New Orleans has just finished its third season outside of the playoffs, going 9-8 in the previous two years (the other being 7-10). But other than hiring a new offensive coordinator, the Saints made no significant moves. Rather, the team retained its core group of veterans and resorted to the draft in the hopes that it would be sufficient to resurrect the Saints as contenders.

Early assessments indicate that New Orleans performed fairly well in the draft—better than the other clubs in the NFC South, at least—even though the results won’t be known until the autumn. That was made evident in a recent rating of all 32 draft classes by Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook. Even though they were only ranked No. 25, the Saints were at the top of their division.

Saints draft class ranked 25th in NFL

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were ranked No. 27, the Carolina Panthers were ranked No. 30, the Atlanta Falcons were dead last at No. 32, and New Orleans was ranked 25. Of course, the Falcons’ quarterback problem has drawn a lot of criticism, but choosing Michael Penix Jr. was just one dubious choice that brought Atlanta to that level.

Returning to the Saints and their ranking, Filice praised the selections of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Taliese Fuaga but contended that the remaining players in the draft don’t particularly stand out. Filice did mention that defensive tackle Khristian Boyd may make an excellent early rotational addition.

After all, the players haven’t even hit the field yet—this is just a ranking of the draft classes. However, because this division is so evenly matched, the performance of the newcomers may determine who wins the NFC South.