B-
New Orleans Saints
The Saints did the meat-and-potatoes work well: B-.
by Kenny proctor ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 1 reaches
The weekend has a hole in the middle of it named edge rusher, a need the Saints walked right past. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
The Klein pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. The Klubnik reach is the anchor dragging on the value grade. On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most.
The back end got a real overhaul.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 8 they get a two-high chess piece. Need was not the driver here.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 42 with a little surplus value in Omar Cooper Jr.. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Domonique Orange at par in the 73rd pick, which is nothing to complain about. The roster fit checks out.
They paid a round early for Cade Klubnik in the Round 4 slot, more than the board wanted. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Trey Zuhn III slipping to Round 4, Pick 36 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid sticker price for Charles Demmings in the 150th overall pick, and that is fine. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A slide stopped in slot 172, with Marlin Klein worth more than the price. A need, and now a little less of one.
Aamil Wagner at pick No. 190 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.