The 2023 NFL draft has come and gone, with the New Orleans Saints generally being praised for their rookie haul from this season.
Adding Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, Kendre Miller and more makes for an exciting class for both the present and the future of the team. No draft class is perfect, though, as every player and group has ups-and-downs to them. Some times it’s just how the board falls, sometimes the team made a bad decision and sometimes it’s other stuff entirely. As fun as this draft class is, there are still some things that could make you raise an eyebrow.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Saints most recent NFL draft class:
The good
There was a lot to like about the 2023 Saints draft class, but when thinking about the best part it had to be that they did a great job of addressing the defensive line pass rush with good, young talent. The New Orleans Saints finished dead last with a 29% pass rush win rate last season, according to ESPN Stats and Info. Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey will both be key factors in improving that number as rookies.
The bad
While none of the picks were outright awful for most people, the bad would be that there were positions that could have been addressed in the draft that they chose to ignore. Arguments could be made that they needed to address more impactful players for next year at linebacker and tight end rather than adding depth at quarterback and safety when they did. It was highlighted by the trade of Adam Trautman that made the team even thinner at tight end than they already were.
The ugly
This draft class has a potential ugly, in drafting two players with questionable medical history. Bresee and Miller have both suffered knee injuries in their college careers, but luckily with modern medicine it’s not entirely as scary as it used to be. With the history that the Saints have had in the past few years of staying healthy, it still raises eyebrows when pre-existing medical issues are there.
