Things are finally beginning to wind down for the New Orleans Saints after the 2023 NFL draft. They’ve made all of their picks and reached agreements with a dozen undrafted free agents, which makes for quite an impressive rookie class. So let’s recap the last few days of movement in New Orleans to gauge the haul the Saints have put together.
We’re using two tools: the Industry Consensus Big Board from Pro Football Network’s Arif Hasan; and the Relative Athletic Score, or RAS, from Kent Lee Platte. This gives us a loose idea of where these players slot in among their peers from media rankings as well as athletic standards, though it isn’t a perfect approach — besides the variance and quirks of each reference tool, some draft prospects either didn’t make the cut for the top-300 rankings or didn’t complete athletic testing to earn a score.
Still, it’s a good starting point to work off of as we dig deeper in the newest members of the team. Let’s run through the list:
Round 1, Pick 29: DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson
Relative Athletic Score: 9.61 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 28 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 2, Pick 40: DE Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
Relative Athletic Score: 9.61 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 53 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 3, Pick 71: RB Kendre Miller, TCU
Relative Athletic Score: N/A (Did not work out due to injury)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 110 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 4, Pick 103: OL Nick Saldiveri, Old Dominion
Relative Athletic Score: 9.47 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 121 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 4, Pick 127: QB Jake Haener, Fresno State
Relative Athletic Score: N/A (Did not work out due to injury)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 149 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 5, Pick 146: DB Jordan Howden, Minnesota
Relative Athletic Score: 8.88 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 250 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Round 6, Pick 195: WR A.T. Perry
Relative Athletic Score: 9.62 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 90 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: LB Anfernee Orji, Vanderbilt
Next stop: New Orleans, La.@AnferneeOrji is heading to the @Saints!#AnchorDown | #DoresInTheNFL pic.twitter.com/IRLWF4dyr0
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 9.23 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 240 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: WR Shaq Davis, South Carolina State
Congratulations to our guy @shaqdavis_1 on signing with the New Orleans Saints #BulldogsintheNFL#SoHard#FearTheBite https://t.co/CGpnlQHDCd
— South Carolina State Football (@SCState_Fb) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 7.56 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: TE Joel Wilson, Central Michigan
🏆 Congratulations to @cmu_football's Joel Wilson, who was picked up as a free agent by the @Saints!
Before suffering an injury, Wilson ranked No. 2️⃣nationally among tight ends in receptions and receiving yards!
📰 https://t.co/lN8c085JKI#FireUpChips 🔥🆙🏈 pic.twitter.com/dkUJJmqGF7
— CMU Football (@CMU_Football) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 4.32 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: C Alex Pihlstrom, Illinois
Going to look good in black and gold. #Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy // @apihlstrom45 pic.twitter.com/dmHPwjvpB8
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) April 29, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 9.26 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: LB Nick Anderson, Tulane
.@NickAnderson14_ is staying in the Big Easy! 🌊⚜️#RollWave | @Saints pic.twitter.com/5uvgQQiadf
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 7.41 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: LT Mark Evans II, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝑶𝑳𝑨 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒐 😏
𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝑰𝑰 @EvansII_78 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 @Saints 🏈#𝑾𝒉𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒕𝑼𝑺 pic.twitter.com/HuBwM6oFXW
— 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 🏈 (@UAPBLionsFB) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 3.62 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 292 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: DB Anthony Johnson, Virginia
@aj_ballout Officially a @Saints
1.15.41🕊#UVAStrong | #GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/O7fTbto91i— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 4.87 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: 252 (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: DT Jerron Cage, Ohio State
saints bound ⚜️
congrats @CageJerron, be great❕ pic.twitter.com/kRgikDJ0Zw
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 2.41 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: RB SaRodorick Thompson, Texas Tech
NOLA’s getting a good one‼️
Congrats, @Sarodorick! pic.twitter.com/iER3wXXLgh
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 4.49 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: WR Sy Barnett, Davenport
BREAKING NEWS
Sy Barnett has signed with the @Saints on a UDFA agreement following the NFL Draft! He's the first Panther to sign with an NFL team! Good luck chasing your dream. #DUWork #ProPanther pic.twitter.com/gx65lknMlv
— Davenport Panthers (@DUAthletics) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: 9.44 (Link to full RAS card)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: P Lou Hedley, Miami
The #Saints will sign former Miami P Lou Hedley. pic.twitter.com/ho0bMdl4ZD
— Kicker Update (@kickerupdate) April 30, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: N/A (Did not complete pro day testing)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
Undrafted free agent: K Blake Grupe, Notre Dame
Another Notre Dame man is Big Easy bound.@blakegrupe 🤝 @Saints #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/iVvRKo3c46
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 29, 2023
Relative Athletic Score: N/A (Did not complete pro day testing)
Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A (Link to full PFN ranking)
