2020 NFL Draft: New Orleans Saints 7-round mock

The New Orleans Saints only have five picks in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Who should they take with those five picks? Here is their latest NFL mock draft.

They’ll have to be smart here in a few weeks, as the New Orleans Saints only have five picks in the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. The Saints are coming off their third straight NFC South division title, but will face some formidable challenges in the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. It will be critical for the Saints to nail their five draft picks this spring.

Overall, the Saints have seven needs they can choose to address with their selections. Primary needs include wide receiver, cornerback and quarterback. Secondary needs include safety, tight end and linebacker. They also have a tertiary need along the defensive line. If the Saints really want to double-down at the wide receiver position in this draft, they can do that at their own risk.

By not having a second-round pick this year, the Saints only have two top-100 picks to work with this year. With their first pick of the draft coming at No. 24, they can’t trade up to draft Drew Brees‘ successor and would have to hope a quality quarterback falls to them at the bottom of round one. However, they could move out of the first round and into the second if they feel like it.

Overall, the Saints will either need to trade back a few times to acquire enough draft capital to address all their draft needs. Should general manager Mickey Loomis want to roll with what he’s got, then he and the rest of the Saints front office need to proceed with caution with their five picks. Here is the latest 2020 NFL mock draft for the Saints.

First Round

If the Saints are lucky, there will be a quarterback waiting for them to pick at No. 24. In the event this does happen, the likeliest signal-caller to end up a Saint is Jordan Love of the Utah State Aggies. Though he could go as high as the Los Angeles Chargers at No 6, Love feels like a quarterback who will go somewhere in the teens to mid-20s, right where the Saints are picking.

In three years at Utah State, Love completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 8,600 yards, 60 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. He averaged 7.6 yards per attempt and had a passing efficiency rating of 137.9. At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds with decent mobility, Love has the skill set to be the next great Group of 5 quarterback to be an NFL star at the position.

However, there is one thing to consider before drafting Love. He had a rough junior season with the Aggies, as all of his passing numbers worsened after what was a great sophomore campaign. Of course, he lost his entire coaching staff in between seasons, as Matt Wells and his staff took over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big 12. We can’t blame it all on that, but it’s something.

Overall, Love won’t be expected to play right away in New Orleans, as he’ll have to bide his time behind Brees for at least one season. Once Brees retires, Love can be the heir apparent the Saints could be looking for. He would have massive shoes to fill replacing the greatest player in franchise history, but New Orleans would be foolish to let this quarterbacking talent slip by them at No. 24.