New Orleans Saints’ 3rd-Round Pick Could Be Their Offensive Secret Weapon

New Orleans Saints fans should learn the name Oscar Delp, because he's going to be really important for their offense this year.

The Saints have put themselves ahead of schedule on their offensive rebuild that was initiated when they hired Kellen Moore as their Head Coach. They selected Tyler Shough in the 2nd Round of the 2025 NFL Draft to officially signify the start of the process, but I don't think the Saints leadership even thought Shough would do as well as he did last year.

With Shough coming out of the season looking like a legit threat to NFL defenses, the Saints seem like they decided to go all-in on rebuilding the offense this off season.

Free Agent Signings By The New Orleans Saints

When the Saints signed running back Travis Etienne, it put everyone on notice. The Saints backfield is already home to 2-time All-Pro running back Alvin Kamara, and they're adding a running back who has three 1,000 yard rushing seasons in the last four seasons. Creating one of the best backfields in the NFL (as long as Kamara remains in New Orleans).

But the Saints biggest free agent signing was one that didn't get the same amount of headlines...and it should have. The Saints agreed to a 4-year deal with Guard David Edwards, who will be one of the main protectors of Shough.

Edwards graded out last year with Pro Football Focus as one the top 20 Guards in the NFL.

Saints Draft Picks Make Offense Dangerous

There were so many mock drafts before the First Round started that said the Saints were going to take a defensive player. Edge rushers leading the way, with some suggestions of a defensive back being the pick.

But those mock drafts might have been fueled by Saints misinformation. They could have been sending mixed signals to everyone to obscure the fact that they wanted Wide Receiver Jordyn Tyson with their 8th overall pick. Putting another downfield threat onto a team with Chris Olave already on the depth chart.

Sneaky Pass Catcher Drafted By The New Orleans Saints

While Tyson caught most of the headlines coming out of the Saints draft, their 3rd round pick might be one of the biggest factors on their offense this year.

Tight End Oscar Delp was drafted out of Georgia, and should find some playing time for the Saints quickly.

How does a 3rd round pick find playing time on a team that has Juwan Johnson coming off a 100 target season, and just signed Noah Fant to a free agent contract? Because Delp does something those two guys don't do.

Delp loves to block. Words like "aggressive", "violent", "mad", and "salty" have followed Delp's evaluations through the pre-draft process. This is the type of plug-and-play tight end that can help an offense featuring two top-level running backs.

Think about it, Delp crashes down on a zone-block and seals an edge to give Kamara that slice of space he needs to break a long run. Or Delp stays back to chip an edge rusher to give Shough that extra 2 seconds to get the ball down the field to Olave or Tyson. All of that sounds great...but Delp has a hidden weapon...his wheels.

He can break off a 4.4 40-yard dash at 6'4, 245 lbs. His vertical leap was measured at 38 inches as well...making him a well rounded athlete. So if defenses get too comfortable thinking he's always going to deliver salty blocks, Delp can break out and become a problem for linebackers trying to cover him.

It's not always the guys who can catch 10 touchdowns a year that are the spark an offense needs...sometimes it's the violent blocker that can get 3 sneaky touchdowns during the season.