Everyone knows the big names in the 2023 NFL draft: the first-round prospects who get fans excited and who draw swarms of scouts and coaches to their pro day workouts. But the New Orleans Saints have done well in the later rounds of the draft, and it’s important to identify players they could be looking at in rounds four, five, six, and seven — as well as undrafted free agency. They always seem to find some diamonds in the rough.
So who qualifies as a sleeper? Draft coverage is so oversaturated these days that even casual fans can recognize dozens of names, and some dedicated draftniks even have their own top-100 rankings (with the real sickos among them ranking hundreds of prospects).
To help thin out the herd, we’re only considering prospects who were ranked outside the top 150 at both NFL Mock Draft Database and Pro Football Network’s industry consensus big board. That gives us an opportunity to highlight some undersung players who should be available on Day 3 of this year’s event. These aren’t going to be perfect prospects, or even players who can step into a big role right away. The goal is to find guys with enough traits that can give them a shot at making the roster as a backup or on special teams, buying them time to develop into better pros.
Here are six underrated prospects we could see the Saints targeting on the draft’s third day:
DE Viliami Fehoko, San Jose State
PFN rank: 234
MDDB rank: 177
Average: 205.5 (Round 6)
“Junior” Fehoko hits the average athletic standards the Saints like at defensive end in nearly every category, weighing in at 6-foot-4 and 276 pounds with 33-inch arms. His 7.32-second time in the three-cone drill and 4.77-second time in the 40-yard dash are right on target with the numbers the Saints have valued. And he was wildly productive in college with 173 pressures and 113 defensive stops in his Spartans career, per Pro Football Focus. He was officially credited with 47 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, 12 pass breakups, and 5 forced fumbles (2 recoveries) in 45 games in the Mountain West.
OL Jaxson Kirkland, Washington
PFN rank: 156
MDDB rank: 186
Average: 171 (Round 5)
Kirkland sure looks the part of a Saints offensive lineman: he tips the scales at 6-foot-7 and 321 pounds, with 33.5-inch arms. He also brings positional versatility with experience at left tackle, left guard, and right guard across his 3,300 career snaps — and he would have played even more if not for some frustrating injuries. The Saints could be looking to move on from either Andrus Peat or Cesar Ruiz this time next year, so getting someone like Kirkland into the building to back them up as a rookie and compete for one of those jobs in 2024 would make a lot of sense. Kirkland’s experience at tackle is an asset but he might be best deployed at guard.
CB Cory Trice Jr., Purdue
PFN rank: 214
MDDB rank: 213
Average: 213.5 (Round 6)
Trice has already been linked to the Saints, and for good reason: he’s an ideal athletic fit at 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds, with 32.3-inch arms and top marks in his jumps and agility drills. He also timed the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds which is a good time for someone his size and validates the playmaking ability he showed last season with 9 pass breakups (and 2 interceptions) in 13 games. The Saints already run pretty deep at corner with Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, Paulson Adebo, and Bradley Roby on the depth chart, but they tend to draft a cornerback every year anyway, and Trice would make sense on the draft’s third day.
OL McClendon Curtis, Chattanooga
PFN rank: 160
MDDB rank: 230
Average: 195 (Round 6)
Curtis played right guard for most of his college career before getting nearly 500 snaps at left tackle in 2022, and he’s built for life outside at an impressive 6-foot-5, 324 pounds with 35-inch arms. Like Kirkland, he could provide some depth at both spots, though it’s unlikely he gets into many games when Ryan Ramczyk, James Hurst, Trevor Penning, and Landon Young are all healthy. Penning’s injury woes as a rookie could make an investment in someone like Curtis worthwhile as a project in the later rounds.
LB Anfernee Orji, Vanderbilt
PFN rank: 248
MDDB rank: 262
Average: 255 (Round 7)
It’s another undersized linebacker class, but Orji comes closest to what the Saints look for physically after weighing in at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds with 32-inch arms. His testing results actually clock in very similarly to D’Marco Jackson who the Saints picked in the fifth round a year ago. They need more depth at linebacker and Orji offers that as someone who can fly around the field, with 21 career tackles for loss. But he needs to play with greater control after missing 50 tackles in 38 games, and opponents picked on him in coverage — PFF charting found he allowed 77 of the 91 passes thrown into his coverage to be completed.
TE Brenton Strange, Penn State
PFN rank: 196
MDDB rank: 177
Average: 186.5 (Round 6)
Strange has a ton of blocking experience at Penn State, which is what the Saints are looking for to bump Adam Trautman down the depth chart and keep Juwan Johnson focused on his responsibilities as a receiving threat. But he’s got untapped receiving ability of his own. Strange averaged a healthy 6.4 yards gained after the catch per reception and converted 38 first downs on just 70 career catches. He also forced 7 missed tackles and went 5-of-8 on contested targets last season. He’s only dropped 5 passes on 93 career targets. He’s more explosive than Trautman and brings better straight-line athleticism with a strong resume as a blocker. It’s easy to see him growing into a larger role over the next year or two.
