Saints seek production if investing in NFL Draft outliers

By Ross Jackson

This year’s NFL Draft class has some intriguing talent at the top that might end up bucking trends that are typical for the process. The New Orleans Saints have already laid out their most important requirement when it comes to investing in those outlier situations.

Outliers come in many forms throughout the draft process. Some players may man a position that isn’t considered a premium one, but bring such an undeniable impact that they will be drafted early anyway. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ohio State safety Caleb Downs are the prime examples of exactly that conversation this year.

Others stand out because of their measurements or testing scores. They are outside of the usual prototype. Pass rushers like Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. check that box. Both players will carry low-percentile arm length measurements into the draft this year. 

The Saints could be in position to take Love, Downs or Bain with the No. 8 overall selection with Bain being the prospect picking up the most steam as the draft approaches. The reason Bain could be the pick despite being the player that would become the edge rusher with the shortest arms in the draft’s history to become a first-round pick (Until Howell is potentially selected later in the round), comes down to one thing: production.

“You’ve got to have production,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore said at the 2026 Annual Meeting. “You’ve got to be a really productive player. If you’re slightly off a prototype, you’ve gotta be a really, really productive player. Have the ability to make plays and have done it over a course of an extended period of time to showcase that.”

Both Howell and Bain check the production box. But Bain is the player that’s expected to be a top-10 selection of the two. 

Bain wrangled 9.5 sacks last year, including 20.5 over his three seasons with the Miami Hurricanes. He also tallied 15.5 tackles for a loss last year with a career total of 33.5. 

Howell, Love and Downs were all incredibly productive during their collegiate tenures as well.

If the Saints choose to select an outlier, either because of their position or measurements, they have several productive options to help them go against consensus.