Edge rusher and wide receiver are arguably the two most glaring holes on the New Orleans Saints roster at the moment. In the ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s final mock draft, the Saints checked those boxes in a major way. They landed Rueben Bain in the first and were lucky enough for KC Concepcion to fall to them in the second round.
While Kiper's mock does feature two trades, the Saints appropriately stayed put. Kiper went with Bain over prospects like Jordyn Tyson and Mansoor Delane. A home run pick if it happens, he and Chase Young could run the New Orleans defensive line for the next decade. He's also a player that the Saints have shown some real interest in. So it's not just hearsay from Kiper Jr.
On the next day of the draft, Kiper has the Saints selecting a weapon for Tyler Shough who can stand right beside Chris Olave: Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion. One of the top wide receivers this year, he was a consensus All-American along with first-team All-SEC in 2025. His insane ability to gain yards after the catch, could make him immediately beneficial to the Saints' offense. Right now, they don't really have that YAC guy, and Concepcion could be that guy for them.
The Saints need to draft a wide receiver within the first two days of the draft
WR KC Concepcion turned heads with @AggieFootball this season 👀
— NFL (@NFL) February 25, 2026
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The NFL draft is getting ever closer, and some needs have gotten more glaring for the New Orleans Saints. One being the need for a wide receiver, which was a huge bugaboo last season.
They do have a decent amount of talent already in-house, but none of them, except for Chris Olave, have shown as much juice as some of the guys in the draft. The gap from WR1 to WR2 was also staggering last year, with a couple of hundred receiving yards separating the two positions. Olave needs more help next season, whether or not it's from a rookie. However, a rookie might have the best shot at it. The amount of talent in the draft at the position this year is astounding.
Along with Concepcion, there are also the likes of Chris Bell, Denzel Boston, Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate, and Jordyn Tyson. So much potential is available to the Saints this year, and they have early enough draft picks (8 and 42) to get two of the bona fide elite guys if they want. Though, that would be a little excessive. The Saints would be smart to come away with one of them within the first two days of the draft, because they might not fall much further than that.
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