Saints Predicted To Add 2,601-Yard Superstar RB, Pass On Shedeur Sanders

Does Alvin Kamara need a successor?

Dec 6, 2024; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) is interviewed by Fox Sports reporter Allison Williams after the game against the UNLV Rebels at Albertsons Stadium. Boise State beats UNLV 21-7. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-Imagn Images / Brian Losness-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints have plenty of options in front of them with the ninth pick in this year's NFL Draft.

After a 5-12 season, the Saints boast one of the NFL's most expensive, yet barren rosters. With a general lack of stars, they could easily take a top offensive playmaker, a game-breaker on defense, or a stalwart in the trenches on either side of the ball.

Plus, if one of the top two quarterbacks falls, the Saints will have to strongly consider taking them. Derek Carr may still be the team's starter for now, but he stuck around mainly because he's expensive and the Saints didn't have many options to find a trade for him.

As a first-time head coach, highly-touted offensive play-caller Kellen Moore will have a chance to shape New Orleans' personnel to his liking in 2025. But if he and general manager Mickey Loomis are faced with the choice between a top quarterback and a top running back with their first selection, which way might they swing?

On Monday, John Sigler of Saints Wire predicted the latter. In a mock draft exercise, Sigler predicted the Saints would take Boise State superstar running back Ashton Jeanty at pick nine, passing on Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was surprisingly still on the board.

"The Saints may consider Shedeur Sanders here, and I expect Kellen Moore to start adding his own quarterbacks to the room sooner or later. But the Saints believe they can contend in the NFC South and a backup QB doesn’t help them achieve that goal," Sigler wrote.

"Jeanty, the best runner in a class full of talented running backs, livens up the NFL’s least explosive running game and sets up a transition for the last few years of Alvin Kamara’s career. He can be the big-play threat Moore enjoyed with Saquon Barkley in the Philadelphia Eagles backfield a year ago."

Jeanty, 21, rushed for 2,601 yards this past season--the second-most in a single season in NCAA history. Easing him in with a backfield timeshare, especially with a longtime star like Kamara to help guide him, could be an ideal way to get acclimated to the NFL level.

Do the Saints really need two great running backs if the rest of the offense is subpar? The answer to that question could depend on just how effective Jeanty and Kamara would be as a duo.

More NFL: Saints Could Trade 2-Time 1,000-Yard Receiver To Chiefs In Offseason Stunner