These should be some popular choices for New Orleans Saints fans. There are many draft analysts who are better connected and more clued-in to what scouts and teams are thinking than the Athletic’s Dane Brugler, who updated his projections for the 2024 NFL draft with a two-round mock.
Brugler has been all-over the Saints’ interest in prospects like Chris Olave and Isaiah Foskey in recent years, so it’s important to tap in when he’s sharing information. A lot will change between now and draft day at the end of April, but Brugler’s projections are often a good tell as to which positions the Saints might be favoring.
And in this mock draft he has New Orleans upgrading its pass rush in the first round with Florida State defensive end Jared Verse. Here’s why Brugler sees Verse as a fit with the Saints at No. 14:
The quarterback situation will dominate draft talk, but the Saints must address the trenches (on both sides) this offseason. With his experience and traits, Verse is a plug-and-play pass rusher who fits the mold for what New Orleans likes to target in Round 1.
Verse nails the athletic prototype the Saints look for at the right defensive end spot, weighing in at a listed 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds. Timing drills and final weigh-ins at the combine will be important for New Orleans’ pre-draft process in evaluating him, but his tape speaks for itself: Verse came away with 29.5 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, 3 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in his 25 games at Florida State, plus 89 tackles (45 solo). Pro Football Focus charting found he generated 60 quarterback pressures this season. He can play against top-shelf competition.
So it’s safe to say that Verse would add some much-needed pass rush production off the edge. That would be big for a Saints defense that tied for the fourth-fewest sacks and fifth-worst pressure rate in 2023. Cameron Jordan isn’t the force he once was and Carl Granderson can’t do it alone while Foskey and Payton Turner struggle to make a positive impact. Tanoh Kpassagnon is a good player to have in the rotation but he shouldn’t rank fifth on the team in pass-rush snaps (264).
But this is a two-round projection — so what does Brugler have the Saints doing with that second-round pick coming back to them from the Denver Broncos, slotted in at No. 45 overall? It’s no secret that their offensive line wasn’t good enough in 2023, so Brugler likes New Orleans to draft one of this year’s underrated blockers in Kansas Jayhawks tackle/guard Dominick Puni. Here’s why:
The Saints aren’t ready to give up on Trevor Penning just yet, but they still need to address the offensive line in a major way. After playing with his older brothers at Central Missouri, Puni transferred to Kansas and put together back-to-back strong seasons, starting at both left tackle and left guard.
Puni certainly has the size the Saints look for at a listed 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, though he might be moving back to guard in the NFL after playing left tackle in 2023. Pro teams (especially the Saints) have very strict standards for arm length and wingspan when evaluating college left tackles and there are concerns Puni might not hit those thresholds.
James Hurst was a liability for the Saints at left guard last season and he’ll be entering a contract year in 2024, the same year he’s turning 33 years old. New Orleans is hopeful that Nick Saldiveri can develop into a starting-quality left guard, but he wasn’t able to fully make the transition from playing right tackle in college before an injury took him out late in the regular season. Puni has more experience at the position and the ability to play left tackle is a positive given the uncertain-at-best outlook for Penning.
Both of these picks would address the Saints’ needs and make the team better. There’s certainly an argument for drafting a young quarterback but don’t expect Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis to reverse course on Derek Carr after spending four months making excuses for his poor performance. Their mission statement this offseason is going to be all about supporting him and empowering him to lead the offense. That means improving the trench play on both sides of the line and getting him more weapons to work with.
