C
New Orleans Saints
The Saints did enough to get by: C.
by Reheheheheh ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The Saints looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Emmett Johnson at Round 1, Pick 8 regardless, 96 picks early. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C.
They punted on edge rusher, and it is the miss that keeps the grade honest. That is a cornerback worth more than the slot they spent on him, plainly.
The skill positions did well by the weekend.
So much rides on Emmett Johnson that the real verdict is a season or two away.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 8th overall pick they get a workhorse for the backfield, a steep price for the projection. A clean fit for the roster.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Connor Lew in slot 42, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Zachariah Branch was the payoff at Round 3, Pick 9. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Julian Neal at pick 132 is the proof. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Gracen Halton slipping to pick No. 136 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A quiet steal in the 150th pick: CJ Daniels for less than the market said. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Tanner Koziol slid further than he should have, and the 172nd overall pick is lovely value for the tight end. It fills a real need, too.
Value with a capital V on Seth McGowan in Round 6, Pick 9, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.