Saints would commit a cardinal sin by trading up for an offensive tackle

In the 2022 NFL Draft, it’s arguably considered a bad idea for the New Orleans Saints to trade up for a quarterback. What about for an offensive tackle?

That may be an even worse idea.

With picks No. 16 and No. 19, the Saints could pull the trigger early on both a wide receiver and offensive tackle to fill two major positions of need. With a solid WR and OT draft class this year, this seems like the most logical route for the team to take, having secured two valuable first-rounders from a trade with Philly.

However, some pundits believe the Saints should package their first-rounders in a trade to move them up even higher on the board and potentially take a top-10 offensive lineman.

PFF’s Doug Kyed recently wrote about the buzz surrounding quarterback prospect Sam Howell along with wide receivers Jameson Williams and Chris Olave. He proposed a few trade ideas for the Saints to ideally nab their desired prospects:

"The Saints might need to do some maneuvering around the draft board to pick both of those players up at decent value, however. Maybe they could pair the 16th overall pick and their second-rounder to move up for Williams then move down from 19th overall to get Howell?However, they also need an offensive tackle. I actually expect them to trade up with their two first-round picks to get a tackle."

New Orleans Saints trading up for an offensive tackle is a disaster waiting to happen

The first proposal doesn’t sound too bad. We’d personally be fine with the Saints staying at No. 16 to grab an available top WR prospect (Olave, Drake London, or Garrett Wilson), but if Dennis Allen and the coaches see something special in Williams, go for it. Drafting a potential quarterback gem in Howell could also reap rewards for NOLA down the road.

Kyed’s second proposal sounds ridiculous to us. He believes the Saints would actually trade both their first-round picks to likely move into the top-10 and snatch a highly touted tackle like Alabama’s Evan Neal or Mississippi State’s Charles Cross.

Yes, those guys are incredible picks in their own right, but remember the Saints’ numerous needs in this draft. They absolutely need a quality wide receiver to pair with Michael Thomas, and taking one in the second round won’t cut it.

The Saints would receive their potential offensive tackle of the future at the very high cost of not addressing their wide receiver room in the first round. Perhaps Kyed felt personally victimized after Terron Armstead’s departure, or perhaps he has absolutely zero faith in the Saints’ offensive line in 2022.

But NOLA has ignored the gaping hole in its WR unit long enough, and this year’s draft provides the perfect opportunity for the team to find long-term reinforcements.

To take one very good player instead of two good players may be worth it for the right prospect, but no offensive tackle recruit seems worthy enough in 2022. Don’t go down that path, NOLA.