Cam Ward 1, Shedeur Sanders to Saints at 9 in Mel Kiper's 2-Round 2025 NFL Mock Draft

Mel Kiper Jr. had a notable shakeup in the top 10 of his latest mock for the 2025 NFL draft released on Tuesday.

ESPN's NFL draft guru still has Cam Ward as the top player off the board to the Tennessee Titans, but he has swapped out Jaxson Dart for Shedeur Sanders at No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints.

Here are the top 10 picks in Kiper's latest mock draft:

1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2. Cleveland Browns: Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
3. New York Giants: Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
4. New England Patriots: Will Campbell, OT, LSU
5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
6. Las Vegas Raiders: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
7. New York Jets: Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
8. Carolina Panthers: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
9. New Orleans Saints: Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
10. Chicago Bears: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State

Kiper has had Ward being selected by the Titans throughout most of the offseason. He did swap in Abdul Carter at No. 1 overall in his second mock released on Feb. 25, but Ward has been in the top spot in each of his last two projections.

Sanders has actually fallen in this mock compared to Kiper's previous one released on March 18. He was projected to the New York Giants last month, but their signing of Russell Wilson has opened up the possibility they bypass a quarterback in the first round.

Carter is the projected pick to the Giants by Kiper. They sent a huge contingent to Boulder last week to watch Colorado's pro day, though that may have also been for an up-close look at Travis Hunter if he ends up being on the board at No. 3 as much as it was to see Sanders.

Kiper did note he's not ruling out the possibility that New York ends up taking Sanders because Wilson and Jameis Winston aren't long-term solutions at the position.

If the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 and Giants pass on a quarterback, the only obvious landing spots for Sanders among teams in the top 10 are the New York Jets (No. 7) and Saints.

The Jets did give themselves a bridge option at quarterback by signing Justin Fields in free agency. They haven't eliminated the possibility of adding another signal-caller early in the draft.

New Orleans could finally decide to start resetting its cap after this season. The team could save $50 million against the 2026 cap by releasing Derek Carr next offseason with a post-June 1 designation.

Sanders would give the Saints a cost-effective starter they could build around. He also wouldn't be asked to start right away as a rookie since Carr is still on the roster. If they have another rough season in 2025, the coaching staff would be able to justify benching Carr to get Sanders playing time and have him ready to go full bore in 2026.

Few teams are as aggressive in making draft-day trades as the Saints, so it also wouldn't be a surprise if general manager Mickey Loomis is working the phones on April 24 in an attempt to move up in the first round if he really wants to add Sanders.