Last night, the NFL Draft kicked off, and the New Orleans Saints selected offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr. with their first selection. This was not a surprising pick by the team, with their belief in building the offensive and defensive lines first. Still, the Saints had an opportunity to trade up in the back of the first round to select one of the QB prospects, but did not do it. This could have been for several reasons, and in the end, it may have been a blessing in disguise. Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Tyler Shough are all still available going into the second round, and with the Saints selecting at 40, this could be a prime position to choose one of these QBs. Let’s see if they can make it happen in this Day 2 mock draft.
Pick 40 – Trey Amos CB (No, not a Quarterback)
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In this mock draft, Shedeur Sanders was selected by the Cleveland Browns before the Saints pick was up. This left a choice between Milroe or Shough, but I went with the best player available with this selection, and it fits a need for the team. Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos fell to the Saints and he is the perfect pick for the team. He can start right away and be a lockdown cornerback in man coverage. In zone, he still needs some work, but he has skills that are needed to make the development process successful. The Saints are also in a perfect situation where they can ease Amos into a starting position and for the beginning of the season they can use a lineup of Alontae Taylor in the slot, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Isaac Yiadom on the outside, and Trey Amos as the fourth cornerback. Also, the Panthers selected their franchise WR, Tetairoa McMillan, with their first selection and the Buccaneers selected WR Emeka Egbuka with their selection. When teams make selections they look at what their division rivals added in the draft and tend to match it with a prospect that can face each other when they play. This should not be the driving force, and the Saints truly went truly best player available by selecting Trey Amos.
Pick 71 – Josaiah Stewart OLB/EDGE
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With pick 71, the Saints go back to the trenches and select edge rusher/outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart. This is a player I have wanted New Orleans to select throughout the draft process, and in the third round, this may be the steal of the draft. Stewart is undersized at 6-foot-1, but he has been a productive and skilled pass rusher at Michigan. He tends to fall in the radar due to other defensive Michigan prospects being talked about way more, but Stewart was an absolute game changer on that defense. Late in the draft process, his athletic testing was not great, but on the field, he still has some speed to his game. Stewart also utilizes great strength and has pass rush moves that he uses to get right past offensive tackles. He will need to work on his run defense, but on the Saints’ defense, he can be utilized as an OLB, which New Orleans currently lacks on the roster.
Pick 93 – Damien Martinez RB
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With the last pick in the Day 2 mock draft, the New Orleans Saints select Miami running back Damien Martinez. With the previous two picks going with defensive needs, the Saints still need to add an offensive weapon before day 2 ends, and Martinez is the best available option. That should not diminish this pick, because compared to the other prospects available, Martinez is one of the top ones still left. Compared to the other RBs on the Saints’ current roster, Martinez brings something different to the rushing game. He can be relied on to pick up short yardage and carry the workload if needed. When players try to tackle Martinez, he has an amazing ability to stay up and shed defensive players off of him. He will not have the speed that teams really value, but that has never been a trait the Saints value over other factors. In the passing game, Martinez can also be a main contributor.
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