A vocal part of the New Orleans Saints fanbase is ready for the team to draft a new quarterback, preferably one who loves the team, and the city, and who wants to be here. Word on the pro day circuit is that they love Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, the presumptive first overall pick in this year’s draft. And Ward appears to love them back. While receiving the Manning Award from the last quarterback the Saints drafted in the first round, way back in 1968, Ward accepted the trophy from Archie Manning and spoke about how great of a dream-come-true it would be to play for a team he grew up rooting for.
And that’ll win a lot of fans over. It would buy Kellen Moore some job security, too, giving him a young franchise quarterback to develop and build around once Derek Carr has shuffled offstage. But what would it take to make it happen? How could the Saints move up from No. 9 to No. 1? We know it would be costly, but what’s the price tag say? If you have to ask, can you really afford it? Here’s a seven-round Saints mock draft answering that question.
Saints copy a division rival’s homework in trade for No. 1 pick
This trade actually happened just a few years ago — the Carolina Panthers packaged several picks with a young player due for an extension to move up and get their quarterback, even if they may have picked the wrong guy by taking Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud. So we modeled an offer off of what Carolina dealt to the Chicago Bears in a scenario for the Saints trading up with the Tennessee Titans. Here’s how it went down.
Titans get: 2025 first round pick (No. 9), 2025 third round pick (No. 71), 2025 fourth round pick (No. 112), 2026 first round pick, 2027 second round pick, and WR Chris Olave
Saints get: 2025 first round pick (No. 1), 2025 sixth round pick (No. 188)
That’s quite a haul. It’s only slightly different from what the Panthers paid back in 2023, having sent a late second rounder (No. 61) the Saints don’t have, so the swap of fourth- and sixth-round picks matches equivalent value between Nos. 61 and 71. Instead of packaging the same future selections with their first and second rounders (like Carolina did), the Saints would be sending their first-, third-, and fourth-round picks while getting a sixth back. But what about the player included?
D.J. Moore was a former first-round wide receiver, like Olave, but arguably a better pro. At the time of the trade he had played twice as many games as Olave has so far (80 vs. 39) and already had 5,000-plus career receiving yards as well as 20-plus touchdowns. To be fair, Moore was five years into his career compared to Olave’s three. If you bring it down to per-game averages, Moore paced 4.6 catches and 65 yards each week while Olave has been putting up 4.9 receptions for 65.8 yards. That’s very close and suggests this would be fair value based off deals that have been agreed to before.
Trading Olave would be a disappointing end to his Saints tenure especially given how shaky a situation the team is in at wideout. But Rashid Shaheed has arguably surpassed Olave as the team’s leading receiver. They just signed Brandin Cooks (their own former first-round pick, once upon a time) who has a very similar skill set and could be a short-term Band-Aid. If the Saints aren’t planning to pay Olave big money on a long-term deal given his history of concussions, just like they once did with Cooks? We can’t rule this out.
Trade to Round 1, Pick 1: QB Cam Ward, Miami
Cam Ward loves the Saints, and in at least this scenario, the Saints love him back. They loved him so much to trade up for him. Ward worked hard to rise up the college ranks from Incarnate Word to Washington State to the U, where his talented throwing arm, uncanny sense of anticipation, and boundless self-confidence made him a rallying point for his teammates. And he’s still getting better. The Saints have brought a lot of former quarterbacks and experienced coaches to their staff and it’s easy to see them working to help Ward develop into the best version of himself. Is he worth this kind of investment? Time will tell, but that deal is done. The clock is ticking on Derek Carr and sooner or later it’ll be Ward starting under center. At least as far as this mock draft is concerned.
So where do we go from here? Which picks do we have left to work with? Let’s keep going.
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 2, Pick 40
- Round 3, Pick 93
- Round 4, Pick 131
- Round 6, Pick 184
- Round 6, Pick 188
- Round 7, Pick 248
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Round 2, Pick 40: WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Obviously we needed a receiver after dealing Olave, and as luck would have it two of the top players on our board were both pass-catchers: Jayden Higgins (Iowa State) and Elic Ayomanor (Stanford). They’re both big-body prototypes who can line up at the split end and make physical catches, who move well and clear the Saints’ athletic thresholds, but Ayomanor is slightly smaller and didn’t put up as impressive numbers; on the other hand, he’s a dominant blocker and that means a lot for an offense planning to run the football. This time we went with Higgins. He can get open against NFL cornerbacks and beat them at the catch point. Bub Means is both the tallest and heaviest receiver the Saints have at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. Higgins is 6-foot-4 and was listed at 217, though he shed a couple pounds preparing for the combine.
Other guys we considered here: East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. (the Saints’ first top-30 visit), Alabama guard Tyler Booker (who some consider the safest pick in the draft), and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (a skilled ballhawk who is fearless in run defense). But receiver was clearly the biggest need and the players available made it an easy choice.
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 3, Pick 93
- Round 4, Pick 131
- Round 6, Pick 184
- Round 6, Pick 188
- Round 7, Pick 248
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Trade to Round 3, Pick 67: RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
We went back to the Saints’ own history in coming up with this trade, wanting to jump to the front of the line in Round 3 and take advantage of the deep class at running back. This offense needs more weapons and there were several prospects available. After packing one of our seventh rounders (No. 248) with next year’s second-round pick — just like the Saints did when they traded up for Alvin Kamara himself back in 2017 — we were able to get back on the board early in Round 3 through a deal with the Cleveland Browns, who need to stack picks of their own while bracing for their split with Deshaun Watson.
So the offensive injection continues with Henderson, who had 32 carries go for 10 or more yards last season. As a team, the Saints had 48 of them, with Alvin Kamara accounting for 25 of those and fellow running backs Kendre Miller (6), Jamaal Williams (3), and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (1) combining for 10. Henderson is on the smaller side at 5-foot-10 and 202 pounds but he’s played heavier without sacrificing speed. He can split carries with Alvin Kamara, make the most of them, and add an explosive element that the offense has been missing. But we’re probably done trading next year’s draft picks. Right?
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 3, Pick 93
- Round 4, Pick 131
- Round 6, Pick 184
- Round 6, Pick 188
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Round 3, Pick 93: DL Vernon Broughton, Texas
One reason the Saints may be willing to make these bold trades for Cam Ward? They have an abundance of picks after last year’s Marshon Lattimore trade, and they can still add some high-impact rookies after cutting that deal. Still, even Mickey Loomis has to have a limit for how much of the future he’s willing to mortgage, right? We stood put until this pick late in Round 3.
And we got a really good football player in doing so. Broughton won’t fit everyone’s preferences given his unique body type — at 6-foot-5 with 35-inch arms and a 311-pound weigh-in, he’d be an outstanding left tackle — but Brandon Staley’s defense will fit him like a glove. He was arguably the most consistent player on the Longhorns’ defense last season and made huge strides as a pass rusher. He’ll play right away when the Saints use their 3-4 front and shut down multiple gaps next to Davon Godchaux. In the long-term, we see him as a starter next to Bryan Bresee. The Saints have an inside track on him after hiring one of his coaches, Terry Joseph, as their new defensive pass game coordinator.
Who else did we look at? The options at running back had us second-guessing the decision to trade up for Henderson earlier. Guys like RJ Harvey (UCF) and Devin Neal (Kansas) were still on the board and could be good adds here. But the other top-ranked player available was Broughton’s teammate Andrew Mukuba, who Joseph worked with more closely at free safety. Like Tyrann Mathieu, he’s undersized at 186 pounds, and that’ll turn some teams off. But he’s a playmaker. The Saints just might go with him in this scenario but Broughouton should get on the field sooner in New Orleans.
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 4, Pick 131
- Round 6, Pick 184
- Round 6, Pick 188
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Trade to Round 4, Pick : CB Nohl Williams, California
We weren’t going to wait much longer to address the secondary, particularly at cornerback, where Williams could earn a real role as a rookie. So we packaged one of the sixth rounders (No. 188, which we just got from Tennessee a few days earlier) to upgrade our fourth-round choice from No. 131 to No. 115. Williams is a ballhawk who started most of the last three years with the Golden Bears. His time in the 40-yard dash wasn’t great (4.5 seconds flat) but he’s built well at 6-foot-0 and 199 pounds. His 30 3/4-inch arms will take him off some boards but his seven interceptions last year will boost him up others.
So will the fight he shows in run defense. Between the physicality he plays the game with and the ball skills he surprised a lot of quarterbacks with, he’ll earn opportunities quickly. Williams can contribute immediately on special teams while climbing the depth chart at cornerback. After losing Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo in the last few months, the Saints could use him.
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 6, Pick 184
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Round 6, Pick 184: OL Jonah Monheim, USC
Playing it safe from here on out. Sort of. Monheim played his best football at center in 2024 but previously started games at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard with the Trojans. Ironically, the one spot he’s never played (but where the Saints may need him most) is left guard. He’s got to get stronger and struggles to stave off long-armed opponents, but he’s a good communicator and moves really well out in space. We saw how badly the Saints need a better backup plan at center last year when they went 1-9 with Erik McCoy out of the lineup. Bringing back Will Clapp helps a little, but Monheim can be more of an investment for this coaching staff to work on as a backup center and potential starter at left guard.
Remaining draft picks:
- Round 7, Pick 254
- 2026 draft: Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Round 7, Pick 254: S Robert McDaniel, Jackson State
Sitting out the rest of Round 6 and almost all of Round 7 wasn’t fun, but it was worth the wait. McDaniel has everything you look for: above-average athleticism (his 8.60 Relative Athletic Score clears whatever metrics the Saints are using) and size (he weighed in at 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds), plus impressive playmaking ability. He had 10 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, 3 interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles last season. He’s an asset in run defense and can hang with NFL receivers in coverage. He does his best work closer to the line of scrimmage but it’s worth seeing whether he can thrive in the same “star” role Brandon Staley has made for similar talents before. The Saints have already shown heavy interest in McDaniel so he’s obviously on their radar.
Recapping our draft
- Round 1, Pick 1 (trade): QB Cam Ward, Miami
- Round 2, Pick 40: WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
- Round 3, Pick 67 (trade): RB TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
- Round 3, Pick 93: DL Vernon Broughton, Texas
- Round 4, Pick 115 (trade): CB Nohl Williams, California
- Round 6, Pick 184: OL Jonah Monheim, USC
- Round 7, Pick 254: S Robert McDaniel, Jackson State
The Saints could get really aggressive and make an offer the Titans can’t refuse in exchange for the first overall pick, which would allow them to get Cam Ward and spell out even more clearly that Derek Carr’s days in New Orleans are numbered. They could do that and still have enough picks left in this draft to add difference-makers who can help the team compete this year and set Ward up for success. But is it really, truly, the best course of action?
That’s debatable. Sacrificing so many assets in these trades is on-brand for Mickey Loomis, but it left us in some tight spots. We weren’t able to address major needs like cornerback and left guard until the draft’s third day. The defense isn’t faster or much younger than what we saw last year. Nobody here is challenging Juwan Johnson for reps at tight end. The depth at offensive tackle is still a concern. Some of those fires can be put out after the 2025 draft, sure, but many of them will flare up again next year.
And after all this trading, we’re left without many picks to work with. Expectations just got higher for Kellen Moore and his coaching staff after we punted on three of our four picks in the first two rounds over the next two years. Here are the Saints’ remaining draft picks in future years after this mock draft:
- 2026 draft: Rounds 3, 4, 5, and 6 (plus a projected compensatory pick in Round 4)
- 2027 draft: Rounds 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
- 2028 draft: Round 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Good luck to Kellen Moore, but that’s what it costs to get his quarterback. At least if the deals NFL teams have agreed to with each other are any indication. He would be getting Ward but he’d be losing out on Chris Olave as a foundational piece of his offense, and he wouldn’t have a full draft class to work with until his fourth year on the job, if he’s still around. It’s a big gamble. It might be a bigger gamble than even Mickey Loomis has an appetite for, and that may be for the best. We’ll see.
