With links among the coaching staff, interest was expected.
The closer the NFL Draft gets, the more pro days conclude around the country. Teams pick and choose members of their coaching staff/front office to send to select pro days. It is always interesting to see how many or who gets sent to watch the prospects, and when a team sends a massive contingent of staff members, it is incredibly noteworthy. A couple of days ago, the New Orleans Saints did just this at Miami’s Pro Day but left after the events concluded. Their next destination was in Austin for Texas’ Pro Day, and this one felt a bit more important than any other stop the Saints have had so far.
Throughout the pro day, the Saints were a part of many conversations surrounding the event. It makes sense with the Texas connections on the Saints coaching staff, but there seemed to be a real interest in Quinn Ewers. The young quarterback had a great pro day and made an impression on everyone present. It wwas later revealed that the Saints had some real interest in Ewers, and his draft stock could be on the rise, per Jeff Howe.
The Saints have shown a lot of interest in Ewers. He could be a second-day pick, according to the teams I’ve heard from. https://t.co/DEoRV0r3sa
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 25, 2025
Quarterback is an important conversation with the Saints’ future, and if there is some worry with the current room, drafting one in April makes too much sense. Ewers could be one of those QB prospects the Saints really like, and the contingency sent to the pro day could hint towards that. Now, it is important to note, Texas has so much talent being sent to the draft, and the Saints could be interested in a number of prospects. CB/S Jahdae Barron, DT Alfred Collins, OT/G Kelvin Banks Jr., WR Matthew Golden, S Andrew Mukuba, RB Jaydon Blue, and of course QB Quinn Ewers are just some of the players that could be in play at the Saints’ selections. The team’s interest was further emphasized with New Orleans hosting a dinner the night before the pro day with some of the Texas prospects, per Nick Underhill.
The Saints hosted a dinner last night with several Texas draft prospects, including CB Jahdae Barron, WR Matthew Golden, DT Vernon Broughton, QB Quinn Ewers, among others, according to sources. pic.twitter.com/ebJpmGtP2B
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) March 25, 2025
It is hard for prospects to make a massive difference on the field at pro days, but in these meetings/dinners, that can be where the players raise their stock and cause teams to fall in love with them. In the context of this dinner between Saints brass and Longhorn prospects, one player needs to be mentioned, and that is Jahdae Barron. Barron is very much in play at pick 9. He can be a perfect outside cornerback in Staley’s primary zone scheme, and has flexibility to be a star nickel corner. Also, the Saints’ new passing game coordinator, Terry Joseph, was Texas’ DBs coach last season. Barron may not be the current consensus pick at 9, but the closer we get to the draft, this may change.
It is always hard to find the direction a team may go in, and there is no perfect way to do it, but pro days can be helpful in revealing the thought process of certain teams. With the New Orleans Saints, the Texas Pro Day may have just revealed what the team could do in the NFL Draft.