New Orleans Saints should fill WR hole with one of their first-round picks

The New Orleans Saints have to find a true WR2 for the upcoming season and the 2022 NFL Draft is the way to do just that. They’ll have Michael Thomas back this year but they can’t bank on him to do everything.

That’s where the draft should come into play where, thanks to a trade with the Eagles, NOLA now has two first-round picks, increasing their chances to land a stud wideout in round one.

Even with the trade to add an extra pick in the first round, New Orleans is still getting linked to other wide receivers on the trade block. The most recent is former Saint, Brandin Cooks, who spent the 2014-2016 seasons in New Orleans after going in round one to the black and gold.

Now it’s worth noting that Cooks has since gone on to sign an extension with the Texans, but why were the Saints still being linked to him?

Cooks was eventually dealt to the Patriots and played there for a year before landing with the Rams for two years and now is potentially entering year three with the Texans. The fact that Cooks is entering his age-29 season and has played for four different teams is telling and it’s why the Saints shouldn’t have been wanting to trade for him.

Why not use one of the two first-rounders you acquired and find a stud WR2 that way?

New Orleans Saints must draft WR in first round

If this weren’t a great wide receiver class, then I’d understand New Orleans’ previous interest in possibly trading for Cooks but that’s not the situation we’re looking at. This year’s wide receiver draft class is loaded with talent and there are at least five different names the team can target in the first round (Treylon Burks, Drake London, Chris Olave, Jameson Williams, Garrett Wilson).

Any of the aforementioned players would be excellent additions to this offense and NOLA should have a shot at getting three of those five when they’re first on the clock at pick 16. If they go with an offensive lineman there instead, they can take whoever is remaining on the board three picks later.

The Saints shouldn’t waste their time and resources trading for someone like Cooks when they can get a younger and cheaper option with one of their two first-round selections. It feels too easy for them yet they keep expressing interest in trading for someone, which isn’t a smart move.

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Stick with the easy move here, Saints.