The New Orleans Saints can not afford to go back to their old ways of wasting first-round picks. The draft as a whole is extremely hit-or-miss, but not hitting on a first-round selection could set a franchise back for years. For the Saints, who are in the second year of a rebuild, hoping to take a massive step forward in 2026, a miss at pick 8 would be catastrophic.  

Another frustrating situation with the first-round pick will be if the Saints select a prospect who really does not make sense to take that early. This could be due to positional value in the draft, a position that is a strength of the class, or redundancy on the roster.  

There are some prospects that fit at least one of these potential worrying outcomes. 

Starting with a highly discussed player, DT Peter Woods could very much be an option for the Saints at 8. Many Saints fans are strongly opposed to this pick, and I do not blame them. Selecting Woods, whose production fell in 2025 and has low positional value as a DT, would be a confusing decision.

Also, the draft class is really strong at DT, and if the Saints want to upgrade at that position, they can do so later. With the current players on the roster, it makes sense the Saints would want another DT, just not at 8. 

Although this isn't a single prospect, it's worth noting that the Saints should not draft an offensive lineman at 8. The offensive line is still an issue for the roster, but tackle is solved, and center is good for hopefully the next few years. If the tackle wasn't fixed, I would understand if the Saints selected one in the first round, but it is not worth selecting an interior offensive lineman with the 8th pick. Yes, a player like Francis Mauigoa could move to the interior, but why risk it not working out? Also, drafting an interior offensive lineman at 8 is too high. 

If there was one prospect from the entire draft class that I could choose for the Saints to avoid in the first round at all costs, it would be Keldric Faulk. This may be different for other teams, but for Saints fans, we have all seen this story before. Faulk is very athletic, a great run defender, and has extremely high pass-rush potential that has not yet been reached. He is the exact type of player the Saints made massive mistakes drafting in previous years. 

Faulk could very well be a great player in the league, but the Saints should not be the ones to take that risk. Maybe if he drops to their second round selection, just not in the first.