We saw the New Orleans Saints surge back to relevance last season off the strength of their rookie class. Premium draft picks panned out with left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. locking down his side of the line and second-round quarterback Tyler Shough rallying the team in the back half of the season. Even if they didn't get much out of third-round defensive lineman Vernon Broughton before an injury cut his year short, his fellow third rounder Jonas Sanker played almost every down defensively. Fourth rounders Danny Stutsman and Quincy Riley both earned roles on defense, too. Those positive returns gave fans some confidence that this team could draft well again.
It's too soon to write off the 2026 draft class, but the early showings leave a lot to be
desired. The Saints just haven't gotten much from their rookies through five games. In grading every rookie class around the league, NFL Draft On SI's Justin Melo ranked them at No. 26:
Jordyn Tyson still hasn't debuted due to an offseason hamstring injury. Christen Miller was recently healthy enough to return, but couldn't crack the rotation versus the Falcons. Oscar Delp is the distant TE3 behind Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant. Bryce Lance is playing as the WR3, but has been pretty inefficient, catching 41.7% of his targets. Injuries haven't helped, but this class looks pretty lackluster right now. Grade: C-
Tough to argue with that. We spent months speculating about how big of an impact the team's first-round pick could make and he won't get on the field until, probably, November. Their second-round pick hasn't even played 30 snaps in a single game yet. And their third-round pick has only drawn a single target on 19 routes through four games. That's a disappointing return on each of their top-100 picks.
Sure, things could turn around. Tyson could hit the ground running after the bye week and revive an offense that only put up 13 points on Sunday. Miller could climb the depth chart and help turn the run defense around. Delp might find a role for himself in certain personnel packages (maybe try running play action with him leaking into the flat on a delayed release?). Tyson returning would at least push fourth-round pick Bryce Lance into more favorable matchups. He and Shough just haven't been on the same page to start the season. Those feel like realistic goals that would go a long way to fielding a more competitive team. Right now the Saints just don't have anything to hang their hats on.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints rookie class ranked among NFL's worst through five weeks
