7. New Orleans Saints - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
The New Orleans Saints may not see a reason to take a QB with the seventh pick, so they opt to get younger in the trenches with Mason Graham, a defensive tackle from Michigan and the second UM player to be taken inside the top-10 of this NFL mock draft. The Saints may have accepted reality that this team needs a rebuild, as they did trade cornerback Marshon Lattimore at the NFL trade deadline.
That was a good first start for the Saints, and in the 2025 offseason, they should look to trading and cutting more veteran players and just hit the reset button aggressively. It's not clear if General Manager Mickey Loomis is going to remain as the team's GM in 2025. It may be a better idea to bring in a fresh face and equip him with a long leash.
The Saints have kicked the "cap" can down the road for years now, and it's finally begun to catch up with them. They need to rip this thing down to the studs and rebuild, and hitting on an interior player in the 2025 NFL Draft is a great start.
8. New York Jets - Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
To be fair, the New York Jets do have a need at CB and WR, so I guess Travis Hunter is the best of both worlds here. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Hunter may end up picking one position to play at the NFL level, but he's probably a first-round prospect at both spots, and if the Heisman Trophy is sincerely reserved for the best player in college football, it should probably go to Hunter this year.
The New York Jets should move on from Aaron Rodgers, and Rodgers could make that easy for them if he decides to retire.