Saints rank sixth in “best value” for 2024 NFL Draft picks

Mickey Loomis adds high-value players while filling roster needs.

The New Orleans Saints have amassed a rookie class of high-value players, according to one important metric.

NFL Analyst Warren Sharp ranked each team’s draft class by Draft Capital over Expectation (DCOE). This measures the expected capital used on a prospect versus the actual capital used. In Sharp’s words, DCOE helps to determine which team “reached the most to draft a player and which teams were able to get great value on players drafted later than expected.”

While draft “grades” are an interesting form of analysis, DCOE is an objective indicator of value, and the Saints clearly focused on value.

The Saints ranked sixth in DCOE behind the top-ranked Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints had the lowest (meaning best) DCOE for any team in the NFC South.

Two picks in particular likely boosted New Orleans’ DCOE into the highest tier: CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (2nd) and QB Spencer Rattler (5th). Both picks were not necessarily big “needs” but were clearly high-value picks.

The Atlanta Falcons had the worst DCOE in the entire draft. I wonder why?