The Saints may have stumbled into the kind of draft haul that makes a coach grin before the season even starts.
In this seven-round mock draft of active players, New Orleans comes away with Jordan Love in the first round and then somehow lands Malik Nabers at No. 57. That’s the kind of value that can change the feel of an entire draft class, and in this setup it even looks like the Saints may have improved at receiver by waiting until the end of the second round.
Nabers dropping that far is tied to how quarterback-heavy the early part of the re-draft plays out, so the bargain is built into the board. Even then, it’s hard to ignore how much upside the Saints would be getting.
Nabers is still early in his career, and in this hypothetical he is also coming back from the ACL injury he’s dealing with in real life. The source notes that modern recovery has made those comebacks more manageable, and Nabers is still young enough to keep his ceiling intact.
For Kellen Moore, this would be the kind of pick that practically sells itself.
The fit makes sense because Nabers already showed what he can do. He put together an elite rookie year with the Giants, emerged as the clear No. 1 target, and still topped 1,200 yards in 15 games while adding seven touchdowns.
His second season was interrupted by injury, leaving plenty unknown about the next step, but the talent is not in question. The only real issue is whether he gets back to that level.
There’s also a stylistic match here that jumps off the page. Nabers draws comparisons to CeeDee Lamb, who Moore coached early in his NFL career.
Both players can threaten defenses at every level and do damage after the catch, which is exactly the kind of trait the Saints have been chasing for years. Nabers would bring that element immediately.
Moore watched Lamb grow year after year in his offense, with the receiver’s role and production climbing over a three-year stretch until he became an All-Pro. The idea here is that Nabers could follow a similar path in New Orleans.
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