The Saints took another hit in the standings, but it barely moved the needle where the draft is concerned. With the bye week here, New Orleans is projected to sit at pick 10 in the NFL Draft, a spot that still keeps them just outside the range of a single-digit selection.
That leaves the Saints staring at a pair of appealing first-round paths, starting with the trenches. One option is OG Greg Johnson, the top guard in the class.
It might be a slight reach at No. 10, but the logic is clear: guard matters more and more in today’s NFL, and New Orleans needs a starting right guard. If Cesar Ruiz isn’t moved before the deadline, that decision appears more likely to come in the offseason.
Jeremiah Wright is in the mix, but there’s no real reason to expect him to be ready to start next season, and the Saints can’t build around that hope.
There’s also a major coaching wrinkle attached to Johnson. If Kellen Moore, the current staff, and the front office are still around, this probably isn’t the kind of pick the Saints should make.
The concern is simple: existing offensive linemen are already regressing under this setup, and a rookie probably wouldn’t be set up for much success. But for a new coaching staff and general manager who understand the trenches, with a head coach who can bring the most out of him, Johnson makes a lot of sense.
The other name to watch is DL Xavier Gilliam, and the same coaching caveat applies there too. New Orleans has not had much success recently drafting defensive linemen, whether it’s tackles or edge rushers.
It just hasn’t clicked. But with a new staff in place, Gilliam would be a strong fit.
He brings a rare mix of traits: explosive athleticism, quickness off the snap, the ability to win with power and pass-rush moves, and real value against the run. He’s the kind of player who can wreck a play in the backfield and still stay steady when the splash moment isn’t there. The Saints don’t currently have a defensive tackle close to his level, and pairing him with Chase Young could lift the whole defense.
In Other News...
Saints Defense Is Forcing A Brutal Brandon Staley Conversation
A year after looking like one of the more reliable units in the league, the Saints defense has taken a sharp step backward in 2026, and the drop-off is hard to ignore. New Orleans returned most of its starters and avoided major injury trouble, yet the group has slipped near the bottom of the NFL in both points and yards allowed, a stunning turn for a defense that was supposed to be a strength again.
The biggest concern is that the problems are showing up in different places at once. The defensive line has not held up the way it did a season ago, even with Chase Young and Carl Granderson doing their part off the edge, while the linebackers have been exposed in coverage with opposing quarterbacks finding too much success when they are the nearest defenders. For a staff that was expected to build on last years foundation, the film is starting to raise an uncomfortable Brandon Staley conversation that New Orleans cannot avoid much longer. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Offense May Finally Be Getting The Receiving Help It Needs
The Saints have leaned hard on Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele for much of the season, and the lack of consistent production behind them has left the passing game thin in spots. Help may be getting closer, though, with Jordyn Tyson nearing the end of his recovery from the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since August, and his presence in pre-game warm-ups suggests the team is finally moving toward a healthier receiver room.
Tysons return would matter because the Saints have been searching for another dependable option who can take some of the load off the top two targets and give the offense a more balanced look. If he can get back into the mix, he has a chance to settle in as a meaningful piece of the rotation and give New Orleans a receiving boost it has been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Bye Week Puts Kellen Moores Biggest Offensive Fix Under Pressure
The Saints bye week arrives with a clear offensive problem sitting at the top of Kellen Moores to-do list. At 2-5, New Orleans has not found enough consistency on the ground, and the lack of balance has left too much on quarterback Tyler Shough as the season has moved along. Moore is expected to use the Week 8 break to sharpen the rushing attack and try to give the offense a more stable foundation before the schedule resumes.
There is at least a straightforward reason the staff is treating this as a priority: the run game has not been efficient enough to help the rest of the offense breathe. New Orleans has spent seven games searching for answers, and the next chance to show progress comes against the Browns after the bye. For a team trying to climb out of an early hole, the coming week is less about rest than it is about whether the Saints can finally find a workable identity on offense. [Read more 🡒]