1 undrafted free agent who will make Saints’ 2024 roster

It’s easy to see where NFL teams think their biggest weaknesses are when you look at their drafts and undrafted free-agent signings. Picking two tackles and signing two undrafted guards and a center — G Kyle Hergel (Boston College), G Nouri Nouili (Nebraska), and C Sincere Haynesworth (Tulane) — suggests that Dennis Allen knows the offensive line is an issue.

The other position group the Saints went wild with during and after the draft was wide receiver.

New Orleans drafted Pitt WR Bub Means in Round 5 and then signed three wideouts after the selection weekend concluded. Idaho WR Jermaine Jackson, Slippery Rock WR Kyle Sheets, and Yale WR Mason Tipton are now all in rookie minicamp for the Saints.

These four youngsters join Chris Olave, Rasheed Shaheed, AT Perry, Equanimeous St. Brown, Cedrick Wilson Jr., and Stanley Morgan on the Saints roster this offseason. Olave, Shaheed, and probably Perry are locks to make the team this summer. After that, though, the remaining two or three spots are up for grabs.

With where the Saints roster is at heading into the 2024 NFL campaign, it would make a lot more sense to give those remaining slots to young players rather than average (at best) veterans like St. Brown, Wilson, or Morgan.

All three of the Saints’ undrafted free-agent WRs are interesting prospects. Tipton ran a blazing 40 (4.3 seconds) at his pro day but doesn’t show that speed on tape. Sheets is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, and was dominant in college, but that was at a Division II school.

Jackson is the wideout with the best chance to make the team, though, due to his skills on special teams.

The former Vandal is tiny by NFL standards at 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds but that likely helps him in the return game. He put up 638 kick return and 540 punt return yards in just 25 games at Idaho while taking three punts and one kickoff back to the house. Jackson in no slouch as a receiver either, though, with 107 catches, 1,687 yards, and six touchdowns in 28 games. He can also be a gadget player for New Orleans as he had 16 carries for 129 yards in college.

The Saints already have one of the top return men in the league in Shaheed — he finished third last season with 13.6 yards per punt return — but having another return specialist on the roster is an important thing for the Saints next season.

First, with the Saints WR depth chart next season, Shaheed is the No. 2 receiver on the roster, so putting him out for punts and kicks is a dangerous game. And second, with the new XFL-style kickoff coming to the NFL, the dynamic return man should once again become a major factor in the league.

On top of all this, Jermaine Jackson can also be a decent fourth or fifth wideout in the slot and can be a gadget player as well. For these reasons, he is the Saints undrafted rookie you are most likely to see on the field come Week 1.