Majority of mock drafts having Saints draft this position is cause for confusion

We're knee-deep in #MockSzn and mock drafts far and wide have the New Orleans Saints taking one position in particular. It may cause some head-scratching for Saints fans.

With a little less than a month to go until the 2023 NFL Draft, excitement is at a fever-pitch, with mock drafts from sea to shining sea getting extra attention. This is especially true for New Orleans Saints fans, who didn't think they would even be picking in the first round coming into the offseason. Thanks to Sean Payton essentially quitting on the team a couple years ago, his move to Denver Broncos means the Saints now have the 29th overall pick in the draft.

It's no secret that the Saints have a lot of needs, but the one position that a lot "expert" mock drafts have them taking isn't exactly on the top of their to-do list.

It would appear that the majority of mock drafts have the Saints going tight end with their first-round pick which is, surprising, to say the least. The most popular tight end is Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame being connected to the Saints.

This is no knock on Mayer the player. He's solid. It's also an added bonus that Notre Dame, along with lowa and to a lesser extent Penn State, have become something of tight end factories in recent years.

This is more to do with the fact that the Saints have bigger fish to fry.

The Saints need to rebuild their lines, both offensively and defensively. Sure, a tight ends do block, but not enough to warrant a first-round selection. Besides, if you look at the recent tight ends selected in the first-round in the last few drafts, the list is wildly mediocre.

This isn't even mentioning the fact that the Saints just gave Juwan Johnson a contract extension, and he certainly deserves it, so why use valuable capital on another tight end?

At the end of the day, mock drafts are simply conversation pieces. That said, the New Orleans Saints still need to steer far away from any potential influence, as a tight end is not something they should worry about when it comes time for them to be on the clock.