Updated Saints Draft Position Going Into Week 18, Needs and Way-Too-Early Mock

The Saints continue to hold onto the 10th spot in the draft, and they might not move up much when it's all said and done.

Dec 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (90) reacts to making a tackle against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Saints regular season finale against the Bucs sees them as heavy underdogs. A win for Tampa will give them the NFC South, while an upset win for New Orleans will give the Falcons the division. Needless to say, there's some major irony in there with Atlanta needing to root for the black and gold.

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Despite another loss and sinking to 5-11 on the year, the draft position hasn't changed for the Saints. It's crazy to think that 5 wins in 2024 only gets the Saints the 10th pick. If they finished this way last year, it would have been good for a Top 5 selection. There's no way New Orleans can get there this season, even by losing to the Bucs.

Here's the current Top 10 draft order across the league.

Current 2025 NFL Draft Order

1. Patriots (3-13)
2. Titans (3-13)
3. Browns (3-13)
4. Giants (3-13)
5. Jaguars (4-12)
6. Panthers (4-12)
7. Jets (4-12)
8. Raiders (4-12)
9. Bears (4-12)
10. Saints (5-11)

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If you're rooting for a better pick situation, then it's probably not going to happen. The first tiebreaker for draft positioning is the strength of schedule. That's determined by the combined record of its opponents, and the lower strength of schedule gets the better pick. According to Tankathon, you'd want to root for the Ravens, Bears and Rams in Week 18.

With the Commanders getting into the postseason, you'll want to pay attention to when/if they get eliminated. New Orleans has a 3rd and 4th Round pick from Washington from the Marshon Lattimore trade. That would affect where they'll pick in addition to having their own selections.

When I did my playing GM for the Saints piece, I put out a way-too-early mock draft for the Saints. Here's what I came up with.

• Round 1 (10th Overall) - Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
• Round 2 (42nd Overall) - Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
• Round 3 (74th Overall) - Mason Taylor, TE, LSU
• Round 3 (89th Overall) - Shemar Turner, DT, TAMU
• Round 4 (111th Overall) - Jaeden Roberts, IOL, Alabama
• Round 4 (127th Overall) - Sebastian Castro, DB, Iowa