The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is tonight and the Saints hold the 29th overall pick thanks to Sean Payton’s move to Denver. New Orleans’ tenth overall pick belongs to the Eagles after trading up in last year’s first round. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis is known for his aggressive drafting strategy and seems open to moving up again if possible. He said the Saints don’t have the ammunition to make a big jump forward, but don’t expect them to move back either.
His philosophy is to “find somebody you love and go get him, and if you think you can get him where you’re at then stay where you’re at. I just feel like the philosophy of trading back means, if you really believe in your board and you believe how it’s gonna fall, that you’re moving back to get a lesser player.”
After an offseason of speculation and key free agent signings many believe the Saints will try to address tight end or the interior defensive line with their top overall pick. Loomis said this year’s tight end and cornerback classes were especially deep, but New Orleans isn’t opposed to adding to an already strong position group.
“We took Deuce McCallister when we had Ricky Williams. It was just glaring how high we had Deuce versus when we were picking, and yeah, let’s take him. We’d never remove a position no matter how strong it is. There’s nothing wrong with building a strength.”
A couple LSU players will hope to hear their names called over the weekend. Edge rusher BJ Ojulari is the Tigers’ strongest prospect, but at 6 ‘2 ” 248 lbs could be slightly undersized for his position. Draft Analyst Mike Detillier said he’s shown a lot of technical talent at one of the most sought-after positions in the NFL Draft, but he’s just on the outside of the first round looking in.
“From 24 to 44 in the rankings it’s so close, and it’s a matter of opinion what you wanna go by. BJ Ojulari is a guy that I think a lot of teams like because of his talent, also his leadership, and what he brings to the locker room.”
Wide Receiver Kayshon Boutte shocked LSU fans when he declared for the draft after initially planning to return to LSU. Boutte began the season as a preseason All-American and projected first round pick but struggled throughout the year for the Tigers and wasn’t able to impress in pre-draft workouts. Detillier projects him to go in the third or fourth round and suspects the ankle injury that ended his 2022 season has a lot to do with his regression.
“That seemed to be a major issue with him, that he was not nearly as quick or as fast, and when he made a catch as a freshman and sophomore his run after catch skills were so good. We didn’t see that a year ago, so that tells me he’s got a physical issue and then it started affecting his confidence as a player.”
The first round begins tonight at 7:00.
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