The New Orleans Saints roster has plenty of veterans throughout both sides of the football. This year's NFL Draft is important to plug in youthful talent for Kellen Moore's team.
That task seems to be a bit more difficult than some other years when it comes to options in round one. The Saints hold the ninth overall pick in the first round.
Kellen Moore's first NFL Draft
The first-year, first-time head coach for the Saints will face a tough challenge later next month. The 2025 NFL Draft is an intriguing beast.
Many scouts and people around the league do not see quite the top-end "elite" type of talent at the top of the class. Instead, the top value may actually be somewhere between 20 and 60 when it comes to prospects/picks.
Field Yates explained this sentiment recently for ESPN. Check out what he had to say below.
It's only natural for us to compare each draft class to the past one, and scouts throughout this cycle have weighed in on just how unpredictable the first round is this year. In 2024, we had virtual certainty from the day the order was set that three quarterbacks would get picked early, along with strong confidence that players such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, Joe Alt and JC Latham were locks in the top 10. This year? The stone-cold locks for teams are Cam Ward, Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter. Players such as Mason Graham, Will Campbell, Tyler Warren, Jalon Walkerand Armand Membou are often mentioned but not at the same level as last year's locks. It's a different vibe.
We've talked about it plenty over the past month, but more and more of the top players are not taking part in the totality of pro days and are opting to stand on their tape. That's the nature of the NFL draft these days and not a particular surprise, as we've seen combine participation drop dramatically for the best players. Throw this trend into the category of the evolving draft landscape. -- Field Yates
With this sort of insight, it is even tougher to project the Saints' first-round selection. They hold a top ten pick, but many of the "locks" for an early pick probably won't be available by that point.
Could that mean New Orleans attempt an aggressive trade up? Or could they potentially move down to accumulate capital later in this year's draft and depth selections for next year?
Only time will tell, and that decision will fall on the front office and coaching staff in New Orleans. Kellen Moore has a staunch challenge ahead of him in this year's draft. The pressure is on quickly.
