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Saints Predicted To Select Clemson Superstar In 2026 After Missing On

Bonisiwe Shabane
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saints predicted to select clemson superstar in 2026 after missing on

The New Orleans Saints certainly generated some headlines with their picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. After selecting offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. in the first round and quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round, plenty of people had strong opinions about the Saints' overall strategy. But there's no time to look back when you're trying to build a long-shot playoff contender. Sure, it's a tad early to be thinking about the 2026 NFL Draft. But the Saints seem to have already diminished the odds that they'll be taking a quarterback, which could affect their shot at building a family legacy.

Arch Manning, the grandson of beloved Saints quarterback Archie Manning, will be a name to watch all season as one of the highest projected draft picks. The University of Texas quarterback will take over full-time starting duties for the first time in 2025. On Monday, Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski conducted a "way too early" 2026 mock draft, and had the Saints missing out on Manning by one pick, instead taking Clemson edge-rusher T.J. Parker with the third overall pick The New Orleans Saints entered the 2025 NFL Draft with plenty of cracks to seal, and none were more urgent than the quarterback position. With Derek Carr now retired, the Saints used the No.

40 pick on Louisville Cardinals’ Tyler Shough — a selection that raised more questions than confidence. Many are unsure if Shough even offers an upgrade over Spencer Rattler. Now, the spotlight has quickly shifted to the ‘way too early’ 2026 NFL mock drafts. The Saints have found themselves stuck near the bottom of the NFL standings, but that could change with the potential arrival of Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Just a year ago, Klubnik was coming off a frustrating season that fell short of expectations, despite the hype surrounding him as a top-tier prospect. But the 2024 season flipped the script for Klubnik.

He threw for 3,639 yards with a 63.4 percent completion rate, tallying 36 touchdowns against just six interceptions. On top of that, he showed off his mobility, adding 463 rushing yards and seven more scores. If Klubnik keeps trending upward next season, the Saints could be ready to make a serious move for him in their 2026 draft class. Analyst Mark Stolte of Pro Football & Sports Network slotted New Orleans at the No. 3 overall pick in his latest mock and predicted the franchise could link up with the Clemson standout to finally stabilize their quarterback future. One shoulder injury to Derek Carr has changed the trajectory of the entire New Orleans Saints franchise.

With Carr announcing his shocking retirement weeks before the 2025 NFL Draft, the organization had to scramble for someone else to take the mantle. Unfortunately, the free agency class wasn’t deep enough for New Orleans to splurge a considerable sum on someone. Instead, they marched ahead to the draft, where they added Tyler Shough to the roster in the second round. With the only alternatives on the roster being Jake Haener, Spencer Rattler, and Hunter Dekkers, it’s clear that the Saints don’t have a long-term plan with these guys at the helm. Unless Shough explodes into a starting-caliber NFL quarterback, their hopes have to be pinned to future drafts. And one analyst believes that the switch could happen in 2026 itself.

Since the final years of Drew Brees on the roster, the front office has been borrowing for the future to remain competitive at the front. Under Brees, it made a ton of sense in an attempt to maximize the final years of an all-time great. The idea was less noble with Carr as the signal-caller instead of Brees. However, New Orleans soldiered forward, albeit with far less grand a result. Carr’s retirement, though, now allows the Saints to reset their cap situation this year. Simultaneously, they can also evaluate Shough as a quarterback in the league.

A seven-year veteran coming out of college, he only got the actual starting job in his final collegiate year with Louisville. While his 2024 campaign was solid, he remains an unknown at the NFL level. The New Orleans Saints will be entering a massive rebuild during the 2025 NFL season. Kellen Moore is the head coach after being the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator during the 2024 NFL season. Derek Carr retired after he was dealing with shoulder injury issues and this has New Orleans in a bad spot entering the 2025 season. Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler will be the starting quarterback for the Saints in 2025.

There is a chance that New Orleans could be the worst team in the NFL and land the number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. If they were to land the number one pick, there is a chance that they would have a golden chance to find its next Drew Brees potentially and could it be Clemson Tigers quarterback... Pro Football Focus writer Mark Stolte created his latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft despite the 2025 NFL season not even beginning yet. Stolte thinks that the Saints will have the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and select Klubnik from Clemson. It would be a surprise to see the Saints not have the worst record in the NFL in 2025, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see New Orleans draft a quarterback in 2026. It would be a surprise if Shough or Rattler impressed them during the 2025 NFL season.

Stolte said about the Saints drafting Klubnik potentially, “The college football world has high expectations for Cade Klubnik with Clemson expected to dominate in 2025. While I personally have Klubnik as the fourth-ranked ranked QB in the class, it would be very easy for him to shoot up. His accuracy and play-making are solid and he has all the tools, he just needs to put it together with his decision-making on a more consistent basis. It's too soon to guess at what the New Orleans Saints will do in the 2026 NFL draft, but it's a great time to highlight some players to watch in the upcoming college football... Longtime NFL draft analyst Todd McShay shared his picks for all 32 teams in a new 2026 mock draft, using FanDuel's playoff odds to simulate the draft order, which put the Saints at No.

2 overall. Here's why he passed on a quarterback in favor of Clemson Tigers edge defender T.J. Parker: The Saints drafting this high would mean a rough rookie year for Tyler Shough, but Kellen Moore believes in him, so I'm not going QB here. For me, it came down to Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Clemson pass rusher T.J. Parker.

With Cam Jordan on retirement watch after this season, I have New Orleans taking Parker, a power-based edge whose game should translate well to the NFL and whose premium position could be a greater... Parker made an instant impact for Clemson as a true freshman in 2023, notching 5.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss (plus two passes defensed and a fumble recovery) in 13 games. Then he leveled up as a sophomore in a 14-game 2024 season, bagging 11 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, 6 forced fumbles, a pass breakup and two fumble recoveries. He's earned high expectations going into 2025. McShay is right to point to this position as a team need for the Saints, at least based on Cameron Jordan's uncertain future. Jordan is playing out the last year of his contract and could very well choose to retire in 2026.

If this is it for him, the Saints need a third player in that rotation behind Chase Young and Carl Granderson. Isaiah Foskey has been a disappointing second-round pick and probably isn't making the roster in September. But if the Saints are bad enough to be picking second overall, it shouldn't matter how much Moore likes Shough. The only way the team is picking this high is if Shough can't cut the mustard, in which case they owe it to themselves to look into other quarterbacks. Parker's Clemson teammate Cade Klubnik went first overall in this mock draft, but the Saints could have a shot at Garrett Nussmeier (No. 4 to the New York Jets) or LaNorris Sellers (No.

6 to the Las Vegas Raiders). Texas phenom Arch Manning isn't expected to go pro in 2026. by twsnteam | Nov 11, 2025 | Headlines, NFL Draft <img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-987561492 lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-11-at-4.52.34-PM.png?resize=1080%2C662&#038;quality=80&#038;ssl=1" alt="NFL Mock Draft" width="1080" height="662" srcset="https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-11-at-4.52.34-PM.png 1920w, https://twsn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-11-at-4.52.34-PM-480x294.png 480w" sizes="(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 1920px, 100vw" /> The college football regular season is nearing its conclusion, the playoff picture is taking shape, and the NFL playoff race is heating up, so naturally, it’s time for another mock draft. As we roll through November, the draft landscape continues to shift every week, with breakout players starting to emerge, and several franchises staring down full-scale rebuild discussions.

For this edition, we’ll be using the current draft order from Tankathon as of November 10th, reflecting where things stand after Week 11 in college football and Week 10 in the NFL. The dust has barely settled on the 2025 NFL Draft, but it’s never too early to look ahead to 2026. In this early mock, I’ve got the Saints finally landing a franchise quarterback, half the top ten coming from the ACC, and a total of four quarterbacks coming off the board. The Saints spent a second-round pick on Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough this year, but his extensive injury history makes it hard to see him as the long-term answer. That leads to New Orleans taking a quarterback in the top 40 for the second straight year, this time selecting LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier with the No. 1 overall pick.

I expect rookie Shedeur Sanders to show enough this season to convince the Browns they don’t need to draft another quarterback in 2026. While Cleveland could end up picking lower than this, I’m sticking with Tankathon’s draft order. With this spot, they grab Clemson’s T.J. Parker, a disruptive edge rusher who earned second-team All-ACC honors last season after posting 19.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. The Titans found their franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft with the No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward.

Now they turn to the defensive side of the ball, where finding a top-tier pass rusher is the priority. Rueben Bain brings explosive get-off and stands out as one of the best athletes in this year’s edge class. With better health in 2025, expect his production to take a big step forward. The Giants are another team that hope they found their quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. For Jaxson Dart to succeed, though, they need to upgrade his protection. Kadyn Proctor has true left tackle feet and offers the highest upside of any offensive lineman in the 2026 draft class.

The New Orleans Saints are considered to be one of the worst teams in the NFL and a recent mock draft has them ending up with the first overall selection. Curt Popejoy over at Draft Wire had the Saints going with Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik with the first pick in his 2026 NFL mock draft. At this time last year, it would be crazy to consider Klubnik with the first pick of a draft. He was a highly-touted prospect, but had been a bit disappointing since taking over the Tigers offense. A switch flipped last year, though, and he finished with 3,639 yards with a 63.4% completion rate and 36 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He also used his legs more with 463 yards with seven more scores.

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