The New Orleans Saints are lacking a true No. 1 wide receiver, as Michael Thomas is going to miss several months of the 2021 season. Sean Payton wasn’t happy about this situation and the Saints are not in a good spot at the position, to say the least.
There’s still time to right the ship, however. Plenty of teams have receivers they’d be willing to part ways with in exchange for a draft pick or maybe it’s a straight-up player for player trade. Whatever the case may be, these receivers could not only get the Saints the No. 1 threat they desperately need, but might not have to give up a ton in order to do so.
Even if the Saints trade for a big-name guy, they’ll still need him even when Thomas does return, there isn’t much on the roster at wide receiver and Thomas can’t do it at all.
Let’s take a look at three wide receivers who could provide that WR1 threat but also might not force the Saints to dig deep into their pockets to make the trade happen.
We’ll start with a guy who early on in his career looked to be the next big thing but soon was overtaken by a slew of talented receivers on his own team.
Receivers New Orleans Saints Should Trade For – No. 3: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Oddly enough, the Saints could have signed JuJu Smith-Schuster over the offseason but there were never any ties between the two. To be fair, the Saints assumed they’d have Michael Thomas and this was also before the draft, so maybe the team felt they’d go after a receiver in the early rounds.
Smith-Schuster was an explosive receiver for the Steelers in his first two years but petered off in year three, posting career-lows in both receiving yards (552) and touchdowns (three). It’s worth noting that his career-low in receiving yards is still higher than Tre’Quan Smith’s career high but I digress.
This past year, Smith-Schuster had 97 receptions for 831 yards and nine trips to the end zone. This is exactly the kind of production the Saints need from their WR1 option and while it wasn’t a 1,000+ yard campaign, Smith-Schuster did this damage while competing with Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, and James Washington for targets.
In New Orleans, he’d a big fish in a small pond at the receiver spot, so it’s possible the Saints could get the 2018 versio of Smith-Schuster. During that season, the former USC wideout grabbed 111 catches for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns. We’d take that in a heartbeat, wouldn’t we, Saints fans?
Smith-Schuster signed a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh after he didn’t find what he was looking for in free agency. This means the Saints wouldn’t have to pay him much money (he’s owed just $8 million this year, per Spotrac) and those are the best kinds of deals.
Receivers New Orleans Saints Should Trade For – No. 2: Brandin Cooks
This won’t be a popular inclusion but the Saints really don’t have the right to be picky in these circumstances.
As we all know, Brandin Cooks previously played for New Orleans. He was their first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and fans were feeling good about what the future had in store for Cooks in the Big Easy after he had a 1,000+ yard season in year two.
By year three, however, things were getting chippy between him and the Saints. He’d complain about lack of targets and it became clear that, even after a second consecutive 1,000+ yard season, that Cooks wasn’t long for New Orleans and he soon found his way onto the trade block.
Cooks landed with New England for the 2017 season and then spent 2018 and 2019 with the Rams before playing with the Texans in 2020. He’s turning 28 years old in September and has already played with four teams, which isn’t a good look.
Be that as it may, the Saints are desperate and they know how good of a receiver Cooks is. His current situation has him playing for the Texans, who could very well be the worst team in football this year. Trading Cooks not only saves Houston money, but it could get them draft picks as well, something they’re in desperation of.
Saints fans might not be ready to forgive Cooks and vice versa but a reunion could squash that beef pretty quickly. He’d probably rather be with the Saints, who should at least be competitive this year, than with the dumpster fire that is the Houston Texans.
This trade would give the Saints a reliable receiver for the next two seasons too, as Cooks is under contract through the end of the 2022 season. This helps them out not just this year, but next year as well. I don’t see a trade for Brandin Cooks happening but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Receivers New Orleans Saints Should Trade For – No. 1: DJ Chark
The most ideal wide receiver target out of this group is DJ Chark of the Jaguars. Saints fans are all too familiar with Chark, as he attended college at LSU from 2015-2017. His 2017 season impressed Jacksonville enough that they spent a second-round selection on him in the 2018 NFL Draft and he’s had two impressive seasons for his pro team.
Chark’s best year was in 2019 when he hauled in 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns. He did this with Gardner Minshew as his quarterback and this past year without having a respectable signal-caller throwing to him, totaled 706 receiving yards and five touchdowns off of 53 receptions.
To make a long story short, Chark is the real deal and could really thrive in New Orleans’ offense. He’d have Jameis Winston (well, more than likely) throwing to him and these two would get on the same page quickly.
Chark is under contract for this year and then hits free agency, so the Saints could be in a position where they benefit from Chark being in a contract year. He’d be a great addition to this offense and Saints fans already know what he can do given that he played collegiately an hour away from New Orleans.
Any of these guys would give the Saints the big-name receiver that they need as they wait for Michael Thomas to return from injury. Some are more likely than others but at this point, it doesn’t appear the Saints are interested in making a big splash for a wide receiver, which is beyond disappointing.
Here’s to hoping they shock the world and make a trade for either one of these guys or another big name out there on the trade block.