By Ross Jackson
As the NFL Draft nears with a little more than a week to go, the New Orleans Saints and other NFL teams are doing their last visits with prospects. Top-30 visits come to an end after April 16, and private workouts soon draw to as close this week.
One late-process visit has raised some intrigue as well as eyebrows.
Per NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan, the Saints are attending the private workouts of two Georgia defenders: linebacker Jalon Walker and defensive end Mykel Williams.
Of the two, Walker was an early hot name for the Saints, popping up in mock drafts from fans and analysts. Now, Walker has become the chalk pick for the Carolina Panthers at No. 8. If the Saints have any hope of Walker falling to them at No. 9, it would likely happen with the Panthers trading back from their selection to allow a team seeking a quarterback to move ahead of the Saints.
However, it doesn’t look like teams around the league are particularly threatened by the Saints snagging a passer they want within the top-10, even after the news of Derek Carr’s shoulder injury puts his future in question.
#Panthers GM Dan Morgan said his phone didn’t go nuts after the news broke on Derek Carr’s shoulder injury… despite holding the No. 8 pick, right before the #Saints. But he sounds like a guy open to offers.
“We’ll be waiting if somebody wants to come up.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 15, 2025
So unless that changes and the Panthers do indeed trade back, or the Saints fall in love and trade up, Walker’s path to New Orleans isn’t very clear.
The other player, Williams, has been connected to the Saints a lot more recently. New Orleans has a reputation for investing in big-bodied but still raw defensive ends. Williams has received that tag.
He’s very athletic for his size at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds, but is projected to be a hand-in-the-dirt type of edge defender rather than a standup rusher at the next level. If that’s the case, the Saints investment in him in the first round would be a little surprising. But certainly the team has surprised with early defensive ends before.
