2026 NFL Draft: Consensus top-10 picks, Saints mock draft trends

We know where the New Orleans Saints will be picking in the 2026 NFL Draft. The question is who they'll be taking when they go on the clock at No. 8 overall. With the top 18 picks set at the end of the regular season, we surveyed 16 different mock drafts which were published early this week to see what we could learn. That meant charting out who the Saints picked in each model as well as where top prospects were projected to go off the board.

And here's what we found out. There were eight consensus picks inside the top 10 -- a group of eight players who went top-10 in at least 75% of the 16 mock drafts. With the Saints picking eighth, that means at least one of them will be available. New Orleans is going to have an opportunity to add a difference maker at a position of need. Here are those eight names along with their average draft position in these 16 mocks:

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• QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana: 1.25

• QB Dante Moore, Oregon: 1.81

• EDGE Arvell Reese, Ohio State: 4.81

• EDGE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami: 5.46

• WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State: 5.93

• RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame: 7.25

• S Caleb Downs, Ohio State: 7.64

While the quarterbacks are locked in place at going first and second overall, and Reese looks like a sure thing to go top-five, the Saints are in a good spot to get one of the best offensive playmakers available at wide receiver or running back. They could also double down on the strength of their defense by adding Downs, a truly generational prospect at safety, as an heir-apparent for Justin Reid (and a more-than-capable replacement for Alontae Taylor in the slot, who is a free agent). You don't want to get too far out over your skis and say it's a can't-go-wrong decision, but it's trending that way.

So what else stood out? There's an agreement that at least one offensive tackle will go top-10, maybe two or three of them, but little consensus on who that will be. Utah right tackle Spencer Fano led the way by appearing in nine of these mock drafts, going as high as No. 3 or as low as No. 10. His Miami counterpart Francis Mauigoa, also a right tackle, was a runner-up with five appearances in the top-10 and three selections at No. 11. And don't sleep on Texas left tackle Trevor Goosby, who replaced Kelvin Banks Jr. this year, and who went off the board at sixth overall in a CBS Sports mock draft. The Saints shouldn't draft a tackle early so any of those guys being picked ahead of them will push another player at a position of need their way.

But we know why you're really here. Take a look at who the Saints picked in each of these 16 mock drafts:

We can simplify it by looking at this data another way. Here are the prospects ranked by how many times they were linked to the Saints in these mock drafts:

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• 4 times: WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State

• 3 times: WR Carnell Tate, Ohio State; RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

• 2 times: EDGE Keldric Faulk, Auburn; S Caleb Downs, Ohio State

• 1 time: DT Peter Woods, Clemson; EDGE David Bailey, Texas Tech

Clearly a lot of analysts like the idea of surrounding Tyler Shough with a stronger supporting cast. Whether that means getting him a big-play threat at running back or a sure-handed compliment to Chris Olave at wide receiver, that priority is an early trend on the road to the 2026 NFL Draft.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 NFL Draft: ASU receiver Jordyn Tyson a trendy pick for Saints