We’ve got to give credit where it’s due: the New Orleans Saints had a good read on which way the wind was blowing during the 2023 NFL draft, and several times they made moves at the right time to get out in front of some leaguewide trends. It may have been costly (and some experts may disagree with their final pick), but time and again the Saints got their guy before their competition had a chance to snap them up.
It started in the third round, when the Saints picked TCU running back Kendre Miller at No. 71 overall. No other running back had been picked to that point since UCLA star Zach Charbonnet was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 52, midway through the second round. But three more running backs would be taken off the board in Round 3 after the Saints picked Miller: Tulane’s Tyjae Spears at No. 81 (to the Tennessee Titans), Texas A&M’s Devon Achane at No. 84 (to the Miami Dolphins), and Auburn’s Tank Bigsgy at No. 88 (to the Jacksonville Jaguars).
Then the Saints shocked everyone by pulling off a trade before the next day’s picks even got started, vaulting up a dozen spots to get the first pick in Round 4 at No. 103. They used that opportunity to get their top offensive lineman, Old Dominion’s Nick Saldiveri (a college right tackle who is confident he can play anywhere), the first of ten blockers who would be going off the board by No. 122. Six of them were picked by the time the Saints would have made their initial selection at No. 115.
But wait, there’s more. The Saints traded again in the fourth round to get in position at No. 127 — this time targeting Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener. That kicked off a run on passers that continued into Round 5, with seven of them being taken in the next 37 selections (and five by No. 140). The Los Angeles Rams spun their decision to pick Georgia’s Stetson Bennett at No. 128 as him being their favorite quarterback in the class, but nobody’s buying that. He was a consensus seventh-round prospect and it’s blatantly obvious the Saints snaked them to get Haener, sending the Rams into a panic. Maybe.
At any rate, the Saints got their guys. And more often than not they made their picks at the right time. New Orleans catches a lot of heat for trading up so often and valuing picks and prospects differently than the rest of the league, and though it’s too early to say with certainty it sure looks like they made the right call this time.
