Saints-Lions Crossed Paths Involving Playmaker

The New Orleans Saints made a handful of solid moves throughout the 2025 National Football League Draft but one thing did stand out.

New Orleans entered the draft with plenty of chatter about the chances of taking another young receiver. That didn't end up happening, though. The Saints made nine selections in the 2025 NFL Draft but none of them involved a wide receiver.

While this is the case, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared the Saints had "great predraft processes" with receiver Isaac TeSlaa but noted that the Detroit Lions traded up ahead of New Orleans and the Buffalo Bills to land him.

"One of the most compelling stories of Day 2 was Detroit trading up 32 spots to the early third round to take a receiver with 28 catches last season at Arkansas," Fowler said. "But Isaac TeSlaa is a prime example of why the predraft process matters. TeSlaa was off the draft radar and had to scramble to get an invite to the Hula Bowl, which led to an invite to the Senior Bowl. He performed well at both, then caught scouts' attention at the combine by running a 4.43-second 40 at 6-foot-4 and 214 pounds...

"TeSlaa also had great predraft processes with the New Orleans Saints (No. 71) and the Buffalo Bills (No. 72), so it wasn't lost on TeSlaa that Detroit traded directly in front of those two, plus Denver at No. 74, which went to receiver Pat Bryant."

The Saints ended up taking defensive lineman Vernon Broughton with the No. 71 overall pick, which has been praised itself. Would it have been different if TeSlaa was available, though?

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