BRYAN BRESEE
DT • Clemson
6-foot-5½ • 298 pounds
Round 1 • No. 29 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Bresee appeared in 25 of a possible 39 games from 2020-22 for Clemson. All his single-season career highs — four sacks, 6½ tackles for loss and 23 total tackles — came from his freshman year. He tore an ACL four games into his sophomore year and needed shoulder surgery as well. He had 3½ sacks in 10 games for Clemson last season.
THE FIT: The Saints believe strongly in prototypes. The physical thresholds the club has established for the defensive tackle position are: height, 6-3; weight, 300 pounds; 40 time, 5.06 seconds. At 6-5½, 298 pounds with 4.86 speed in the 40, Bresee fits the profile the Saints week in an interior defensive lineman, especially at the three-technique position he plays.
—Terrin Waack and Jeff Duncan
ISAIAH FOSKEY
DE • Notre Dame
6-foot-5 • 264 pounds
Round 2 • No. 40 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Foskey comes to New Orleans after a successful collegiate career in which he broke Notre Dame’s sack record in four seasons. Foskey’s 26½ sacks topped former defensive end Justin Tuck’s 24½ from 2002-04. Foskey also had 31½ career tackles for loss, peaking with 14 last year, when he finished with 44 tackles and 10½ sacks.
THE FIT: Physically, Foskey is nearly identical in size and athletic attributes to former Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport. Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 264 pounds with 4.54 speed in the 40-yard dash, he meets all of the Saints’ physical prototypes for the position.
—Terrin Waack and Jeff Duncan
KENDRE MILLER
RB • TCU
5-foot-11 • 215 pounds
Round 3 • No. 71 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Miller was just a one-year starter with the Horned Frogs, but he turned that short audition into a huge year, rushing for 1,399 yards and 17 touchdowns during the Horned Frogs’ run to the national title game.
THE FIT: In the 17 drafts that Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland has run in Dallas, Miami and New Orleans, he has never selected a back in the first three rounds that weighed fewer than 212 pounds. The only back he’s selected shorter than 5-11 was Kamara. At a tick under 6-foot-0 and weighing 215 pounds, Miller has the size the Saints want in their backs. With Kamara facing a felony assault charge and potential suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the Saints needed to bolster their backfield depth. Miller, along with veteran free agent Jamaal Williams, gives the Saints a pair of talented options in case Kamara is sidelined for any length of time.
—Luke Johnson and Jeff Duncan
NICK SALDIVERI
OT • Old Dominion
6-foot-6 • 311 pounds
Round 4 • No. 103 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Saldiveri redshirted in 2018 after appearing in three games. The team then went 1-11 in 2019, which led to a coaching change. And in 2020, the program shut down because of COVID-19. Saldiveri stayed, and when the Monarchs returned, their 6-7 record was their best during Saldiveri’s career. Old Dominion finished 3-9 last season. Saldiveri, a three-year starter, was a team captain.
THE FIT: The Saints held two meetings with Saldiveri at the Senior Bowl. The first was to test the second-team All-Sun Belt honoree mentally. The second was to get to know the 22-year-old native of Waxhaw, North Carolina. Saldiveri was the fifth lineman selected by the Saints in the first nine picks of Allen’s tenure.
—Terrin Waack and Jeff Duncan
JAKE HAENER
QB • Fresno State
5-foot-11 • 207 pounds
Round 4 • No. 127 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Haener, a Washington transfer, was a three-year starter at Fresno, a quarterback who rarely scrambled but had an effective, accurate arm. His best season was 2021, when he threw for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns with nine interceptions. His final season wasn’t too bad, either: Haener passed for 2,896 yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He was a 68% career passer.
THE FIT: The Saints traded a 2024 fourth-round pick and the second of their two fifth-round picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move back into the fourth round, where they selected Haener. He is small for a quarterback and knew he would have to make the most of his other attributes. You’ve probably heard by now that Haener idolized none other than Drew Brees as a boy and wore No. 9 at Fresno.
—Luke Johnson
JORDAN HOWDEN
S • Minnesota
5-foot-11 • 203 pounds
Round 5 • No. 146 overall
COLLEGE STATS: Howden was a five-year player at Minnesota, thanks to an extra year of eligibility because of COVID-19. He was a significant contributor all five seasons, with 240 career tackles, including 5½ for loss. He was responsible for 24 pass breakups and four interceptions. Howden also played more than 500 special-teams snaps at Minnesota.
THE FIT: Howden is said to be a smart, savvy player who diagnoses the offensive blocking scheme and attacks run plays and instinctive in deep coverage. He ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and recored a 39-inch vertical jump at Minnesota’s pro day. Howden will have a chance to make the team if for no other reason than his extensive experience on special teams.
—Terrin Waack
A.T. PERRY
WR • Wake Forest
6-foot-3 • 198 pounds
Round 6 • No. 195 overall
COLLEGE STATS: The Lake Worth, Florida, native had a standout career at Wake Forest, where he scored a school-record 28 touchdowns, which ties for seventh-most in ACC history. The 15 touchdowns he scored in 2021 were a program single-season record, too. Perry’s 2,662 career yards receiving ranks third in school history, and his 171 career catches rank sixth.
THE FIT: Perry said he thought he’d go earlier than the sixth round — and perhaps that’s why the Saints moved up in the draft to get him, dealing their seventh-round pick and tight end Adam Trautman to Denver.
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