Saints now hold No. 3 Pick after Falcons loss

By Ross Jackson

After the New Orleans Saints’ 24-10 loss to the rival Atlanta Falcons, the team has moved back up the draft board. With the help of a Cleveland Browns victory, the Saints now hold the No. 3 overall selection. 

Prior to the Saints’ Week 11 bye week, the team held the No. 2 overall selection, falling to No. 4 once that week’s action concluded. Now that New Orleans is back on the field for the remainder of the year, its draft destiny is back in hands if the team’s performance. 

Not Much Movement Expected In Week 13

The two teams ahead of New Orleans, the Tennessee Titans (No. 1) and New York Giants (No. 2) have tough matchups ahead with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots respectively. Meaning it’s unlikely that New Orleans will move up the draft order even with a loss to the 5.5-point favorite Miami Dolphins on Sunday. 

But remaining in the top-three at all is an excellent position for New Orleans. 

Defensive Playmakers in Range

At that spot, the Saints have a viable chance to take a defensive playmaker like Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs or Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. 

Adding any of those pieces to bolster a defense that has been taking shape and showing promise would be an impactful step forward for team success. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has done well developing talent and has found increasing success with the unit throughout the season thus far. Adding a top talent from the draft to his group could be the team’s best course of action, assuming the quarterback question has been answered for at least 2026. 

Quarterback Less Likely

They would also be in position to select a quarterback if needed, but that path is less likely as the team learns what it has in rookie Tyler Shough. 

Indiana’s Fernando Mandoza, Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Oregon’s Dante Moore are often considered the top trio of passers in this year’s class. But whether any provide a greater upside than Shough in head coach Kellen Moore’s eyes will be the most important factor. Shough has shown promise in his early starts. 

He’ll need to keep building on that promise and start generating team success in order to maximize his chances of becoming the team’s future. But all he needs to show in the final stretch of the 2025 season is that he’s progressing and worth the team continuing its investment for 2026. 

If he can do that, the Saints are more likely to look to build around him than they are to bring in competition against him. 

Building Around Shough

Instead, offensive weapons like Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson or another Buckeye, wide receiver Carnell Tate, could be in the cards as a means of building around Shough. 

New Orleans could also do something it has not done since the 2007 NFL Draft and trade back. This would allow them to gather some more assets, with the intent of building up its talent pool and still landing impact players on either side of the ball like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Auburn pass rusher Keldric Faulk, LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane and others. 

In any case, the Saints are in a good position on the draft board for now. With low expectations headed into the final six games of the year, the team’s draft pick will be in focus as the season winds down.