The New Orleans Saints don’t have many promising young players on the roster, as they are still being carried by older veterans near the end of their careers. However, a few young guys have emerged as players that can lead the franchise into the future, and wide receiver Chris Olave is the top guy in that bunch.
The veteran receiver will enter his fourth year next season, and he’s been delivering on expectations since being drafted in the first round of the 2022 Draft. Playing in 39 games since arriving, Olave has 191 receptions for 2,565 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s also the team’s clear No. 1 receiver, and makes up a promising young duo alongside Rashid Shaheed.
Despite all of that, Sports Illustrated writer Dakota Randall recently proposed a trade that had the Saints moving Olave. For New Orleans to do this, it’d have to be getting something good back in return, and that something good is a promising young quarterback.
Randall had the Saints sending Olave and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for quarterback Joe Milton III, and third and fifth-round picks in the 2025 Darft. The argument for this deal is New Orleans needs a quarterback, and Drake Maye needs a No. 1 receiver in New England.
Sports Illustrated proposes a Chris Olave for Joe Milton III trade
If the Saints offered this trade, the Patriots would accept it in a heartbeat, and that’s exactly why New Orleans shouldn't even consider doing it. Milton has a ton of potential, but this move doesn’t currently make any sense for the Saints.
For starters, Olave is one of the brightest players on the team, and he’s been able to shine with a less-than-ideal quarterback situation. He’s had unfortunate concussions, and the team must decide on his fifth-year option soon, but there’s no reason to believe he can’t be the No. 1 receiver in New Orleans for years to come. A team can’t trade that away for an unproven quarterback.
Again, Milton is promising, with all the physical traits in the world, but he has only played one regular season game. Sure, he looked good in that game, but Spencer Rattler also looked good for the Saints over a larger sample size. There really isn’t much of an argument for New Orleans to trade its second-best offensive player for a promising, but unknown quarterback, when they already have one on the roster.
If the Saints are determined to explore the potential of a young quarterback, they should bench Derek Carr, and allow Rattler to start for a team that isn’t ravaged by injuries.