NFL Mock Draft: 5 players the Saints should already have their eye on
The New Orleans Saints are located only 87 miles from one of the biggest brand names in all of college football - LSU, a three-time national champion from 2003-19, in Baton Rouge. Yet, the Saints - for whatever reason - have rarely taken LSU players.
Since the Saints started drafting in 1967, they have only taken 10 Tigers. And zero of those were in the first round. There have also been only two in the second round - running back Dalton Hilliard at No. 31 in 1986 and wide receiver Devery Henderson at No. 50 in 2004.
That could change next April 24-25 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at the 2025 NFL Draft.
5 prospects the Saints should keep an eye on in the 2025 NFL Draft
Offensive Tackle Will Campbell, LSU
The top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft is LSU junior left tackle Will Campbell (6-foot-6, 320 pounds). And with the Saints at 2-6 and appearing to be going nowhere fast, they may have a shot at him in the first round.
Campbell earned the starting job as a true freshman in 2022 out of Neville High in Monroe and immediately became one of the best linemen in the SEC and clearly has a stranglehold on that now as a third-year starter.
If the Saints do not get Campbell, they need only look to his right at right tackle Emery Jones (6-6, 322), who is also projected in the first round, though later, and possibly into the second or even third round. The Saints badly need a dependable tackle. They took Taliese Fuaga from Oregon State with the 14th pick of the first round in the last draft, and he is the starter at left tackle. Trevor Penning, the team's first round pick in 2022 at No. 19 from Northern Iowa, has been a disappointment and is the current starter at right tackle.
RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
This could be the younger version of Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who did just sign a two-year extension to his contract, but he will be 30 in July. Kamara has shown he still has it this season, but how much longer, particularly under team struggling with injuries on the offensive line?
Jeanty (5-foot-8, 217 pounds) is similar to Kamara (5-foot-10, 215 pounds) in size, but packs a punch just like him and is versatile. Jeanty is averaging 10.3 yards a carry this season and rushed for 267 yards on 20 carries with six touchdowns against Georgia Southern. Like Kamara, he is an excellent receiver as he caught 43 passes for 569 yards and five touchdowns last season while rushing for 1,347 yards and a 6.1-yard average with14 touchdowns.
Jeanty could go in the late first or second round.
ILBs Lander Burton, Utah or Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Middle linebacker Demario Davis is 35, and the Saints need to go younger at this position soon. Burton (6-foot-3, 233 pounds) is projected as a late first-round selection and may last until the third round as an inside linebacker He has 32 tackles this season and had 34 in just seven games with two interceptions and a forced fumble last season because of an injured foot.
Another possibility is Oklahoma inside linebacker Danny Stutsman (6-foot-3, 240 pounds), a projected second or third-round pick. He has 46 tackles so far this season and had 104 last season with three sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. Scouts compare him to Saints veteran linebacker Pete Werner
S Malaki Starks, Georgia
Ballhawk safety Tyrann Mathieu will be 33 in May and could be nearing the end. Starks (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) is a first-round pick who has already returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season and has 25 tackles. He had 52 tackles and three interceptions last season. Despite entering a Georgia secondary stocked with talent as a freshman in 2022, Starks won a starting job and made 69 tackles with two interceptions and broke up seven passes.
Starks could be the future in New Orleans' defensive backfield.