What Saints’ trade with Eagles could mean for first round plans
After a pretty slow offseason for the New Orleans Saints, Mickey Loomis shook things up by swapping a boatload of picks with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Per Adam Schefter, the trade entailed the Eagles shipping the No. 16 and No. 19 picks in the first round as long as the No. 194 pick in round six to New Orleans in exchange for picks 18, 101, and 237, next year’s first-rounder, and 2024’s second-rounder.
It’s a move that has fans speculating what’s to come for the black and gold. Let’s try to break it down a bit, shall we?
TRADE: Eagles sending picks No. 16, No. 19 and No. 194 in the sixth round to the Saints in exchange for pick No. 18, No. 101 in the third round, No. 237 in the 7th round AND a 2023 first-round pick and 2024 second-round pick, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 4, 2022
Saints now at 16, 19; Eagles at 15, 18.
Mike Triplett of ESPN summed it up pretty well. He said that making this trade helps the team stay competitive this year while they wait for the cap to reset. Next year, when the team is without a first-rounder as a result of this trade, New Orleans will have the funds to bring in more high-impact players through free agency.
My first reaction is that this helps the Saints stay competitive this year without having to spend much $$ while they also want to re-set salary cap. Next year they can spend more $$ when they won’t have a first round pick.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) April 4, 2022
Ian Rapoport notes that the Saints’ rationale for making this deal is that it gives them three picks in the first 50 picks. This is important for a team with several holes to fill.
It could also be a move that they use to then package all of these picks to move up and nab someone. Fans kind of figured that the pursuit of a quarterback was out of the question once the team re-signed Jameis Winston but maybe there’s someone the Saints really like and might want to target now.
I’m hoping that the team holds onto these picks and takes advantage of having three picks in the top 50 and four picks in the top 100. If they feel it’s worth it to trade this many picks for a quarterback, however, then hey — It’d make things interesting, that’s for sure.
Who knows what the Saints’ real plan is with this deal and perhaps we’ll know more soon. For now, however, all we can do is sit back and see what Loomis, Dennis Allen, and company have in store.
"4 players the Saints will be thrilled to have back on the field in 2022"
Buckle up, Saints fans. Things could get bumpy.