two seasons.
Ole Miss’s Jared Ivey could fit the bill as an edge rusher. Ivey is a strong tackler who put up 11 tackles for loss last year, contributing towards the nation’s 3rd best scoring defense. Ivey is a strong and versatile edge rusher who could be a replacement for Jordan and the likely departing Chase Young.
Round 4. Charles Grant: OT, William & Mary
With pick 110, Charles Grant out of William & Mary could add depth to the team’s O-Line. While Grant is undersized for the position and went to an FCS school, he still has significant upside as an OT. Grant has been named All-American twice and has shown himself to be a powerful blocker at that level, showing great toughness throughout college.
At just 300 lbs, he will likely be overlooked, which could make him a great value-rounder for a team looking to shore up the O-Line.
Round 4. Lathan Ransom: S, Ohio State (Via Washington)
With the other pick from the Lattimore trade, the Saints should be looking at another Buckeye in safety, Lathan Ransom. Ransom was First Team All-Big Ten on an Ohio State team, which has gone to the National Championship.
Ransom is a physical safety with plenty of speed and promises to be an imposing blitzer at the pro level. If Ransom is still on the board here, he looks like a solid pickup with plenty of upside.
Round 6. Nick Nash: WR, San Jose State
In round six, the Saints should look at taking a punt on converted wide receiver Nick Nash out of San Jose State. Nash is a fascinating prospect who transitioned from QB to WR and ended the 2024 season with 1,382 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns for the Spartans, earning All-American recognition for his efforts.
Whether Nash’s skill set will transfer into the pros remains to be seen, having played in the Mountain West, but he’s shown great adaptability so far and has been impressive as a route runner over the last two years. Don’t be surprised if the Saints look his way in the 6th and try to involve him in the Saints new offense.
Round 7. Jager Burton: OG, Kentucky
Finally, with pick 251, we have Jager Burton, a guard out of Kentucky. Playing in the SEC has given Burton plenty of experience against many of the nation’s top rushers, and he’s acquitted himself well, giving up just one sack in the 2023 season.
Seventh-round picks are, of course, difficult to nail. Still, Burton has shown enough as a blocker at Kentucky and shown versatility across the line, playing at right guard, left guard, and center, making him a decent option for the Saints’ final pick.
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