B
New Orleans Saints
The Saints worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by GBDitka ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 1 steals
· 5 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Saints took Pat Coogan a full 32 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. For all the activity, quarterback went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The Perkins Jr. pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at quarterback. The Miller value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
They paid sticker price for Arvell Reese in Round 1, Pick 9, and that is fine. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Omar Cooper Jr. in the 42nd overall pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Christen Miller at the 73rd pick is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Mike Washington Jr. in pick No. 74 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It fills a real need, too.
Oscar Delp in the Round 4 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose linebacker. Harold Perkins Jr. in pick 132 leaves quarterback for later.
Beau Stephens at the 136th overall pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They paid a round early for Tyler Onyedim in pick 148, more than the board wanted. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Louis Moore at the Round 5 slot is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A minor itch, scratched.
Pat Coogan in slot 172 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They took Ephesians Prysock at par in the 190th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.