With the 2026 NFL Draft kicking off this week in Pittsburgh — and watched on millions of televisions around the globe — longtime NFL coach Sean Payton joined this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar Podcast to discuss exactly what it’s like at the start of the draft and what happens in the team room during it.
Payton, the current coach of the Denver Broncos, was the coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021, and he led the Saints to a Super Bowl victory in 2009.
But the NFL draft often coincides with Zurich Classic of New Orleans week on the PGA Tour, and one year, in 2017, Payton had some company in the Saints’ nightly war room: Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer.
On this week’s Subpar, Payton explained how that moment came to life — especially with two Texans and lifelong Dallas Cowboys fans. Payton played in the Zurich pro-am with Spieth and Palmer that year, and he extended an invitation to Thursday’s first-round draft.
But before the draft started, they also had a little fun.
“I think Spieth made (caddy Michael) Greller run 100 yards wearing a helmet,” Payton said. “And not a 40 – a 100.”
Payton set visitors up with a table in the sketching room, gave them sketchbooks and let them in on the action. The Saints had the 11th pick and a big decision to make: cornerback Marshon Lattimore or quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Lattimore was a candidate; Patrick was certainly a candidate,” Payton said. “We’d been to their pro days, we’d been to their private training sessions. And if you pick 11, the old adage says you’d better have 11 players you like, or get them back … there was a lot of commentary about who would have been picked.”
But the Saints never had to choose between the two. The Kansas City Chiefs traded up to No. 10 and traded with Buffalo to get Mahomes. That meant the Saints got Lattimore.
“Right away when they made that trade, I knew it had to be for Patrick,” Payton said. “…Those guys got a chance to see it live.”
Lattimore was voted NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and made four Pro Bowls in his 7 1/2 years with the Saints. Muhammad? He has three Super Bowl MVPs.
For more from Payton, including how he’s doing early in the draft, you can listen to the episode here or look YouTube below.
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