Saints Draft Day 1 Recap
Kaden Arkeder • April 24, 2026
Well, the wait is over, we got to open our present Saints fans. Jordyn Tyson is a New Orleans Saint. Hard to quantify just how badly the Saints needed to add impactful young talent to the wide receiver room, and Tyson immediately helps fix the problem. Jordyn Tyson, when healthy, is the best receiver in this draft, the talent was always undeniable, there are not many receivers who come out who are as well-rounded as he is. Tyson brings route running, size, speed, and ball skills to the receiver room who will help take some pressure off everyone else on offense with his presence on the field. Jordyn Tyson gives Tyler Shough another legit pass catcher to aid in his own development this upcoming season as well as offer some insurance in case of Chris Olave missing time from injury. But now the risk of selecting Jordyn Tyson.
Tyson was injured every year of his collegiate career with time missed due to knee, clavicle, and hamstring injuries. The other criticism of Tyson has been his ability to be more physical at the catch point and after the catch. Using the eighth overall pick on him is definitely a risk given the injury history but the Saints felt the talent was too great at a position of need to pass up. Personally, I think the Saints got this pick right. Projecting ahead, I believe the Saints will be able to add more young talent at key positions which line up as strengths of the draft class. By addressing receiver first, they eliminated their number one need and gives them more flexibility heading into day two to address the other side of the ball. The defense could use some reinforcements after moving on from Demario Davis and Alontae Taylor earlier in the offseason, and the potential departure of Cameron Jordan.
Looking forward to day two of the draft, I believe the two positions to keep in mind are defensive line and defensive back. Both of those positions are needs for the Saints but also strengths of this draft class. So look for the Saints to target those positions on day two, and if they don’t, then for them to look at them again early on day three. If the Saints do look to continue to add to the offensive side of the ball I can see them adding to offensive skill positions and interior offensive line to gain better depth in those areas.
Some key names to look for on Day 2 :
Edge - TJ Parker from Clemson
Nose Tackle - Kayden McDonald from Ohio State
Nose Tackle - Dominique Orange from Iowa State
Nose Tackle - Darrell Jackson Jr from Florida State
Edge - Zion Young from Missouri
Cornerback - Jerrod McCoy from Tennessee
Cornerback - Colton Hood from Tennessee
Cornerback - D’Angelo Ponds from Indiana
Edge - R Mason Thomas from Oklahoma
Edge - Joshua Josephs from Tennessee
Defensive Tackle - Christen Miller from Georgia
Nickel/Safety - Treydan Stukes from Arizona
Safety - Emanuel McNeil-Warren from Toledo
Nickel/Safety - Jalon Kilgore from South Carolina
Offensive Guard - Chase Bisontis from Texas A&M
Offensive Guard - Emanuel Pregnon from Oregon
Tight End - Max Klare from Ohio State
Tight End - Sam Roush from Stanford
Tight End - Oscar Delp from Georgia
Offensive Center - Connor Lew from Auburn
Offensive Center - Jake Slaughter from Florida
Wide Receiver - Chris Bell from Louisville
Wide Receiver - Zachariah Branch from Georgia
Wide Receiver - De’Zhaun Stribling from Ole Miss
Wide Receiver - Ted Hurst from Georgia State
Running back - Mike Washington Jr. from Arkansas
Running back - Kaytron Allen from Penn State
Running back - Jonah Coleman from Washington
Okay, I think I covered all the bases here. Talk to you all next time to recap day two!
Kaden Arkeder
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The Saints went through the offseason making major investments around rising starting quarterback Tyler Shough, but one of their biggest investments came along the offensive line. If the Saints want to have more success and improve upon the way they closed out the 2025 season, it has to start with the group controlling the line of scrimmage. The Saints have invested a great deal of high-end draft capital into the offensive line over the past several seasons. They have finally answered the questions at both tackle spots and have solidified the center position with Erik McCoy. Now, however, McCoy enters his eighth season with questions of his own. Can the veteran center make it through an entire season healthy? Alongside McCoy, the Saints had questions at both guard positions, but the free-agent acquisition of David Edwards answers one of those concerns. Edwards was the top available offensive lineman in free agency this year and immediately solidifies the left guard spot. That leaves right guard as the final position up for grabs, currently occupied by veteran Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz is entering the seventh year of his career after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Michigan as a center. It was a questionable selection at the time, considering the Saints had drafted McCoy in the second round just one year earlier. Despite not having a first-round pick in 2019, McCoy stepped in as a rookie and played exceptionally well. This is a contract year for Ruiz, so he must prove that he is a dependable guard capable of holding onto his starting job. However, the leash on that position may have gotten much shorter. The Saints used a fourth-round pick in this year's draft on Jeremiah Wright, a road-grading offensive guard with outstanding size, athleticism, and strength. Wright still has areas of his game that need refinement, but through training camp and the preseason, he could push Ruiz to either elevate his play or lose the starting job altogether. If either of those scenarios plays out, the Saints will have a significantly improved offensive line, and that should translate into a much better offense overall. Follow AP on X , as well as his podcast Timeouts & Tangents
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