The New Orleans Saints came into the season with a huge hole at quarterback. After a lengthy quarterback battle, they settled on Spencer Rattler as their starter. Rattler was decent for the first half of the season, but given the team's struggles, they opted to bench him in favor of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.
Shough has burst on the scene as a potential franchise quarterback for the Saints. While the team isn't finding consistent success, Shough has looked good. Across four starts, Shough's thrown for 829 yards while completing 64 percent of his passes. His touchdown to interception ratio isn't great, but the rookie signal caller has looked good more often than not. As a result, the Saints could make some changes in the coming months.
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USA Today's Ayrton Ostly recently put together a mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft. Given Shough's breakout performance, Ostly projected the Saints would pass on a quarterback and select star edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. from the University of Miami.
Saints could select Rueben Bain Jr. in the 2026 NFL Draft
Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr
Nov 8, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. (4) rushes the passer against the Syracuse Orange during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images | Jeff Romance-Imagn Images
"New York has an embarrassment of riches on the defensive line and that leaves Bain to drop to the Saints at No. 4," Ostly wrote. "He's the best edge rusher available at this spot and the Saints could use more help at that spot. New Orleans ranks in the bottom 10 league-wide in pressure rate and time to pass allowed, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Bain's power off the edge should help."
The Saints seemingly needed to take a quarterback at the top of the first round, but Shough has played well enough to earn another year as the starter.
As a result, the Saints could select a potential generational edge rusher instead.
Bain is one of the best players in the draft. In fact, some could make the argument that he's the best overall prospect in the class. He'd step into a starting role for the Saints from day one, which would help their defense quite a bit. Adding Bain along the defensive line would be the best play the Saints could make at the top of the first round in the offseason.
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