Despite being 6-7 on the season, the New Orleans Saints are still very much alive for a playoff spot in the NFC. Their victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 14 put them in a three-way tie with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South.
It is a race that looks like it will go down to the wire as none of the teams are good enough to pull away from the others. The Saints are in this position because the Falcons were unable to put away the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, which would have given them a 7-6 record on the season.
This will be an interesting race to keep an eye on because whoever doesn’t win could end up with a top-10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Whoever wins the division will be picking somewhere in the late teens, a drastic difference when considering the caliber of prospect who could be on the board.
NFL News & Rumors: Jayden Daniels, 2024 NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints Updates
For the long-term health of the franchise, losing the division may not be the worst thing for the Saints. In desperate need of a reset in many ways, losing out on the division and having to play the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card isn’t the worst thing.
Based on projections over at PFF, that is exactly what they believe will happen. The Saints will miss out on the postseason, but they will address their need for a long-term option at quarterback. In a recent mock draft, Trevor Sikkema believes the Saints will land Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels ninth overall.
“Daniels is the biggest riser in the draft class to this point. An afterthought for many going into the year, Daniels had a Heisman-worthy season at LSU. He recorded elite season grades as a passer and a runner to garner the top overall quarterback grade in the FBS (94.7). He has drastically improved both how he takes care of the football (see 2022) and how he sees the field and executes big-time plays (see 2023),” wrote Sikkema.
NFL News & Rumors: Jayden Daniels, 2024 NFL Draft, New Orleans Saints Updates
After Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, the consensus top two signal callers in the 2024 NFL Draft class, an argument could be made for Daniels sliding into that No. 3 spot. He will be competing with fellow Heisman Trophy finalists Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. for that spot.
In Sikkema’s mock draft, Penix isn’t even a first-round pick, whole Nix goes No. 21 to the Minnesota Vikings. Based on how that mock draft turned out, even if the Saints were to win the NFC South and pick closer to 20 overall, there is a great chance one of the top signal callers will still be on the board when they come on the clock.
The last four games on their regular season schedule will essentially be playoff games every week. They host the New York Giants in Week 15 before heading on the road to face the Los Angeles Rams and Buccaneers. New Orleans then finishes the season at home against the Falcons in a game that could decide the division winner.
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