Saints make a controversial decision to start 7-round 2026 mock draft

It's Mock Draft Monday! This week we're taking a look at this ambitious seven-round mock draft from Pro Football Sports Network analyst Jacob Infante.

While the Saints drafted one of the best players in college football, it could be seen as a controversial decision to pass on a quarterback with a top-three pick. We'll let you decide. In this scenario, New Orleans started out by spending the third overall pick on Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs. Let's explore each of their selections:

Round 1, 3rd overall: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State

The New Orleans Saints have a handful of glaring needs heading into the 2025 season. The best thing to do in that situation is to just take the best player available, and that’s what they do in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft.

You could make the case that Caleb Downs is the best overall player in college football entering 2025. He’s a big, brilliant defensive back with elite range, sharp processing, and positional versatility. Downs is effective in coverage, disruptive against the run, and brings strong ball skills and effort as a downhill tackler.

Downs is one of the most exciting players in college football this year. He started at Alabama as a true freshman and transferred to Ohio State after Nick Saban retired, where he's developed into of the game's most impactful defenders. He's earned comparisons to modern-day standouts like Budda Baker and Minkah Fitzpatrick as well as all-time great like Ed Reed. It's easy to see him slotting in next to Justin Reid and doing a lot of damage at safety.

But let's say the Saints are bad enough to be picking third overall in 2026 -- meaning they either went 3-14 like the New York Giants did last year or 4-13 like the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals did before them (all teams that picked third overall in recent years). That would mean none of their quarterbacks stepped up, whether that's Rattler, Tyler Shough, or Jake Haener. Would they really be in position to draft a non-QB? Could Kellen Moore afford to wait? It's a debate we hope we won't have to have. In this mock draft, two other quarterbacks went top-10, but neither Garrett Nussmeier nor LaNorris Sellers were drafted close to where the Saints picked Downs.

Round 2, 35th overall: EDGE Tyreak Sapp, Florida

The Saints don’t go with a quarterback early in this 2026 NFL Mock Draft. With this approach, they’ll be able to focus on loading up at other key positions to their bare-bones roster.

Tyreak Sapp is a versatile defensive lineman who can win inside or outside on passing downs. Sapp has an explosive first step and a low center of gravity, and he excels at taking on blocks head-on and breaking them down against the run.

Sapp has the size the Saints value at 6-foot-2 and 274 pounds, but the production hasn't really been there. He's appeared in 37 games for the Gators but came away with just 19 tackles for loss and 9 sacks, 7 of them in last year (his third at Florida). He could be a better pro than college player whose impact isn't reflected on the stat sheet. But that's exactly the type of edge rusher the Saints have swung and missed on too many times as of late.

Round 3, 67th overall: QB John Mateer, Oklahoma

John Mateer is a true gamer who’s accurate, tough and has underrated zip behind his throws. He doesn’t have an elite ceiling, but he’s one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch in this class.

Mateer is on the shorter side for an NFL quarterback at 6-foot-1 and 219 pounds, but no fanbase is going to overlook that more than the Saints. He transferred to Oklahoma after three years at Washington State, where he broke out in 2024 with 3,139 passing yards and 29 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions (while rushing for another 826 yards and 15 touchdowns). He's been compared to former Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield, and like Mayfield, he could experience a meteoric rise up the charts if his playmaking ability translates to the SEC (and the NFL). Until the Saints have a franchise quarterback, they need to keep taking swings -- and in this scenario, they don't.

Late-round picks on Day 3 of the 2026 draft

Round 4, 100th overall: OL Earnest Greene III, Georgia. Greene has almost exclusively played left tackle for the Bulldogs (outside of 31 snaps at right tackle in their playoff loss to Notre Dame), but he hasn't put everything together just yet. He has clear physical gifts and should take a big step forward this year with more experience. He spent the spring practicing at right tackle and that might be where his future lies in the NFL. The NFL Mock Draft Database consensus board puts Greene at No. 140, so this could be seen as a reach, but he's projected as a Day 2 pick from other outlets. At the same time it's very early in the process and no team has thorough prospect rankings right now.

Round 5, 132nd overall: WR Noah Thomas, Georgia.Thomas transferred to Georgia after three years at Texas A&M, where he totaled 73 receptions for 984 yards and 15 touchdowns across 35 games. He's a big target at a listed 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, with some Aggies fans nicknaming him "Mini Mike Evans" earlier in his college career. If he can stay healthy and produce in the Bulldogs' offense, his draft stock may skyrocket. The early consensus board doesn't have a draftable ranking on Thomas right now (No. 564 in a 256-pick draft) but that could change.

Round 6, 164th overall: CB Jyaire Hill, Michigan. Hill started his first nine games last year for the Wolverines and turned in eight pass breakups with an interception, but he played a smaller role down the stretch. He has NFL potential at a listed 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds but needs to get more consistent. One point in his favor? He only drew one penalty flag in 654 career defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus. With Will Johnson off to the pros, expectations are high for Hill going into 2025. He is ranked at No. 147 on the consensus big board, but again, that doesn't mean much in August the year before the draft.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 mock draft: Saints pass on QB, take top-3 prospect Caleb Downs