The New Orleans Saints already have 68 players under contract for the 2020 season, but only 53 of them will be kept around for opening day. Just like we’ve seen in past years, this roster is too deep and talented for every rookie draft pick to stick, so it’s important that the Saints make calculated moves to target players who have a shorter path to contributing than taking scratch-off lottery tickets on a bunch of long shots.
In last week’s seven-round mock draft, we took a more conservative approach and traded back a few times, garnering extra picks to help maneuver the draft board. This time, however, we tried out the mock draft simulator from Pro Football Network, which allows you to trade 2021 draft picks as well as selections in this year’s event.
The Saints are one of the NFL’s most aggressive outfits in the draft, having traded up at some point in each year of Sean Payton’s tenure (except in 2006, during his first days on the job, and in 2012, when he was suspended), and it’s important that we reflect that by having the ability to deal out future picks.
They’re always wheeling and dealing, giving up next year’s draft picks to make immediate upgrades. Fans and analysts may hate the gamble of giving up future assets, but until the NFL draft is abolished altogether or the heat death of the universe (whichever comes first), the Saints won’t have a piper to pay. There will always be future picks to trade.
So with all that said: move on to the next page to find out how we added several impact players in this seven-round mock draft, and which picks are left to work with another day.
Round 1
With nine picks off the board and a few trades already made between other teams (the Miami Dolphins jumped up to No. 3, selecting Tua Tagovailoa, and the Las Vegas Raiders moved up to No. 8 for Justin Herbert), our top-rated wide receiver was still available ahead at No. 10. The Cleveland Browns owned that pick, and weren’t a threat to pick him with so much receiving talent of their own. But the New York Jets lurked at No. 11 and should very much be in play for CeeDee Lamb. Just two Jets pass-catchers drew more than 90 targets last year: Jamison Crowder and Robby Anderson (now with the Carolina Panthers).
In reality, the Saints will probably trust in the depth of this draft class at receiver and wait to see who is available. But we aren’t here to make realistic choices, this is a mock draft simulating Bold Moves. So we called up the Browns and offered this year’s first-round pick, as well as our 2021 picks in the first and third rounds. That allowed us to move up from No. 24 to No. 10.
That’s a lot to give up, but Lamb is worth it. He’s the best receiver in a draft loaded with great prospects, owing to the clarity he plays with before and after the catch. Few players track the ball in flight as well as he does, working his way back to underthrown passes while climbing the ladder to compete for overthrown or contested targets. Lamb also has a great comprehension of where defenders will move in relation to him, allowing him to set up poor pursuit angles and create more yards after the catch. Those qualities combine for a fluid athlete who looks and plays faster than his measured timing in combine drills.
Giving Drew Brees a three-deep receiving corps of Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Lamb would be an embarrassment of riches. Add in still-developing depth pieces like Deonte Harris and Tre’Quan Smith behind them and you’ve got one loaded depth chart, before you even consider other weapons like running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook. Even if Lamb only catches, say, 50 passes as a rookie, having him available to open up the entire field in critical situations could be enough to get the Saints over the postseason hurdles that have thwarted them.
For the curious: in this mock draft, the best available receivers still around at No. 24 were Jalen Reagor (our 33rd rated prospect) and Michael Pittman Jr. (37th). Not trading up for Lamb would have meant reaching on a second-round value at receiver. Other players we hoped to consider like linebackers Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen had also been snatched up. That left Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson and Utah State quarterback Jordan Love as the best players available, and neither of them could expect to see the field as often as Lamb in their rookie year with the Saints.
The pick: WR CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
Round 2
Remember, we traded next year’s third-round pick in the package that netted Lamb. The Saints are projected to receive a compensatory third-rounder in 2021 so giving up that future asset was easier to agree to. We were also able to hold onto this year’s third-round pick at No. 88. With a few top-40 graded talents still available around the middle of the second round, we started making calls to move up, targeting a small cloud of prospects led by Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson and Michigan linebacker Joshua Uche.
By the time we found a team willing to agree to our terms (the Pittsburgh Steelers, swapping their second- and fourth-round picks at Nos. 49 and No. 135 for our third- and fourth-round picks at No. 88 and No. 130, as well as next year’s second-round pick), only Uche was still available out of the cloud’s top tier. But we’ll take him because he’s an ideal fit for what we’re looking for, even if he’s still developing into a full-time player.
Uche racked up 15.5 sacks in his last two years at Michigan, starting in his senior year after having been buried on their depth chart (much like Alvin Kamara was limited to a backup role at Tennessee). He slots into the Saints defense as a versatile pressure player, lining up as often on the edge as over guards in obvious passing situations, focusing on a first-year role at strongside linebacker (pushing both Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso for snaps, and pushing Craig Robertson further down the depth chart). He can also chip in on special teams, an area of emphasis for the Saints.
Uche might not be Jamie Collins just yet, but there are reasons to feel optimistic he can become that kind of player with quality coaching in New Orleans.
It was important to trade up to this spot for Uche because several teams were waiting to snap him up. That group included the Chicago Bears at No. 50, the Los Angeles Rams at Nos. 52 and 57, the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 53, and the Miami Dolphins at No. 56. While the Saints are now without first- and second-round picks in 2021, their expected comp picks still give them a total of seven selections next year. And we have three picks remaining in this 2020 mock draft.
The pick: LB Josh Uche, Michigan
Round 3
The draft shook out about as we expected here, with most of the linebacker class getting taken off the board. There was an opportunity to trade up for our top-ranked tight end (Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet), an interior lineman (Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz) that we liked, and underrated quarterback Jalen Hurts, but the cost of moving from No. 135 to a pick in the 70’s was too steep in light of our previous moves. It’s best to wait this round out, but we’ll keep in mind that players like them were available in those spots.
Round 4
We’d like to add a cornerback soon, but the value hasn’t been acceptable so far. And really that’s more of an ancillary roster need than a must-have; no rookie is going to start over Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins, and there’s a crowd of veterans backing them up. In this simulation, we’re going to wait it out and see who might be available later on.
However, there was a nice opportunity to solidify the offensive backfield. Alvin Kamara is entering a contract year, and it’s no sure thing that the Saints will be keeping him around long-term (he’s certainly eyeing Christian McCaffrey’s $16 million per-year deal). Latavius Murray is a fine number-two running back, but he’s already 30. A longer-term investment might be warranted here.
As luck would have it, two highly-rated running back prospects were available early in the fourth round: Florida State’s Cam Akers and UCLA’s Joshua Kelley. Akers is commonly ranked among the top five runners in this draft class (he’s third-best on our big board, behind Jonathan Taylor and Clyde Edwards-Helaire) thanks to his solid college production and impressive athleticism. He led Florida State in rushing all three years in Tallahassee, and posted an unreal 10-yard split of 1.47 seconds (at 217 pounds). He’s also well-versed in pass protection and caught 30 passes last season. We ranked him the 47th-best prospect for the Saints.
Kelley would be a smart pick, too. He bet on himself by transferring to UCLA from UC-Davis and gave the Bruins someone to build around, leading the team in rushing yards each of the last two years while scoring 25 combined touchdowns in 22 games. However, he’s not the same caliber of athlete as Akers, and is graded slightly lower as our 51st option.
But neither of them were a sure thing to stick around at No. 135 (we moved back a few spots in the earlier big trade up with Pittsburgh, remember). We attempted several trades up and finally reached an agreement with the Denver Broncos, who accepted a move down from No. 118 in exchange for No. 135 and next year’s fourth-round pick.
Both running backs were still available, so we went with the higher-rated option in Akers (Kelley was immediately picked afterwards, for what it’s worth). This move might signal the end of Kamara’s Saints career, depending on how his contract negotiations wind down, but it’s also possible that Murray’s effectiveness begins trailing off after six bruising years in the NFL. Having Akers around as someone who can form a new tag-team tandem with either Kamara or Murray in the future or continue to handle a three-down workload as the offense’s featured back.
The pick: RB Cam Akers, Florida State
Round 5
There weren’t many prospects that caught our eye early in this round, and that’ll probably be the case at each of the final day’s picks. Grades are so even here that many players could be picked as easily as fall into undrafted free agency.
So we stood pat at No. 169, and were rewarded with the following cluster of options (big board rankings in parentheses):
- CB Harrison Hand, Temple (87)
- S J.R. Reed, Georgia (89)
- S Alohi Gilman, Notre Dame (104)
No other prospects were ranked higher than Gilman, so we stuck with the three best options. Hand is an average athlete from a height-weight-speed perspective, playing at his best in zone coverage where he’s allowed to keep the play in front of him and trust his instincts. He’d be a candidate to back up Lattimore or Jenkins, though we shouldn’t hope to see much of him as a rookie.
Both Reed and Gilman figure to see more action on special teams than on defense. While Reed has a stronger resume than Gilman, he’s also one of the older players in this draft class and might have less room to grow and develop. Either of them would be a fine pickup at this stage in the process, but we’ll go with Hand due to his better fit and positional scarcity.
The pick: CB Harrison Hand, Temple
Round 6
Slim pickings again. There aren’t any instant-upgrades available this late in the game; every prospect from here on out will have to compete hard just to make the roster. We tried trading down with a few teams in a bid to add a pick in next year’s draft, but the best offer we received came from the Dallas Cowboys in a move down from No. 203 to 231, possibly netting a seventh-round pick in 2021.
That’s not worth more than Louisiana guard Kevin Dotson, who we graded as a fifth-round value. He can push Will Clapp to become the eighth active lineman on game days, though neither of them figures to play often behind starting guards Larry Warford and Andrus Peat, and first-man-up Nick Easton. But Warford is in the final year of his contract and could get moved himself for a 2021 draft pick if the Saints don’t think he should be re-signed, so you can’t have enough depth.
The pick: G Kevin Dotson, Louisiana
Round 7
There were a few quarterbacks we considered trading next year’s seventh rounder for to grab at the end of the draft, including Michigan’s Shea Patterson and Hawaii’s Cole McDonald. But honestly either of them could be had in undrafted free agency (as could similar prospects like Mason Fine out of North Texas) so we were content to let things end quietly. The Saints traded their original 2020 seventh rounder to help acquire cornerback Eli Apple, who hasn’t signed with a team after nixing his deal with the Raiders; depending on when he joins a new squad, and at what salary, the Saints could recoup another compensatory pick in 2021.
That’s a wrap. Here’s what ended up happening in our “bold moves” seven-round Saints mock draft:
- Round 1. Traded up from No. 24 to No. 10 (via Cleveland Browns) in exchange for our 2021 first- and third-round picks, selecting Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb
- Round 2. Traded up from No. 88 to No. 49 (via Pittsburgh Steelers) in exchange for our 2021 second-round pick and a swap of 2020 fourth-round picks (No. 130 for No. 135), selecting Michigan linebacker Josh Uche
- Round 3. Traded this pick to help move up in Round 2
- Round 4. Traded back from No. 130 to No. 135 to help move up in Round 2. Then traded No. 135 and next year’s fourth rounder to move up to No. 118, selecting Florida State running back Cam Akers
- Round 5. Remained at No. 169, selecting Temple cornerback Harrison Hand
- Round 6. Remained at No. 203, selecting Louisiana guard Kevin Dotson
- Round 7. Traded this pick back in 2018 to help acquire New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple
And for those keeping score at home, we still have five picks remaining in the 2021 draft (including two projected comp picks), as well as a full slate in 2022. That’s not the worst point the Saints have found themselves to close out an offseason.
