The 2023 NFL draft has drawn to a close, which means it’s time for analysts like ESPN’s Mel Kiper to issue report cards. Now, draft grades are ultimately worthless, sure, but it’s a useful exercise for recapping the draft class and getting an idea of what’s expected for each player on their new team.
And Kiper likes a lot of what the New Orleans Saints were able to do, though he criticized them for what he sees as reaching on some prospects he didn’t rate as highly as others. And he still hasn’t gotten over the decision to trade this year’s first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022, which, to be fair, was nearly a catastrophic mistake. Kiper’s takeaways in grading the 2023 Saints draft class a B-minus:
