NFC South
New Orleans Saints NFL Draft Profile
How the Saints draft: the front office running the board, the needs shaping the next class, and every draft class we cover.
Front office and philosophy
General manager: Mickey Loomis · Head coach: Kellen Moore
Mickey Loomis pairs with Kellen Moore in Moore's second season. Loomis is historically the league's most aggressive cap manipulator and a willing trader of future picks for present talent. Moore's system is pass-heavy and demands playmakers who create after the catch. With Tyler Shough having claimed the quarterback job and the receiving corps rebuilt through a top-10 pick, the 2027 priority shifts hard to defense: only one Saints defender graded above 80.0 last season, and he left in free agency.
Loomis has repeatedly pushed cap obligations forward and traded future capital to compete now, and rarely trades back. New Orleans leans SEC given its recruiting footprint. Shough nearly won Offensive Rookie of the Year and posted the 4th-lowest turnover-worthy play rate among ALL quarterbacks, which removes QB from the priority list. Demario Davis' departure to the Jets left the defense without its only 80.0-plus graded player.
These tendencies are encoded directly into the simulator: when you run a mock and the Saints are on the clock, the engine applies this regime's positional biases and its balance between best-player-available and need-based drafting. See how the simulator works for the full methodology.
Inside the simulator, this regime splits evenly between taking the best player available and drafting for need, and is more likely to move up the board than back down it (40 against 20). Its clearest positional preferences are edge rusher, cornerback, defensive tackle, which the engine applies on top of the needs list above.
Current draft needs
Our needs assessment for the Saints entering the 2027 draft cycle, ordered by priority. These weightings are what the simulator uses when it evaluates this team's board.
Team needs were researched for this class from current rosters. They predate free agency and will be revised after March 2027.
A needs list is a judgement, not a fact, so it is worth saying how this one is built. We read the current depth chart rather than last season's production: a position counts as a need when the projected starter is a stopgap, is out of contract, or is the reason a unit underperformed, and it stops counting when the roster has an answer even if that answer is unspectacular. Contract structure matters as much as talent, which is why a position can appear here a full year before it looks like a problem on the field.
The 2027 class
The 2027 draft has not been held. On the projected order the Saints hold 6 picks, opening at No. 9. 1 came from other teams. 2 of their own have been traded away. The needs shaping that class are edge rusher, cornerback, defensive tackle.
The full 2027 New Orleans Saints outlook breaks down every projected pick, the weighting behind each need, and which prospects are currently projected into the range where they pick.
Draft classes
| Class | Picks | First selection | First player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 6 proj. | No. 9 | Not yet drafted | 2027 needs and picks → |
| 2026 | 8 | No. 8 | Jordyn Tyson | Full 2026 class → |
Division rivals
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