Right in the middle of the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft are the New Orleans Saints, who have the 16th-overall pick at the draft to rebuild in the second year of their post-Drew Brees era. Are this year’s quarterbacks tempting enough for the Saints to find Brees’ true successor, or will they focus on key needs in other positions?

Nitrobetting is ready to equip its bettors with the latest news, futures NFL odds, and special features for the duration of the 2022 NFL offseason. This time, let’s examine the best first-round prospects that the New Orleans Saints may strongly consider picking up at the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft.

Top 2022 NFL Draft First-Round Picks for the New Orleans Saints

READ MORE: Los Angeles Chargers 2022 NFL Draft Best First-Round Targets

Malik Willis – Liberty (QB)

It’s a good thing that this year’s QB draft class is weaker than usual, thus giving the Saints a great opportunity to take the first play-caller off the board with their 16th overall pick. One could certainly do better than Jameis Winston, and backup Andy Dalton is up there in age. Perhaps Malik Willis is the savior that The Bayou needs. Willis is the sensational duel-threat QB that the Saints had envisioned for Taysom Hill recently and head coach Dennis Allen may want to signal the official start of his regime with the highly-touted rookie signal-caller of the future.

Tyler Smith – Tulsa (OT)

The safest pick that New Orleans can make is at offensive line, especially considering how deep this year’s talented pool of young vanguards in the trenches is. That being said, Tulsa’s Tyler Smith is someone to keep in mind and will likely fall unto the Saints’ laps. Smith is the best run-blocking tackle in the entire draft class, which could open up New Orleans’ running game and not have rely mostly on check-down situations to Alvin Kamara, who had a relatively lackluster 2021 campaign with him being the only real offensive threat on the team.

Chris Olave – Ohio State (WR)

While the return of Michael Thomas in 2022 is a huge plus, we’re expecting Thomas to be on his way out following Brees’ departure and with contract talks on the horizon. In turn, the Saints could grab their next big wideout in Ohio State’s Chris Olave. The two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection has sure hands and crisp route-running skills akin to Thomas who could immediately start and make a huge impact for the team immediately.

Updated New Orleans Saints 2022 NFL Futures Odds

As of this writing, the Saints are priced at +4,500 to win Super Bowl 57. Only 10 teams have worse odds than New Orleans at winning the Lombardi Trophy this season. However, the Saints are priced at (+500) to win the NFC South title as the main challengers to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-300) out of the entire group.

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