Learning from your mistakes can be painful. That’s the case for the New Orleans Saints in the latest 2023 NFL mock draft from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire; projected to make their first selection at No. 3 overall, the Saints instead have to send that pick to the Philadelphia Eagles a part of a 2022 trade that bought the team another first-round choice.
And the Eagles, arguably the best team in pro football right now, used that opportunity to selection star pass rusher Will Anderson out of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The rich get richer at New Orleans’ expense. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis shouldn’t take another phone call from a 215 area code ever again.
This means the Saints must wait until the second round to make their first pick on draft day — and in Easterling’s projection, they went with Washington State Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward at No. 34 overall. A highly-decorated transfer from the NAIA’s Incarnate Word Cardinals, Ward is the fifth passer to go off the board in Easterling’s mock draft: Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud (No. 1), Alabama’s Bryce Young (No. 2), Kentucky’s Will Levis (No. 16), and Florida’s Anthony Richardson (No. 18) were all off the board ahead of him.
As for Ward: he’s completed 68.4% of his passes while averaging 288 yards per game for the Cougs, scoring 13 touchdown passes but throwing 7 interceptions. He’ll clear any prototype thresholds New Orleans maintains for the position at a listed 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. Ward plays with a quick release and a live arm, threatening defenses at every level of the field, and he put himself on the map in Washington State’s road upset at then-No. 19 Wisconsin earlier this season. If he can better protect the football as the year marches on, he’ll be in great position come draft day. Fans interested in a closer look at him can tune in for a national-broadcast game against the USC Trojans on FOX this Saturday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. CT.
There’s a realistic chance the Saints will be looking for a quarterback in 2023. Jameis Winston turned in several hard-to-watch games to start the year, committing too many turnovers while dealing with a variety of different injuries, and his backup Andy Dalton isn’t a sure thing as a viable replacement in the short- or long-term. While there are plenty of options headed for free agency right now, that list will be whittled down as teams issue franchise tags, sign players to extensions, and others retire to go home and be a family man. Let’s hope Winston enjoys a return to health and plays the best football of his career to keep New Orleans from scouting potential replacements.
