D+
New Orleans Saints
The Saints fought the board and lost. D+.
by PATRICK305 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 3 steals
· 5 reaches
There is reaching, and then there is Keeshawn Silver at Round 6, Pick 9. The Saints jumped the board by 247 and dared it to prove them wrong. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D+.
On value alone, Nussmeier makes the weekend a net positive. The offensive lineman spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. On the needs board they went 5 of 8, with edge rusher the one that mattered most.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, offensive lineman very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In slot 8 they get a green-dot type in the middle, though the board says they badly overpaid. More want than need.
They will replay Mansoor Delane at pick 42 for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
A wild overpay on Patrick Payton in the 73rd overall pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a wide receiver like Brenen Thompson reach the 132nd pick and blink. They did not. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Aaron Anderson at pick No. 136, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Garrett Nussmeier in Round 5, Pick 10 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Aidan Hubbard in the 172nd pick, miles early. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Keeshawn Silver at the Round 6 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The roster fit checks out.