With the 2026 NFL Draft just over four months away and the postseasons of both professional and college football coming to a close, many athletes hopeful of hearing their names called in April are prepping to put forth their best for scouts, coaches, and staff of teams seeking to fill their needs. As for Kellen Moore, Mickey Loomis, and the New Orleans Saints, the eighth overall pick of the draft will add another foundational pillar to the future of football in the Big Easy.<\/p>\n
This mock draft was completed without New Orleans submitting any trades, although such trades are certainly feasible within the early round selections. The Saints currently hold one pick in each of the first three rounds of the upcoming draft in Pittsburgh. They will choose prospects at slots 8, 42, and 73.<\/p>\n
While many believed that the Saints would be locked into selecting a top quarterback following the early portion of this past season, the performance from 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough has given New Orleans new life at the position. With their QB of the future locked in, this will allow the team to build around him and get new weapons on both sides of the football. Here\u2019s how I could see things breaking down:<\/p>\n
Round 1, Pick 8- Rueben Bain Jr., EDGE, Miami (FL)<\/p>\n
Should Auburn\u2019s Keldric Faulk be the first edge defender taken in the draft, there is a very real possibility that Miami\u2019s Rueben Bain Jr., whom many believe to be a top-three talent in this year\u2019s draft, could fall to number eight, where New Orleans would be waiting to pounce. Bain, a three-year player at UM, is having a career season helping Miami find a spot in the National Championship game. The 6\u20193\u201d pass rusher has nearly 20 sacks over the course of the past three years and has come to be an opposing QB\u2019s worst nightmare. With uncertainty about whether or not longtime Saint Cam Jordan will return to the team, Who Dat Nation could very well be looking at Jordan\u2019s successor, the defense so desperately needs.<\/p>\n
Round 2, Pick 42- Germie Bernard, WR, Alabama<\/p>\n
After securing a top defender in the draft class, Tyler Shough will get a new pass catcher on the roster at a big position of need. The Saints lack size in their wide receiver room. They need someone with a large frame, strong hands, and a knack for finding the open space within the defense. Germie Bernard checks all of those boxes for New Orleans\u2014the 6\u20191\u201d, 204lb. Wideout has made a few stops on his collegiate football trail. After beginning with Michigan State, he found himself playing first for the Washington Huskies and then wrapping up his playing time with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bernard gathered over 2,200 receiving yards through college on 155 receptions. He is a smart, sure-handed playmaker that I am sure Kellen Moore would love to have in his offense.<\/p>\n
Round 3, Pick 73- Hezekiah Masses, CB, California<\/p>\n
Hezekiah Masses is a 6\u20191\u201d senior cornerback from the California Golden Bears. After playing for three seasons as a Panther at Florida International, Masses went cross-country to play at CAL. There, he burst onto the scene and secured five interceptions in his senior season. The CB is active on the field and has a nose for the football. Masses had 24 pass breakups throughout his four college seasons, including 12 of them in 2025. One of the quickest-rising defenders in the upcoming draft class could find a home within Brandon Staley\u2019s top-ten defense next season and serve a large role as a rookie.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2026 NFL Draft just over four months away and the postseasons of both professional and college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,896,55,18637,402,403,401,2588,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-679743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-orleans","10":"tag-new-orleans-saints","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints-depth-chart","12":"tag-new-orleans-saints-draft","13":"tag-new-orleans-saints-mock-drafts","14":"tag-new-orleans-saints-news","15":"tag-new-orleans-saints-roster","16":"tag-neworleans","17":"tag-neworleanssaints","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115900274789843144","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}