B-
New Orleans Saints
A solid, sensible weekend for the Saints: B-.
by Realistic Mock Draft ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Saints did exactly that with Trey Moore in pick No. 136.
Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. That is a tight end worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
Solid rather than spectacular, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 8th overall pick they get a difference-maker at receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Zachariah Branch in the 42nd pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Treydan Stukes in No. 73, miles early. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Nice patience on Jack Endries, who had no business lasting to slot 132. It fills a real need, too.
Trey Moore in pick No. 136 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Beau Stephens at the Round 5 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A reach on Matt Gulbin in No. 172; the board had better options right there. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Value said wait; Zavion Thomas in pick 190 says they were not listening. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.