When one draft ends, preparation for the next one begins. Pro Football Focus' Daire Carragher wasted no time rolling out a Way-too-early 2027 mock draft. It may be too early, but he hit the nail right on the head for the New Orleans Saints with the Colin Simmons selection. As soon as the Saints concluded their "give Tyler Shough more weapons" offseason, fans started campaigning for Simmons.
The Duncanville High School product was one of the best prospects in the nation and quickly became one of the most dynamic edge rushers in the SEC. Simmons recorded 9 sacks as a true freshman and followed it up with a conference-leading 12 sacks in 2025. Both years, he paired impressive sack numbers with three forced fumbles.
Simmons would be an absolute game changer off the edge for New Orleans. The same way Jordyn Tyson gives the Saints the chance to have one of the best receiving duos with Chris Olave, Simmons would give the Saints that potential next to Chase Young. Need more hype? Carragher said, "Simmons would have been in the mix near the top of the 2025 class alongside David Bailey and Arvell Reese." We're talking about the second and fifth overal pick.
Edge rusher feels like the safest bet for the Saints in next year's NFL Draft
It's between corner and edge rusher for the Saints' most likely position in the first round. They're the two premier positions on the defense, so it makes sense to address them early in what should be a defense centric draft. The Saints having two young players starting at corner gives the slight advantage to edge rusher.
Chase Young is poised to get contract extension after next season if his production continues to ascend. On the other side of him, the answers get slim. Carl Granderson has been too inconsistent over the years. It's hard to feel like he'd keep the Saints from drafting Simmons, even with a strong 2026 campaign.
This 2027 mock draft played out significantly different than the draft a week ago. The Saints area in nearly an identical spot once again. In this case, they pick seventh over but still land the best edge rusher in the class. David Bailey and Arvelle Reese were already off the board by that time in this year's draft.
One thing that works in the Saints' favor is they don't need a quarterback or wide receiver. Right now, the draft is stacked up top with quarterbacks, and it's hard to see Jeremiah Smith being anything other than a top 10 pick. It wouldn't be shocking to see 3 or 4 quarterbacks go in the top-10 this year after only one in 2026.
That should naturally push an edge rusher further down than you'd typically see. Nothing is more important than a quarterback, and if the prospects play up to the hype this year, unlike the 2025 season, they'll dominate the top of the draft. The Saints would be one of the underrated benefactors in this hypothetical, especially if they land Colin Simmons.
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