New Orleans Saints Depth Chart
- NFC South
- Stadium
- Caesars Superdome
- Head Coach
- Dennis Allen
- Offensive Coordinator
- Klint Kubiak
- Defensive Coordinator
- Joe Woods
- Special Teams Coach
- Darren Rizzi
- Defensive Scheme
- 4-3
With the No. 41 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Saints selected Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. New Orleans traded with Green Bay for this pick, so the 21-year-old will fill a void on the defensive side of the ball. McKinstry, a 2023 All-American, played three seasons at Alabama. He totaled 93 tackles (62 solo), adding two picks, two sacks, and 23 passes defensed. With the Saints looking to finish atop the NFC South in 2024-25, McKinstry should play a pivotal role right out of the gate.
With the No. 15 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Colts selected UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu. There was talk he would go earlier in the night. However, concerns surrounding his neck may have caused him to slide to the middle of the first round. But the Colts took a chance and could benefit by taking a player who totaled 34 sacks in two seasons with the Bruins. At 6'5'', 265 lbs., he may make an impact for IDP managers right out of the gate.
With the No. 14 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Saints selected Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga. The 22-year-old had a lengthy college career with the Beavers. While he got off to a slow start, he ended his final season by being named an All-American. New Orleans has plenty of areas that need to be addressed, but the line was arguably the team's biggest weakness. Fuaga has a chance to start right away and should help keep Derek Carr vertical more often than he was during the 2023-24 campaign.
There remains no timetable for the return of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb (knee) after he was injured in Week 9 when chasing down Tennessee Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins when teammate Keanu Neal collided with him. "I can tell you Cole [Holcomb's] working extremely hard to get back," general manager Omar Khan said.. "I don't really have much to add on the timeline. We've discussed this, it was a major injury but he is working hard and I'm optimistic about all the effort he's going to put into getting back on the field." The 27-year-old required season-ending surgery, and many thought it might put an end to his career. However, the former fifth-round pick of the Washington Commanders in 2019 out of North Carolina is working his way back and is hoping to play in 2024 after recording 442 tackles (270 solo) and 4.5 sacks in his first five NFL seasons over 58 games (56 starts).
On The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said "it's been tracking for LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to go at No. 2" to the Washington Commanders. However, no final decision has been made yet, and Schefter reports that Daniels has had an interest in being other places besides D.C. Daniels appears to be the Commanders' preference at No. 2 overall in next week's draft, but perhaps something changes now if they don't think he'll be fully committed to playing for their organization. General manager Adam Peters said on Thursday that it's pretty much a done deal that Washington won't trade out of the No. 2 pick, but his nugget from Schefter could change some things. In the end, Schefter still thinks Daniels is the favorite to go second overall to the Commanders.