The Saints have the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft, and Matt Severance breaks down their options
By Matt Severance Apr 17, 2026 at 9:22 am ET • 4 min read
Last college football season was one of my favorite in years because my Miami Hurricanes got all the way to the national title game. While I think the Canes will be top contenders again in 2026, they did lose a fair amount of talent, led by ACC Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Bain Jr. And as I preview the New Orleans Saints picking No. 8 overall in the first round of next Thursday's NFL Draft, Bain is the +350 favorite to be the choice.
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With all due respect to Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez winning the 2025 Bednarik Award as college football's Defensive Player of the Year, no one was more disruptive than Bain. And if College Football Playoff games were allowed to be included before taking the vote, then he would have won. He was a one-man wrecking crew in wins over Texas A&M (upset), Ohio State (upset), Ole Miss and the title game loss to Indiana, where Bain still had eight total tackles and a sack. He might be my favorite Miami defensive player since the late Sean Taylor.
Obviously the Raiders will take Hoosiers QB Francisco Mendoza at No. 1 overall, but why is Bain a +6500 long shot to go second to the New York Jets behind fellow pass rushers David Bailey of Texas Tech (-135) and Ohio State's Arvell Reese (+105). It has nothing to do with production at the college level, that's for sure. By the way, The CBS Sports Big Board basically agrees with me, as it ranks Bain as the No. 2 prospect overall.
But there is a worry about Bain's arm length. Yep, that's a thing for NFL scouts regarding pass rushers (and offensive linemen). He measured with 30 7/8-inch arms at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, among the shortest for an edge defender. So that raised red flags on some teams as nearly every single starting offensive tackle in the NFL has arms that measure way longer than 30 7/8 inches.
And apparently Bain is not a great fit for some teams because he's a considered a classic 4-3 defensive end playing with his hand on the ground whereas Bailey and Reese are stand-up edge rushers fit for 3-4 scheme.
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Obviously the Saints are the eighth team I have previewed so far and as noted above, this is the first time of that group Bain is favored to be picked at the exact spot. He's not really close to favored for any in the Top 6 but is among them at seventh, priced at +550 to go to Washington. And Bain is the +300 favorite for ninth to Kansas City. His Over/Under draft position is thus 8.5, but the Over is massively juiced at -320.
For some reason, DraftKings has "first position drafted by team" odds for every club in the NFC South but New Orleans. No doubt pass-rusher is a need, because franchise sack leader Cameron Jordan is still a free agent and probably won't be back after leading in 2025 with 10.5 sacks. But Chase Young is back after a stellar 10-sack season, so perhaps the Saints look elsewhere first.
They don't have true No. 2 receiver opposite Chris Olave – they certainly didn't add one in free agency -- and Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate is the +425 co-second favorite to be the choice at No. 8. It seems more likely than not he's off the board, as he's considered by many scouts to be the No. 1 wideout. Arizona State's Jordyn Tyson is also +425 and likely is there, and he is ranked by CBS as the No. 23 overall prospect.
And New Orleans could use help in the secondary (who couldn't) after losing starter Alontae Taylor to the Titans in free agency. Taylor played in every game last year and had terrific numbers with 83 tackles, 11 passes defended and two interceptions. The Saints wouldn't have to go far to get help at corner with LSU's Mansoor Delane also priced +425 to be the choice.
The CBS Sports mock drafts and really all that I've seen are all over the place for the Who Dats. But at least they appear to have found their long-term QB in Round 2 last year in Tyler Shough. So they are not taking Alabama's Ty Simpson at No. 8 (+8000 to land in the Big Easy).
The last time New Orleans picked No. 8 overall was in 1993, and the franchise hit a grand slam by selecting future Hall of Famer Willie Roaf, an offensive tackle out of Louisiana Tech.
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Pick: The Saints are always unpredictable in the draft it seems -- think Sonny Weaver Jr. ("Draft Day" was utterly absurd but mildly entertaining). At this time last year, offensive lineman Kelvin Banks wasn't on most experts' radar for New Orleans at No. 9 overall, but he was the pick. If Tate is there at 8, he's probably the choice, but that's not likely so Bain it is.
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