Pro Football and Sports Network’s latest mock draft has the New Orleans Saints trading up to land a top quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Saints have been searching for a franchise quarterback since Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season, and the organization needs to be aggressive in pursuit of a signal-caller to pair with their new offensive-minded head coach, Kellen Moore.
Saints Predicted To Trade Up Into Top Five To Select Shedeur Sanders
PFSN’s latest mock draft projects that the Saints will trade the No. 9 pick and jump all the way to No. 4 in order to secure their quarterback of the future — Shedeur Sanders.
“The New Orleans Saints are stuck in the middle of the pack with Derek Carr at the helm, which is why they made a shocking trade for Sanders. Because the Colorado Buffaloes star lacks polish, he could sit behind Carr for at least half a season. The New England Patriots originally held this pick but likely wouldn’t be afraid to move down a few selections for additional assets down the line,” said PFN’s Anthony Pasciolla in his latest mock draft.
Carr finished the 2024 regular season with a No. 11 ranking (83.3) and B grade in PFSN’s QB+ metric, but he also missed seven games due to injury. Meanwhile, Sanders scored 151 touchdowns (134 passing, 17 rushing) and threw for over 14,000 yards with only 17 interceptions in his four-year collegiate career.
Shedeur Sanders to the #Saints makes a lot of sense with Kellen Moore… https://t.co/OaZE2geacf pic.twitter.com/0xSqUYZAeR
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) January 31, 2025
Sanders finished with a 23-3 record in two seasons at Jackson State, before transferring to Colorado and going 13-12 in his final two seasons for an overall record of 36-15 as a starting quarterback. Notably, Colorado won just one game in 2022 before improving to four wins in Sanders’ first season and then nine wins and a bowl game in his senior year, demonstrating his ability to help transform a losing culture into a winning one.
“Sanders arguably has the highest floor of any quarterback in the class, and he has the tools to become a solid starter in the NFL. In the right system, he could lead a team to a playoff run,” said PFN’s Jacob Infante in his scouting report.
Despite his high floor, Infante notes several flaws in Sanders’ game that could ultimately limit his ceiling as an NFL quarterback.
“…He tends to play Superman when he doesn’t have the raw physical talent to make that work. His arm, though acceptable, isn’t particularly special. He’s not a statue in the pocket, but his athleticism is average. These issues can see him try too hard to extend plays that he simply can’t make, resulting in sacks or poor throws,” said Infante.
As with any young quarterback making the adjustment from college to the pros, Sanders has aspects of his game that still need to be developed. With a glaring need at the position, and newly equipped with a sharp young offensive-minded head coach in Moore, the Saints are in an ideal position to target a developmental prospect and mold him into a franchise quarterback.