Saints Announce 11-Man UDFA Class

The Saints have announced an 11-man UDFA class after drafting seven players over the course of the last three days. Here are the undrafted talents who will begin their pursuit of an NFL job with New Orleans:

• LB Nick Anderson, Tulane
• WR Sy Barnett, Davenport
• WR Shaq Davis, South Carolina State
• OL Mark Evans II, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
• K Blake Grupe, Notre Dame
• P Lou Hedley, Miami (FL)
• DB Anthony Johnson, Virginia
• LB Anfernee Orji, Vanderbilt
• OL Alex Pihlstrom, Illinois
• RB SaRodorick Thompson Jr., Texas Tech
• TE Joel Wilson, Central Michigan

Two of the above players, Davis and Orji, received guarantees in excess of $200K, as Greg Auman of FOX Sports tweets.

Davis has the size (6-5, 217 lbs.) and length that could allow him to find success in the pros, and he showed off serious big-play ability at the collegiate level, averaging roughly 20.4 yards per catch over four years at South Carolina State. That included 45 catches for 934 yards and 11 TDs in 2022.

That production, however, came against FCS competition. While the size of Davis’ guarantee indicates he was a priority signing, there are elements of his game — like his issue with drops — that he will need to clean up in order to have a shot at cracking the roster.

Orji, meanwhile, was a three-year starter for the SEC’s Commodores, as well as a team captain. Despite averaging nearly 100 total tackles and 10 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, he also missed a lot of tackles and does not have the speed that would make him an elite defender in today’s NFL. Still, there was a chance that he would hear his name called on Day 3 of the draft, and he should have a decent chance of sticking as a backup defender or special teamer.