B-
New Orleans Saints
Larceny in pick No. 225 lands the Saints a B-, McAlister and all.
by Vanderbroski ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 4 steals
· 0 reaches
The Saints did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Eric McAlister fell into the 225th pick.
Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. The dealing tilted against them, just enough to notice.
A competent weekend that does not make headlines and does not need to.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 8 they get a difference-maker at receiver. Exactly the need they had to hit.
They read the board right and Chris Johnson was the payoff at slot 42. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Lee Hunter at pick 56 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the interior defensive lineman. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Justin Joly in No. 132. The roster fit checks out.
They paid sticker price for Harold Perkins Jr. in the Round 4 slot, and that is fine. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
No drama and no debate, Jaeden Roberts went about where he belonged in the 150th overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value with a capital V on Zane Durant in Round 6, Pick 13, a genuine coup. It fills a real need, too.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the 225th pick is the definition of value, full stop. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.