Early 2027 Draft Positional Needs for the Saints

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With all eyes on the New Orleans Saints' 2026 regular season, I decided it would be a perfect time to look a bit further. The Saints have been dealing with an insane number of injuries this offseason, to the point that it may really affect the team's success moving forward. Hopefully, those injuries will stay away from the rest of the roster, but it's impossible to say that won't happen. 

Even with those injuries, the roster makes it pretty clear where the Saints' strengths and weaknesses lie. An impressive offseason that attacked many of the top needs will improve this team, but they were not able to fix everything.

Since I did this same idea back in May, some things have changed. The two positions that I chose as clear positions to target in the draft were CB and EDGE. Going into game 3 of preseason, those needs have not changed too much. I feel a bit better about Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley moving forward, and Jonas Sanker at slot, but I can also see a future where the Saints still must find another CB.

Regarding EDGE, this is still the #1 need for me. Chase Young is the guy on that defensive line, but behind him, it can get scary. Carl Granderson is up and down, Cam Jordan will be here for 1 last year, Anfernee Jennings is a good run defender but not a great pass rusher, and Tyree Wilson is a project. Also, Michael Heldman could make this roster as another project, but relying on him is not even in consideration. Getting a young rookie in that pass rush group would do wonders. 

The major change in this draft need projection is RB, DT, and guard. Two of these positions, RB and DT, have skyrocketed as needs due to injuries. Alvin Kamara, Devin Neal, and Audric Estime have all dealt with or are dealing with injuries, and the Saints are now relying on Kendre Miller at RB2, who has had his own fair share of injuries. It's not clear if the Saints' RB2 in 2027 is on this roster, so selecting one to be the long-term RB1 as well makes sense. Next is DT, and this is mainly because of Bryan Bresee. The young DT is out for the entire season, and his future is very unclear. Christen Miller was a great pick, and Vernon Broughton could be a future option, but getting another young guy here could set the defensive line up really well. 

Last is guard, and the reason it's on this list is the depth. The Saints selected Jeremiah Wright, who has shown some good things this preseason but does not seem ready. If the Saints end up moving on from Cesar Ruiz, which is a realistic outcome, they need a guy to take over, and going to Wright may be risky. 

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