9. New Orleans Saints - Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
The New Orleans Saints have to simply get more young, cheap talent on their team. I would hope that they finally acknowledge the need to hit the reset button. Perhaps New Orleans does make moves to free up some cap space and get younger.
They just hired Kellen Moore to be their new head coach, which is a solid get. He just came off winning the Super Bowl in his first year as offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles. The long-time coordinators gets a shot to be a head coach. I would expect that he gets a longer leash.
New Orleans takes Mykel Williams from Georgia at pick nine and begins to rebuild this bloated, old roster. The Saints may look to address the QB position later on in this mock draft.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (via CHI) - Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Trade! The Cincinnati Bengals make a pretty notable climb up the first round of this NFL Mock Draft and snag Tyler Warren, the tight end from Penn State. This is a huge selection for the Bengals, who have, in recent years, 'bought' their defense via free agency and have drafted more on the offensive side of the ball.
Some of their best defensive players in recent years like Trey Hendrickson did come from free agency. I say that because I don't see how that changes in 2025 - Cincy needs to get some immediate production on defense. Their defense was among the worst in the NFL in 2024 and basically wasted an elite season from Joe Burrow.
Going 9-8 with how well Burrow played simply cannot happen again. They'll address the defense in free agency and will make a bold selection like Tyler Warren in the 2025 NFL Draft. Adding a complete tight end to this offense would make it better, if that's even possible.