Trade chatter swirled around Kayvon Thibodeaux leading up to and during the draft, but no deal came together and the edge rusher remains with the Giants.
The in-draft chatter came ahead of the second round last Friday when there was a report that the Giants and Saints had discussed a deal. Giants General Manager Joe Schoen said that the team had “not had any conversations” about trading Thibodeaux that day, but another report indicates that there were some conversations.
Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com reports that the Giants were looking for a second-round pick in return for moving Thibodeaux while the Saints’ best offer was believed to be a fourth-rounder. New Orleans ultimately traded a fifth-round pick to the Raiders for Tyree Wilson in order to address their desire for help on the edge.
The Giants took Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick and they’ve faced questions about how they’ll line up on defense with Reese, Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Abdul Carter all on the roster. With Thibodeaux staying put, that will be something for the team to work out over the coming months.
Saints Clips
The Saints are meeting with a potential addition to their secondary on Tuesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that free agent cornerback Martin Emerson is visiting the team.
Emerson was a 2022 third-round pick by the Browns and he missed the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles during training camp. He started 34 of the 51 regular season and playoff games he played while in Cleveland.
Emerson had 204 tackles, four interceptions, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in that action.
The Saints drafted defensive backs Lorenzo Styles and TJ Hall. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, and Isaac Yiadom are their top returning corners.
The Saints made space for rookie additions to the roster by parting ways with three veteran players on Monday.
In addition to the previously reported cut of wide receiver Samori Toure, the Saints also announced that they have waived running back Evan Hull and wide receiver Elijah Cooks.
Hull ran 19 times for 48 yards and caught one pass for six yards in six appearances last season. The Saints now have Travis Etienne, Alvin Kamara, Ty Chandler, Devin Neal, Kendre Miller, Audric Estime, and CJ Donaldson in their backfield.
Cooks spent time on the practice squad in New Orleans last season. He had three catches for 38 yards in 11 games for the Jaguars in 2023 and 2024.
The Saints drafted Jordyn Tyson with the eighth overall pick and added Bryce Lance and Barion Brown to the receiver group later in the draft.
Edge rusher Tyree Wilson wouldn’t mind following in new Saints teammate Chase Young’s footsteps.
Young was the second pick in the 2020 draft and had a strong rookie year in Washington, but injuries sidetracked him and helped lead to a trade that sent him to the 49ers in 2023. He moved on to New Orleans in 2024 and has posted 15.5 sacks to reverse the trajectory of his career over the last two seasons.
Wilson joined the Saints in a trade with the Raiders during the draft and the seventh overall pick in 2023 didn’t quite meet expectations during his three seasons in Las Vegas. Wilson said at a Monday press conference that he sees Young as “another role model by my side, somebody that can boost my game and learn things from” as he tries to make “the best of his opportunity” with his new team.
“It’s a blessing to be a high first-round pick, but you’re always going to have the label,” Wilson said, via the team’s website. “They look at you as the franchise guy. From the outside looking in, the fans want you ready immediately. But it always doesn’t work out that way. Everybody’s timetable in the NFL is different. But I’m glad I’m here, I’m glad for the fresh start and I’m ready to dominate on the field. I feel like my game has taken a big leap from the first few years and it’s continually going up. Stats don’t make everything, but a lot of people look at stats. I’m here to play great defense and be a great teammate, and the rest of the stuff will follow.”
The Saints aren’t picking up Wilson’s fifth-year option, so he’ll have a chance to audition for the entire league with the Saints. Young used that opportunity to land a three-year deal before last season and a repeat would likely be a welcome outcome for all involved.
After drafting three receivers over the weekend, the Saints are moving on from one who was already on their roster.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, New Orleans is releasing Samori Toure.
Toure, 28, joined the Saints’ practice squad last November and appeared in the team’s season-ending loss to the Falcons. He stuck with the club on a futures deal.
A Packers seventh-round pick in 2022, Toure has appeared in 23 career games with two starts, recording 14 catches for 163 yards with one touchdown.
New Orleans added receivers Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 overall, Bryce Lance at No. 136 overall, and Barion Brown at No. 190 overall in the 2026 draft.
Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said last week that the results of the draft could factor into whether defensive end Cam Jordan returned to the team in 2026, but a couple of moves involving veterans might have more of an impact.
The Saints traded for Tyree Wilson during the draft and signed Anfernee Jennings on Sunday, which gave them two more pieces on the defensive front and could leave little room for Jordan to return for a 16th season. Jordan said on Sunday that he’d like things to work out and doesn’t think the team has replaced him, but understands that he may have reached the end of the road with the Saints.
“I don’t know,” Jordan said, via Matthew Paras of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “There’s nobody who produced the way I did last year, so. My talent speaks for itself. And if things work out, phenomenal. I’ve always said I understand the business side to it, so I’ve never worried about it.”
The end of the draft gives all 32 teams a better idea of where things stand on the roster front, so Jordan could find doors open elsewhere if the ones in New Orleans have actually closed.
The Saints announced on Sunday that they have agreed to terms with 10 undrafted free agents.
The group includes running back C.J. Donaldson, who played at Ohio State in 2025 after transferring from West Virginia. Donaldson ran 96 times for 361 yards and 10 touchdowns during his lone season with the Buckeyes.
New Orleans is also adding N.C. State tight end Cody Hardy, Maryland tackle Alan Herron, and Kentucky tackle Alex Wollschlaeger on the offensive side of the ball.
Central Michigan defensive end Michael Heldman, Alabama cornerback DaShawn Jones, Southern Illinois cornerback Jeremiah McLendon, USC defensive tackle KeeShawn Silver, Texas kicker Mason Shipley, and Wisconsin defensive tackle Jay’Viar Suggs are also joining the Saints.
The Saints are adding another veteran to their defense.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to terms with linebacker Anfernee Jennings on a contract for the 2026 season. The news comes a day after the Saints made a trade with the Raiders for edge rusher Tyree Wilson.
Jennings was a 2020 third-round pick in New England and he played in 79 games for the Patriots, including all four of their postseason contests last year. Jennings started 43 of those games and had 233 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in those appearances.
Wilson and Jennings will likely join the team for their offseason program in the coming days. It remains to be seen if longtime Saint Cam Jordan will be joining them or if he will move on after 15 seasons in New Orleans.
The Saints did not draft any edge rushers over the last few days, but they did add one to the roster in a trade.
They picked up Tyree Wilson in a swap with the Raiders on Sunday and General Manager Mickey Loomis said at a press conference that defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has “a vision” for how the seventh overall pick of the 2023 draft can fit into the team’s defense. Loomis also said that the team will see how that goes before giving any thought to keeping Wilson in New Orleans beyond the 2026 season.
“It’s a one-year trial and we’ll see how it goes,” Loomis said.
Loomis’s answer all but confirms the Saints will pass on picking up Wilson’s fifth-year option, which would guarantee him $14.475 million for the 2027 season. A big year for the Saints could set Wilson up for a bigger payday and that would fall into the category of good problems for the Saints to figure out next offseason.
Another Ohio State defensive player was draft. And another member of the Styles family.
With pick No. 172 in round five, the Saints selected defensive back Lorenzo Styles Jr. He’s the brother of Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles.
Sonny was picked seventh overall by the Commanders.
Lorenzo Jr., who spent two years at Notre Dame before transferring to Ohio State in 2023, is the older of the two, at 23. Sonny is 21.
Their father, Lorenzo, split the difference as a third-round pick (77th overall) in 1995. He spent two years with the Falcons and three with the Rams. In St. Louis, Lorenzo Sr. was a member of the Super Bowl XXXIV championship team.
