State Of Saints: Latest Updates On New Orleans Star, NFL Draft

The New Orleans Saints have been talked about a lot in recent weeks.

With the amount sheer volume of speculation, rumors, and simply unfounded chatter coming out, it's hard to know for sure what is actually going on. So, let's try to break down exactly where the Saints are right now with the National Football League Draft just two days away.

Kellen Moore was hired as the team's head coach this offseason after New Orleans went 5-12 and finished in last place in the NFC South. The Saints' first orders of business when it came to the roster since the hiring of Moore was to minimize turnover. The Saints pushed some cap issues into the future by restructuring deals, including Derek Carr and Cam Jordan's The Saints kept Chase Young and Juwan Johnson in town with new deals in free agency. Justin Reid and Brandin Cooks were also signed among other moves.

It certainly has felt like the Saints were pretty comfortable with their 2024 roster and wanted to just make a few tweaks. There's merit to this idea because there was a shocking amount of injuries last year. With better health, there's no reason why they couldn't have competed for the top spot in the division. They were arguably the best team in the league through the first two weeks of the season before things went off the rails.

As we get closer to the draft, the quarterback position is the biggest question mark. Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury and as of writing it hasn't been shared exactly what the ailment is. There's been plenty of speculation, but the only thing that is concrete right now is that Carr is dealing with an injury that is going to put at least the 2025 season at risk. An exact timeline hasn't been reported.

That leads us to the NFL Draft. New Orleans has nine picks as of right now starting with the No. 9 selection. A few names that have been tossed around for this spot are Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Warren, Ashton Jeanty, Mykel Williams, Jalon Walker, Mason Graham, and Will Johnson to name just a few. Clearly, there is no prevailing thought or leak about New Orleans' plans right now. Despite all of the "predictions" and things of that nature, it doesn't seem like a quarterback is coming at No. 9. Both ESPN's Adam Schefter and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. It's fun to speculate and everything of that nature, but if Schefter and Breer both don't think a quarterback is coming at No. 9, then that's pretty clear.

It seems pretty likely that a quarterback will be selected at some point, but if New Orleans isn't going to pick one at No. 9, then that likely would take Sanders out of contention and lead the team to someone like Dart, Tyler Shough, or Jalen Milroe depending on when the team makes a selection.

Another little nugget: There's been some absolutely wild trade speculation about Chris Olave this offseason. It's died down, but definitely don't expect that.

The NFL Draft will begin on Thursday and that will be the next big step in the offseason for New Orleans.

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