Saints draft position after Week 8

The New Orleans Saints have extended their losing streak to six games, and even with Derek Carr returning, it will be an uphill battle from here on out. With last week’s loss to the Chargers, the Saints are still projected to select at pick 6 of the NFL Draft.

In the game against the Chargers, many of the same issues that have been present in this losing streak were evident. The Saints’ run defense looked a bit better but is still nowhere near good enough to deal with the NFL running attack. The pass defense is slowly falling apart due to injuries, and there is a real chance the DB room looks a lot different after this season. On offense, the offensive line again did not look great, and Spencer Rattler struggled.

The Prospects

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Obviously, the Saints season has not gone well, and it won’t be that surprising if some veteran players are traded at the deadline or after this year. One of these players that could be out of the door is star cornerback Marshon Lattimore. If he is traded and Paulson Adebo walks in free agency, which is likely, then the Saints cornerback room will be down to two starters. That would skyrocket the need for another corner in the offseason, and at pick 6, Will Johnson out of Michigan would be a great selection. Since his freshman year, Johnson has been a standout of the Wolverines defense and is the best pure corner in the country. He has the impressive ability to read whatever the opposing QB is planning to do and jump the route for an interception. This season, Johnson has been dealing with an injury, but in the first six games of the season, he intercepted two passes, and both went for touchdowns. At 6-foot-2, 200 lbs., he is the ideal size for an NFL corner. Johnson plays lockdown man coverage, and when looking at some of the plays he can make, it is not crazy to say his game is very similar to Marshon Lattimore coming out of college. If the Saints stay at pick 6, this selection makes sense, but as I said, it should really only happen if both Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo are gone after this season. On the Saints, Will Johnson would complement the games of Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid Mckinstry. All three of these players could be put out wide or in the slot, which would bring a lot of flexibility in the corner room. Also, because of Johnson’s size, he could finally be the Saints’ answer to dealing with TEs.

Another position that I really have not mentioned so far this season is QB. The current QB class is not a strength of the 2025 Draft and that is mainly due to the lack of top-end talent at the position. Each QB prospect has potential and talent, but they also have flaws of their game that a top prospect in the draft would not have. The interesting thing about the next draft is that there will be a lot of QB-needy teams, which means some of the prospects will be drafted higher than they should be. Potentially, if the Saints fall in love with one of these prospects and Derek Carr leaves after this season, they could be one of these teams. So, who could be that QB in this scenario? Cam Ward, out of Miami, has an extreme amount of talent that could easily make him the best QB in this class. His ability to improvise on plays and escape the pocket is similar to the play of many great QBs in the NFL. Despite his ability to escape, Ward is pass first and has great arm talent. As I mentioned, each QB prospect has some flaws in their game. The Miami offense is not pro-style, so Ward must learn how to play in the NFL. Although Ward has shown improvement in decision making and accuracy, he still makes some bad decisions when faced with pressure, and his accuracy on deep passes can be worrying. The last issue is that Ward is a fumble machine and has struggled with holding onto the ball in the pocket. The good news is these are all fixable issues, but could the Saints do it? If the Saints select Cam Ward, a few things will need to happen. Ward must sit on the bench for a year to learn. This could be behind Spencer Rattler or Derek Carr, but it needs to happen so he can understand how the NFL works and develop more. There would also need to be a change in the coaching staff. This could be a defensive head coach with Kubiak/Janocko in charge of developing the QB or an offensive head coach who fell in love with Ward’s game throughout the draft process. Although I am not a fan of drafting a QB at 6, Cam Ward could be a great selection if the Saints do their due diligence in development.

Saints Week 9 rooting interests for the #1 pick

Jaguars win against the Eagles
Jets win against Texans

Titans or Patriots win (they play each other)
Panthers win against the Saints (I will not be rooting for this to happen)