Rookie report card: Grading the New Orleans Saints 2025 draft class after Week 6

Week 6 of the 2025 NFL season has wrapped up for the New Orleans Saints, and through those first six matchups, the rookie class for the team has been split roughly 50/50. Half of the bunch have found playing time, while the other half either have not or have been sent to the practice squad. With at least some resemblance of a sample size, it is a good time to take a look at the ones who have played a decent clip of reps and grade their performances.

Please note that Tyler Shough, Vernon Broughton, Devin Neal, Moliki Matavao, and Fadil Diggs will not be graded due to lack of playing time or injury setbacks. Unfortunately, the team has been running a lot of veterans still, but that should change if they continue to lose in this manner.

LT Kelvin Banks

Kelvin Banks has been about what one would expect from a rookie left tackle, and has pretty similar production to Taliese Fuaga at the position last year. Through six weeks, Banks has played 352 snaps, allowing a sack, 3 QB hits, 17 pressures, and has picked up 3 penalties. Not exactly perfect, but not poor either, which is the expectation. He has shown flashes of really impressive play, followed by a few snaps where he just needs to continue to work on his technique and improve over time.

Ultimately, he should be a good compliment alongside Fuaga and Erik McCoy long term, with the guard positions still working themselves out as the weeks go by.

Grade: B+

S Jonas Sanker

Jonas Sanker is a really tough grade with the sample size shown so far, as he has had five games worth of starting reps, two of which he looked good to great, and one of which he looked to struggle, with two more in the middle. He already has an interception, 3 pass deflections, a fumble recovery, 2 tackles for loss, 29 tackles, and only 2 missed tackles.

While his coverage stats look to be relatively untouched, there are a few plays, especially in Week 6, where he got turned around and allowed a big reception, especially two of the touchdowns against the New England Patriots. Overall, his hit-or-miss nature has about evened out, and as long as he continues to show positive strides, he should be a net positive safety alongside Justin Reid.

Grade: B-

LB Danny Stutsman

Danny Stutsman has had a smaller sample size than the other three here, with only 111 reps and 101 of them coming on special teams. However, he was worth mentioning on this list, as he has made an impact in the few defensive snaps he has had, as well as on special teams. In six games, he has 9 tackles, 6 of which are solo and 3 are assisted. It is still too early to really tell how much of an impact he will have, but in the plays he has had, he looks to be a strong option to turn to.

Grade: C

CB Quincy Riley

Quincy Riley has been the only rookie so far who has seen a decent amount of playing time and just has not shown many flashes yet. He combined with Jonas Sanker on multiple of those deep shots in Week 6 that ended up with both of them being burned, and has also just looked a bit lost in this scheme at times. While he has had a nice play here or there, his development is going to need to be fast-tracked a little bit if he wants to continue to get reps down the stretch. With the secondary looking to be a weakness as a whole this year, he should at least be uncontested for a few more weeks.

While he showed a lot of positive in college, he will need to push more at the NFL level to make that transition and truly become a standout corner, which he should be able to given his physical traits. It is just a matter of time and consistent coaching to help him work out these inconsistencies. His grade is low for now, but he has it in him to raise it with a few good showings, and hopefully, he will be able to tap into that success going forward.

Grade: C-

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Rookie report card: Grading the Saints 2025 draft class after Week 6