The New Orleans Saints have not had the best track record in the past few NFL drafts. Even one of their better classes is being looked down upon after a reevaluation.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco recently went through each team’s draft class from 2022 and gave them a new grade based on the past three seasons of context.
For the Saints, they received a “B” back in 2022 and that has now been bumped down to a “C” after the unremarkable returns they have seen from the class as a whole. They’ve gotten a couple of starters and a potential star, but it wasn’t a deep class. It makes sense that it would be a “C.”
Saints’ 2022 NFL draft classRound 1, Pick No. 11: WR Chris OlaveRound 1, Pick No. 19: OL Trevor PenningRound 2, Pick No. 49: CB Alontae TaylorRound 5, Pick No. 161: LB D’Marco JacksonRound 6, Pick No. 194: DL Jordan Jackson
Olave is the clear home-run selection of this class. The 24-year-old has 191 catches for 2,565 yards over his first three seasons and that is with him missing over half of last year. When he is healthy, he is one of the best young receivers in football.
Penning has been a less successful draft pick. So much so that they have continued to take offensive tackles in the first round of the previous two drafts as well. His best chance to earn another contract after this year appears to be with a switch to left guard.
Taylor is somewhere in between. He has shown flashes but is a bit of a tweener in the cornerback room and doesn’t exactly fit the mold on either side. He has 210 career tackles with 41 passes defended and two interceptions. He could break out in the new Brandon Staley defense, though.
Neither of the final two picks have worked out. D’Marco Jackson is still floating around on special teams and Jordan Jackson is now with Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos.