Saints Projected for Exciting First Round Pick in Mel Kiper's First 2022 NFL Mock Draft

The fact that the New Orleans Saints almost made the NFL Playoffs despite starting four different quarterbacks this season should be seen as a win in itself. The team heads into the offseason with a question mark at the position, but Mel Kiper projects New Orleans to fix it in his first 2022 mock draft.

Saints Mock Draft

Kiper has the Saints selecting Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett with the 18th overall pick. A veteran Taysom Hill and an unproven Ian Book remain the only signal-callers under contract for New Orleans in 2022. It's possible that Pickett could enter training camp in a battle for the starting gig.

Of course, Pickett took over the college football scene this past fall. He led the Panthers to an impressive Peach Bowl bid and set multiple school records along the way. Pickett also finished in third place for the Heisman Trophy and is widely regarded as the most pro-ready QB in this draft class.

The 23-year-old finished his senior year by completing 67.2% of his pass attempts for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns (7 interceptions). Pickett's arm talent rivals that of anyone else in the country and he has the scrambling capabilities to get first down with his legs.

Saints' fans have been dying to find a new franchise quarterback ever since Drew Brees elected to go into retirement following the 2019-20 postseason. While Pickett could be that guy, it'll be interesting to see if New Orleans makes the move when the NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 28.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.