B
New Orleans Saints
The Saints let Styles fall and pounced. Final grade: B.
by Hutchens84 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
Thirty-one other rooms let Sonny Styles slide, and the Saints were the ones holding the card at the 42nd pick. Highway robbery. No fireworks, but a solid B.
They punted on offensive lineman, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. The cost of the Moss reach is exactly the players who went right after him.
On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the offensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 8 they get a disruptor off the edge, though they paid up to get him. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Somehow Sonny Styles was still sitting there in the Round 2 slot, and they pounced on premier linebacker value. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Value with a capital V on Zachariah Branch in the 73rd pick, a genuine coup. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Chris McClellan at the 132nd overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They robbed the room for Julian Neal here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Mikail Kamara in slot 150 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They read the board right and Drew Allar was the payoff at pick No. 172. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A premium they did not need to pay, Le'Veon Moss a notch or two before his time. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.