{"id":717718,"date":"2026-01-30T23:51:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/717718\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T23:51:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T23:51:28","slug":"10-senior-bowl-standouts-who-fit-the-saints-nfl-draft-needs-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/717718\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Senior Bowl standouts who fit the Saints’ NFL draft needs | Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOBILE, Ala. \u2014 Members of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff got a good, up-close look<\/a> at the American Team at the Senior Bowl. Members of the Saints scouting staff closely watched the National Team since they could rely on their coaches\u2019 feedback for the other squad.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s time for the two teams to actually play each other.<\/p>\n

Senior Bowl week concludes Saturday when the American and National teams face off in the all-star event at Hancock Whitney Stadium at the University of South Alabama. It has been a productive week for the Saints, who have seven assistants helping with the game and had their staff on hand to examine this year\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n

With three days of practices in the books, here are 10 players who stood out relative to the Saints\u2019 needs:<\/p>\n

Mike Washington, Arkansas RB<\/p>\n

If the Saints are searching for a lead back \u2014 and they don\u2019t select Notre Dame\u2019s Jeremiyah Love in the first round \u2014 Washington has emerged as a fascinating option. Not only was his 6-foot, 226-pound frame fully noticeable on runs, but the Arkansas product was one of the fastest players at the Senior Bowl. He clocked an impressive 21 miles per hour on one of his rushes, a staggering number given his size.<\/p>\n

Zion Young, Missouri DE<\/p>\n

College scouting director Jeff Ireland said that the Saints\u2019 prototype for defensive ends has changed under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley\u2019s scheme. That said, Young sure looked like the type of pass rusher the Saints have become enamored with over the years. He\u2019s 6-foot-5, 262 pounds and was a consistent presence off the edge. He might not be on the board when the Saints pick in the second round, but he\u2019d be a fun player to pair with Chase Young.<\/p>\n

Ted Hurst, Georgia State WR<\/p>\n

Take a look at any list of Senior Bowl standouts, and Hurst likely will be on it. The 6-3, 207-pound receiver stood out in a big way throughout the week. He\u2019s not the fastest receiver, but he displayed crafty footwork to win his routes. He also can excel at contested catches. As The Athletic\u2019s Dane Brugler noted, Hurst had the most 20-plus yard catches in the FBS over the last two seasons with 34.<\/p>\n

Malachi Fields, Notre Dame WR<\/p>\n

Fields may not have put up eye-popping stats (36 catches for 630 yards and five touchdowns) in his lone year at Notre Dame last season, but the former Virginia transfer caught plenty of eyes during the week of Senior Bowl practices. He\u2019s a physically imposing receiver at 6-4 while also having the speed and smoothness to get by defenders. He made an impressive diving catch deep down the field Wednesday on which he split the cornerback and the safety to break free.<\/p>\n

Tyron Montgomery, John Carroll WR<\/p>\n

Montgomery\u2019s emergence is what makes the Senior Bowl fun. The little-known 5-11 Montgomery popped on people\u2019s radars this week as he looked like he belonged, despite competing at the Division III level in college. He didn\u2019t play football until his junior year of college. He played basketball in high school and even spent a semester of his freshman year as a walk-on basketball player at LSU.<\/p>\n

Keylan Rutledge, Georgia Tech OL<\/p>\n

Coaches had to warn Rutledge several times to stop being overly aggressive in practice, and Saints fans everywhere had flashbacks to Trevor Penning. Still, Rutledge\u2019s aggressiveness is an appealing aspect to his game, and the 6-3, 316-pound guard can bully people on the inside. Primarily a guard in college, Rutledge worked at all three interior spots throughout the week to display his versatility. The Saints need interior offensive line help, making Rutledge someone to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Wright, Auburn OL<\/p>\n

Wright dominated his one-on-one battles in practice, including the last rep of Tuesday\u2019s practice in which he threw Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton to the ground. The circle of teammates around him went nuts, and for good reason. It was a big-time move, one that Wright showed he could consistently make. The 6-5, 340-pounder started 12 games at right guard for Auburn last season.<\/p>\n

Kaelon Black, Indiana RB<\/p>\n

Black could be a fun weapon for the Saints as a third-down, change-of-pace back. The 5-9 rusher stood out in the passing game, where he excelled as a receiving threat. Though he was hardly used as a receiver in college \u2014 he had just four catches for 36 yards with the Hooisers \u2014 perhaps that could change at the next level. It was also noteworthy that Black attended the Senior Bowl after playing in the national championship just a week earlier.<\/p>\n

Will Kacmarek, Ohio State TE<\/p>\n

With Foster Moreau and Jack Stoll set to be free agents, the Saints could use a physical, run-blocking tight end to complement starter Juwan Johnson. Enter Kacmarek. The 6-6, 240-pound tight end had only 15 catches for 168 yards last season, but that hardly matters. Kacmarek can help a team in the NFL if he blocks the way he did in college and during these practices.<\/p>\n

Kyle Louis, Pittsburgh LB<\/p>\n

Linebacker isn\u2019t a huge need for New Orleans, but we\u2019re bending the rules a little bit here. Even if Demario Davis leaves in free agency<\/a>, the team\u2019s brass has confidence in 2025 fourth-rounder Danny Stutsman. But Louis drew rave reviews in Mobile, including from ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who said the Pittsburgh product was among the National Team linebackers who \u201cset the tone\u201d for three days of practice. Perhaps undersized at 5-11 and 224 pounds, Louis still hits with a thud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MOBILE, Ala. \u2014 Members of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff got a good, up-close look at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":717719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,4095,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-717718","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-hardwall","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanssaints","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115986739041054139","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717718","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=717718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}