The Kansas City Chiefs made the first big trade of the NFL Draft to pick Mansoor Delane. While many assumed they were jumping the Washington Commanders, it was actually the New Orleans Saints they saw as their biggest threat. Jordyn Tyson or Caleb Downs felt like the Saints most likely options, but the Chiefs didn’t want to take that risk.
GM Brett Veach explained the decision to trade up by saying, “when we’re picking, it looks like it’ll be Tyson, Delane, Downs kind of in that stack. We kept going through it, and we just relied on our data analytics and said the Saints would be likely to pick Delane right there.”
It wouldn’t be the first time the Chiefs traded ahead of the Saints for a prospect. Last time they did it, they stole Patrick Mahomes from Sean Payton’s hands. He hasn’t let us forget it either.
Pandora's box is open for Saints to draft ANOTHER Round 2 DB
We’ll never know what the Saints would have done if Tyson and Downs were both available, but Veach’s reason for moving up is the same reason Saints fans should look for the Saints to draft an outside corner in the second round. Veach pointed to the Saints “losing (Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo) the last two years.”
Veach’s reasoning either doesn’t factor in the selections of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley or just doesn’t view them as solidified in their role enough for the Saints to pass on Delane.
The latter is certainly fair, and brings up the question of if the Saints feel the same way about Colton Hood or one of the other boundary corners on the board. Drafting a defensive back specifically to replace Alontae Taylor in the slot makes sense, but it’s important to note Riley is another option in that role.
Riley’s versatility gives the Saints flexibility in how they approach cornerback. The Saints have drafted a defensive back in the second round of every draft in an even year, except 2018 and 2020 when they didn’t have a second rounder. That means they’re due to pick one this year, and who they pick will tell us a lot about how they view the players already on the roster.
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