It was clear during the 2020 season that the New Orleans Saints didn’t have a true backup wide receiver behind Michael Thomas. When he went down with an injury, that was a chance for another guy to step in and fill his shoes but that never came to fruition.
Emmanuel Sanders, the guy who had the best shot at doing that, was released to save cap space, digging the Saints in a deeper hole at receiver. They have Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and rookie Kawaan Baker as their WR/2/3/4 entering the season but the team should strongly consider trading for a receiver before the season begins.
If they were to do that, here are five options that could flourish in the Big Easy.
Wide Receivers Saints Should Trade For – No. 5: Brandin Cooks
I previously wrote about how the Saints reuniting with Brandin Cooks makes a lot of sense but I know it’s not the most realistic situation. Cooks and the Saints didn’t part ways on the best of terms and in Cooks’ final season with the team, he was complaining about the lack of targets.
Since he was traded, Cooks has played for the Patriots, Rams, and Texans, so considering he’s played in the league for seven years and has been on four different teams sort of speaks for itself. He’s been really good though, totaling over 1,000 yards in all but two seasons during his career.
Cooks is coming off an impressive season with the Texans, totaling 81 receptions for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns. His quarterback was the league leader in passing yards, which made it easier for him to rack up the yards. That won’t be the case in Houston this year, as they’ll have either Tyrod Taylor or rookie Davis Mills throwing the ball.
If the Texans put Cooks on the trade block, the Saints should put their past feud aside and try to bring him in.
Wide Receivers Saints Should Trade For – No. 4: JuJu Smith-Schuster
The Steelers have the opposite problem that the Saints have in that they have four WR1-worthy wide receivers and they’d be okay parting with one of them. JuJu Smith-Schuster chose to re-sign with the Steelers this offseason after considering going elsewhere but even though he’s there for one more year, that doesn’t mean he’ll be on their roster when the season begins.
Despite all of the competition at the position, Smith-Schuster had a nice 2020 campaign, grabbing 97 receptions for 831 yards and nine touchdowns. He’d be a wonderful complement to Thomas in 2021 because he’s used to being a WR2 and that’d be his role in New Orleans.
The fact that Smith-Schuster chose to return to Pittsburgh wasn’t necessarily that he wanted to be back there but rather that the money awaiting him in free agency wasn’t as plentiful as he had hoped. He ended up just signing a one-year deal so if he came to New Orleans, maybe the team extends him when he gets to town.
Smith-Schuster is only 24 years old and won’t celebrate his 25th birthday until November so there’s still a lot left in the tank for the former USC wideout. He’d be a lot of fun to watch in this Saints offense.
Wide Receivers Saints Should Trade For – No. 3: Jamison Crowder
This situation probably isn’t realistic considering the Saints don’t have the draft capital the Jets would want in exchange for Jamison Crowder but hey, this is all speculation, right? Crowder fits the bill as to what the Saints are looking for in a WR2 and would give Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill a nice weapon to throw to.
Crowder played for Washington during his first four seasons and signed with the Jets in 2019, where he remains as of now. If he isn’t traded, he’ll be entering year three with the Jets where he’s been a nice player. He’s coming off a season in which he hauled in 59 receptions for 699 yards and six touchdowns.
The Saints wouldn’t need Crowder to be a star but they need someone who can step in and have a big game here and there, especially if Thomas were to go down. Crowder started seven games last year and appeared in 12 total for the Jets in 2020, and he has an 86% chance of getting injured this year per Sports Injury Predictor.
The injury risks might not be worth giving up much but Crowder would absolutely be a difference-maker on this offense.
Wide Receivers Saints Should Trade For – No. 2: DJ Chark
DJ Chark received criticism from new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who said that he expected more from him. As Chark enters the final year of his rookie contract, the Jaguars — who made wide receiver a point of emphasis this offseason despite Chark’s previous success — might look to trade the former second-rounder out of LSU.
Chark might not have played as well in 2020 as he did in 2019 but he was still very good with 53 receptions for 706 yards and five touchdowns. The Saints would gladly take that kind of production. He was terrific in 2019 with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns and it’s worth pointing out that his quarterback situation in 2020 could have been a major reason for his decline in numbers.
The Saints would love to have Chark as the WR2 in their offense and he could do a lot of damage with Winston as his quarterback. Obviously, this all depends on if Chark is made available in a trade and with Meyer already criticizing Chark, this situation might not be headed in a good direction in Jacksonville.
If Chark is made available, the Saints need to put an offer in and then extend him once he gets to the Big Easy.
Wide Receivers Saints Should Trade For – No. 1: Michael Gallup
Michael Gallup might not be the most talented wide receiver on this list but he’d probably be the “easiest” to land in a trade.
The Cowboys have a plethora of receivers on their roster and would still be in a good spot if they were to trade one. The receiver they’d be most likely to trade would indeed be Gallup, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is the WR3 between him, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb.
Gallup might be the WR3 for the Cowboys but he’s a darn good receiver and would be deadly in this Saints offense. He’s coming off a season in which he caught 59 receptions for 843 yards and five touchdowns and was a monster the previous year with 66 receptions for 1,107 yards and six touchdowns.
That’s production New Orleans would love to have in their wide receiver room. Pairing Gallup with Thomas would be an absolute dream and if the Cowboys do make the former Colorado State product available via trade, the Saints need to do what they can to bring him to New Orleans.
Any of these wide receivers would add to the Saints’ offense tremendously and it’d be a lot of fun to have them on this team. Unfortunately, New Orleans doesn’t have a ton of draft capital to play around with so landing some of these guys is highly unlikely.
Let’s hope that they’re able to swing a deal for someone and add to this offense.