The Black and Gold drafted a handful of players on day three of the draft.
With the 112th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman.
Standing at 6’4″ and weighing in at 241 pounds, Stutsman is a run-stopping linebacker who played all four years of his collegiate career at Oklahoma. After a reserved but promising freshman season, Stutsman headed into his 2022 sophomore season with a more prominent role, starting in every game and racking up what would be a career high in tackles (124), sacks (3), interceptions (2), and passes defended (5).
The Windermere, Florida, native maintained his role in his junior and senior seasons at Oklahoma. He finished as the team leader in tackles and was near the top in other statistical categories. The last three seasons of production in Norman led to the 23-year-old Stutsman being the first Sooner drafted in this year’s class.
Stutsman joins a dedicated linebacker room of Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Jaylan Ford, Nephi Sewell, D’Marco Jackson, and Anfernee Orji.
19 picks would go by before the Saints made their next pick. This time, New Orleans selected Louisville cornerback Quincy Riley. This was the second Louisville Cardinal the Saints took after going with quarterback Tyler Shough in the early part of the second round.
Riley is a zone cover corner that stands at 5’11” and weighs 194 pounds. The soon-to-be 24-year-old spent six years in college, and his first three seasons 2019-2021) were in Middle Tennessee as a Blue Raider. In his time there, Riley intercepted seven passes, including taking one to the house for a pick-six. The Columbia, South Carolina native also deflected 13 passes and recorded 1.5 sacks in his final season at MTSU.
After a successful start to a collegiate career, Riley entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal the following offseason. He’d find a new home in Kentucky as a Louisville Cardinal.
From 2022 to 2024, Riley was consistently productive. In 2022, he picked off three more passes and took one of them to the house. 2023 was more of the same, with another three interceptions, but Riley also deflected 10 passes and recorded a career high 49 tackles. Last season was more of the same for Riley, with two more INTs, nine passes defended, and a forced fumble as Louisville went 9-4 and was 4th in the ACC in 2024.
Riley joins a cornerback room of Alontae Taylor, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Isaac Yiadom, Rico Payton, Rejzohn Wright, and Travion Fluellen.
New Orleans would pick again until the sixth round, when they selected Kansas’ Devin Neal with the 184th pick.
Neal was a four-year starting running back for the Jayhawks while spending four seasons in his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. Neal is 5’11”, 215 pounds, and was the program’s leading rusher the last four seasons.
In his freshman season, Neal rushed for 707 yards on 158 carries and scored eight touchdowns. The 21-year-old made a jump in production the following season as his yards per carry average went from 4.5 in 2021 to 6.1 in 2022, as Neal rushed for nearly 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns.
His final two seasons with Kansas were similar but were even better than his first two. In 2023, Neal recorded 1,497 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns, then, last season, he finished with 1,520 scrimmage yards and another 17 scores.
Neal’s career in Lawrence paid off as he finished as the Kansas all-time leading rusher with 4,343 yards, beating out the previous leader, June Henley, who set the previous mark back in 1996. Neal’s ’23 and ’24 seasons rank fourth and fifth best in the program’s history.
The new ball carrier joins a Saints running back room that features Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jordan Mims, Xazavian Valladay, and Velus Jones Jr.
And the Black and Gold concluded the draft by making a couple of picks in the seventh round.
With the 248th pick, the Saints selected tight end Moliki Matavao. The 6’6″ 260 260-pound Matavao spent his first college years with the Oregon Ducks. In those seasons, recorded 210 yards and two touchdowns before hitting the portal and taking his talents to UCLA. In his two years with the Bruins, Matavao caught 55 passes for 789 yards and four touchdowns.
The Henderson, Nevada, joins a tight end room of Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Taysom Hill, Jack Stoll, Michael Jacobson, Dallin Holker, and Treyton Welch.
New Orleans’ final 2025 draft pick was Fadil Diggs with the 254th pick.
Diggs is a 6’4″ 257 257-pound edge rusher from Syracuse. Diggs spent his first four years in the SEC as a Texas A&M Aggie. The East Camden, New Jersey native found a starting role in 2022 and tallied seven sacks and three forced fumbles over the next two seasons.
After the 2023 season, Diggs moved on to Syracuse and recorded career highs in tackles (45) and sacks (7.5) as the Orange finished the season 10-3.