Analyst Proposes ‘Surprise’ Addition For Saints

The New Orleans Saints have plenty of holes to fill in the upcoming National Football League Draft.

New Orleans has nine picks to work with and plenty of work to still do, especially after the recent news involving Derek Carr’s mysterious shoulder injury.

It’s an odd time for New Orleans but it has the No. 9 pick in the draft, on the bright side. The Saints are going to get some sort of big piece on a cheap rookie year. Who will it be? 

Recently, a lot of the talk has been about guys like Shedeur Sanders, Ashton Jeanty, Tyler Warren, and Jaxson Dart. While this is the case, Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman suggested a “surprise” choice of Ole Miss All-American Walter Nolen instead.

"No. 9. New Orleans Saints: DI Walter Nolen," Wasserman said. "Given the uncertainty surrounding Derek Carr’s shoulder injury, the Saints could be in the market for a quarterback. There have also been whispers about upgrading the offensive line or adding help off the edge.

"Another possibility? Reinforcing the interior of the defensive line with a prospect like Walter Nolen — and hoping he develops more consistently than Bryan Bresee has through his first two seasons."

Now this would actually be a pretty big surprise. The Saints need more offensive weapons and even more importantly, need a quarterback. Getting a player like Nolen would be nice too, but there are bigger needs for the team right now. He was an All-American in 2024 and had 6 1/2 sacks, but this would be a hard sell with the other issues going on with the team right now.

This was shared in a column that specifically talked about “surprise” ideas, but this doesn’t seem very likely unless there is some sort of trade for the franchise.

More NFL: Saints Fan-Favorite Called Potential Derek Carr Replacement