Saints Following Eagles' 'Blueprint' With Stunner

When the New Orleans Saints were on the clock with the No. 9 pick in the 2025 National Football League Draft, it wasn't clear who they were going to take.

With all of the speculation leading up to the draft, it wouldn't have been a shock if the Saints took a quarterback. That was the position group that got the most buzz as the draft approached. There was a lot of chatter about guys like Tyler Warren, Mykel Williams, and Jalon Walker as well. One guy who wasn't talked about a lot is Kelvin Banks Jr.

But, the Saints made the somewhat surprising -- and likely right -- to bolster the offensive line before looking elsewhere. It wasn't a "sexy" pick, but it was a good one. ESPN's Matt Bowen even praised it by calling the Saints the "perfect landing spots" for Banks.

"Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, New Orleans Saints," Bowden said. "Drafted: Round 1, No. 9. Why he fits: New coach Kellen Moore is following the blueprint of his Super Bowl offense in Philadelphia by strengthening the edges. Moore had two unicorn bookends with the Eagles in Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. And now drafting Banks to pair with 2024 first-rounder Taliese Fuaga gives him foundational building blocks at offensive tackle with the Saints.

"With Fuaga staying on the right side, Banks fits here as the left tackle for New Orleans. He's an easy and controlled mover, with the foot speed to match defenders on the edge. And he'll bring some ability as a run blocker to Moore's offense. New Orleans was 29th in pass block win rate (54.0 percent) and 19th in run block win rate (71.3 percent) last season. It needed upgrades."

If the Saints want to have success with whoever will be under center in 2025, they need the line to hold up. Banks should a big impact on that immediately.

More NFL: Saints Giving 1,895-Yard Receiver Shot At Making Roster