Draft day is finally here, but what do the New Orleans Saints have in the works? The Saints are set up to be major players in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, whether they stay put at No. 8 overall, trade up in a bold move, or even look to move down and acquire more picks -- something that hasn't happened in almost two decades. To try and set expectations for Thursday night (and pick up the opportunity for some "I told you so's" after the fact), we gathered bold predictions from each of our staff writers.
These bold predictions were collected anonymously, but we still found some agreements:
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Saints trade up for Ohio State star Arvell Reese
This is entirely dependent on the New York Jets selecting David Bailey at No. 2, but they appear to be trending that way over the past few weeks. The Arizona Cardinals are also rumored to be interested in trading back from No. 3 and who better to move up than the Saints? Reese is a project as a pass rusher, but there's no denying the talent and potential that he'll bring to an NFL franchise; New Orleans lands its 20-year-old defensive cornerstone for years to come. -- Arye Pulli
My bold prediction for Thursday night is that Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese slips to No. 5, opening the door for a move from Mickey Loomis and the Saints’ front office. After further discussions, New Orleans packages a deal, likely including their No. 73 pick, to trade up with the New York Giants and secure the selection. In doing so, the Saints land a top-three talent in this draft and a versatile defensive chess piece perfectly suited for Brandon Staley’s scheme. -- Luke Loffredo
Saints trade down for the first time in 19 years
Dallas has reportedly shown great interest in trading into the top ten. They have the ammunition to do so. New Orleans is attempting to build off a good 2025 draft, but still has some significant needs to address. This trade would cause the Saints to run the risk of losing out on one of the top three edge rushers. But, it also would give them four picks in the top 75 selections and a chance to address pass rusher, wide receiver, and cornerback. In 23 years as the general manager of the Saints, Mickey Loomis has never traded back in the first round. Perhsps that changes with Randy Mueller and Thomas Dimitroff, along with Jeff Ireland and of course Kellen Moore, involved in the decision process. -- Bob Rose
The New Orleans Saints, frankly, should consider moving down in the 2026 class. Will they? Probably not. But at the end of the day, they desperately need more talent across multiple positions, as well as 2027 compensation, and this class is not a particularly strong one. Trading down has been on the mind of everyone recently seemingly, but if the Saints can actually pull it off, it would certainly be a favorable decision long term. -- Jeremy Trottier
Saints stay put, draft this year's only first-round RB
Let's get nuts. There's a ton of speculation about where Jeremiyah Love could land, but everyone agrees he'll be a top-10 pick. The teams picking ahead of the Saints shouldn't take a running back this early, but New Orleans has done enough work in free agency to set themselves up for it. Love can be the Mark Ingram II to Travis Etienne Jr.'s Alvin Kamara (who seems to be on the way out this summer) and give the Saints a very dominant run game to take pressure off of Tyler Shough. He could follow in Ingram and Kamara's footsteps and claim every team rushing record someday. -- John Sigler
The Saints end up with two first-round picks
The Saints are ready to compete with Tyler Shough, and only have a handful of true holes on their roster that can't really be addressed in free agency. There are a couple of players in the first round that they are high on, and this isn't a very deep class. If they can trade back into the first round and end up grabbing both a dynamic wide receiver and a pass rusher, it would be a huge win. -- Dylan Sanders
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Bold predictions for New Orleans Saints in Round 1