Teams that received A+ Draft Grades 👀 pic.twitter.com/s8WvlO1UQB
— PFF (@PFF) April 27, 2024
Take a bow, Mickey Loomis. And Jeff Ireland. You too, Dave Ziegler and Randy Mueller — the four different general managers (past and present) who crowded into the New Orleans Saints’ war room for the 2024 NFL draft.
You don’t see this too often. Pro Football Focus draft analyst Trevor Sikkema awarded the Saints with an elusive A-plus grade for their haul in the 2024 draft. Not just for getting the most out of their early-round picks in right tackle Taliese Fuaga and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, but for getting great value later on with picks like quarterback Spencer Rattler and offensive tackle Josiah Ezirim, who Sikkema noted as a possible “hidden gem.”
This was a very different approach to the draft than Saints fans have grown used to. The team only traded up once and for the most part let the board come to them, selecting players at great value spots as opposed to forcing a pick at a position just because they needed it. Hopefully this more patient approach yields good results.
Just three other teams received an A-plus in PFF’s final draft grades. Six others were given a solid A, and four more made the cut with an A-minus. So it’s not like all 32 teams were given high marks. But winning the draft is one thing. Winning games in the regular season, so you can even get to the playoffs (which has eluded the Saints for three years in a row) is a whole other challenge. Let’s see Loomis pull that off next.
