One of the biggest weeks of the NFL offseason is upon us, as the draft is right around the corner, and teams make their final preparations to ensure they are ready for the big three-day event. The New Orleans Saints have a lot of pressure on their shoulders to get things right this year. After an exceptional 2025 class, they want to get back to a competitive level. The way to do exactly that is to find young talent once again that can improve their roster in the short and long term.

With mock drafts swirling and many major media outlets posting their final ones, Dane Brugler of The Athletic was able to compile his seven-round final mock recently. This is an exceptional amount of work, no doubt, and when it comes to the Saints, he ended up going offense in the first round, picking Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate: "Pass rusher or cornerback are attractive options here, but the Saints urgently need to find upgrades at wide receiver — especially as they figure out if quarterback Tyler Shough is a short-term stopgap or a long-term answer."

As for the remainder of the class, he split the difference between offense and defense, taking four of each across all eight picks. He did a good job of filling all the primary positions of need at wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback, offensive and defensive line depth, and then tight end, and wide receiver again.

Having a wide receiver corps consisting of Chris Olave, Carnell Tate, Devaughn Vele, Ja'Lynn Polk, Bub Means, and Zavion Thomas is extremely exciting, as is adding Joe Royer to an already strong tight end room. The defensive additions in this mock are all promising as well, and fill immediate needs with long-term answers.

Building an offense for Tyler Shough to work with is key, and Brugler did exactly that, while also building a defense that is a force to be reckoned with. Getting good utilization out of every pick can be the difference between a difficult season and a competitive one, and a draft like this would likely make the Saints a member of the latter category.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: Saints pick WR Carnell Tate in final mock draft