Saints 7-round mock draft: NOLA bolsters DL in first round

Round 5: Pick 139 - Daiyan Henley, LB (Washington State)

One thing jumps off the page when looking at Daiyan Henley's stats -- The dude is a tackling machine! He totaled 106 tackles through 12 games at Washington State. He played the previous four years at Nevada but really upped his draft stock with what he was able to do for the Cougars this year.

With Kaden Elliss hitting free agency, the Saints could use a player to pair with Demario Davis and Pete Werner who can wrap up position players and bring them down. Henley would be a nice fit with this defense.

Round 7: Pick 222 - Ali Gaye, EDGE (LSU)

A familiar name to Saints fans, Ali Gaye has the tools to be a nice pass-rusher wherever he ends up. The Saints' pass-rush has been decent in 2022 but Gaye would be a nice depth piece to add to it. He tallied 2.5 sacks with the Tigers this past season.

Round 7: Pick 257 - Daniel Scott, S (California)

NFL Mock Draft Database was obsessed with wanting me to draft a safety so I doubt they were happy that I waited until the final pick to do so. While Tyrann Mathieu hasn't been what fans were hoping for, he's been serviceable and Marcus Maye has shined in recent games as well.

What Daniel Scott could provide is depth for the secondary. We know that the Saints are an injury-prone team so why not add to an important area on defense? Scott notched 85 tackles and three interceptions in 2022.

What do you think of this mock draft, Saints fans? Are there any picks that would have you really excited?