The New Orleans Saints won their first game of the season, and finally, we have some movement in draft order. Yes, the Saints are no longer in a position to draft the top player in this draft class, but
there is still so much talent to choose from.
After their win against the Giants, the Saints are projected to select at pick 5.
The 2026 Prospects
Given the Saints previously having the first or second pick in the draft, I was unable to talk about this prospect because it would have been too early to draft them. Now that the Saints are a bit farther back in the draft order, it’s finally time to introduce you to Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq.
Back in 2024, the hype around the current Raiders TE, Brock Bowers, was extremely high, but with some weird measurement concerns, the star pass catcher dropped to 13th in the draft. I bring this up because Sadiq has similar hype, but I truly believe there won’t be the worries in the process that can make him drop on draft night.
Let me get back on track and tell you why Sadiq is worth the 5th pick.
Focusing first on pass catching, Kenyon Sadiq has WR1 at TE. He can line up all over the field, become a mismatch for any defender, create separation with ease, get great yards after the catch, hurdle defenders, and tackling high against him will result in the defender being thrown onto the ground. Having to cover Kenyon Sadiq is a defender’s worst nightmare, but guess what is also a defender’s worst nightmare… getting blocked by Sadiq.
One of the key differences between a good TE and a great one is blocking. Yes, making a difference in the air without having a blocking ability can happen, but teams truly value blocking ability over many things, and Kenyon Sadiq may be the best non-offensive lineman blocker in the NFL Draft. There are many times when Sadiq pancakes his defender onto the ground and completely removes them from the play. One blocking play that always comes to mind is last season, when Oregon played Penn State, and Sadiq pancaked EDGE Abdul Carter (yes, that Abdul Carter).
With all that in mind, it’s clear why Kenyon Sadiq will be a top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but will the Saints do it? TE Juwan Johnson was just signed to a three-year deal and has had a decent season so far. The issue is his inconsistency and drops, and with Head Coach Kellen Moore’s heavy utilization of the TE position in his offense, the Saints will want to add a real threat in that room this offseason. This selection gets increasingly likely when you look at the WR room. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed both need contract extensions, and there’s a chance one of these pass catchers will be traded at the deadline. Kenyon Sadiq can be a top pass-catching threat on any offense, and if the Saints are missing that in both their WR and TE rooms, I can see the Saints going with Sadiq at pick 5.
One of the interesting positions in the 2026 NFL Draft is cornerbacks, and the main reason for that is an injured Jermod McCoy. Before talking about this injury, let me talk about McCoy on the field.
The young Tennessee CB is an absolute lockdown defender with clear potential of becoming a top corner in the NFL. In zone coverage, he has the ability to bait QBs into throwing his way, and because McCoy’s ball skills are elite, it results in an interception or pass deflection. Opposing receivers are also unable to create any separation against McCoy, and at times, it feels like every move the offensive player makes is perfectly copied.
Even with all of these excellent traits, my personal favorite is McCoy in contest catch scenarios. He is not the tallest at 6ft (before combine measurements), so contested catch scenarios could be a weak point of his game, but it’s not. His ability to find the ball and hit it out from the receiver’s hands is top-tier, and that’s something the New Orleans Saints are missing.
Now, here is the injury conversation. This past offseason, McCoy tore his ACL during a training session and has not returned to the field yet. The hope, and I’m emphasizing hope, is that the young corner can return in November or December. There are many reasons why this injury needs to be addressed, such as potential draft position, declaring for the draft, and risk of re-injury. These are all thoughts that teams will be having throughout this process, and we may not know the answers until draft night, but let’s imagine a world where there are zero re-injury worries and McCoy comes back to the field as dominant as he was. This will be the perfect scenario for the Saints.
Currently, New Orleans has an underperforming cornerback room. Kool-Aid McKinstry is coming off a two-interception game but has not been consistent so far this season, Alontae Taylor is improving at tackling but still struggling in pass defense, Isaac Yiadom was benched, and rookie Quincy Riley has arguably been the best cornerback on this team. This group is missing that CB1 the team needs, and Jermod McCoy can have that impact right away, similar to Marshon Lattimore in 2017.
