It has been tough sledding for the New Orleans Saints in the first year of the Kellen Moore experience. While hopes are certainly high for the near future, general manager Mickey Loomis has not exactly set up the first-year head coach for success in 2025.
The ongoing quarterback competition has taken up the bulk of the coverage from the Saints' training camp and preseason. However, this team has several other holes that it needs to address, especially when it comes to offensive skill positions and offensive line depth.
At the offensive tackle position specifically, New Orleans is relying on a young duo of first-rounders in Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga. While these two seem more than capable of shouldering the load for the New Orleans offense, the depth behind them has been abysmal.
Saints trade for Cowboys OT Asim Richards to bolster depth
Until Tuesday, when Loomis struck a deal with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the Saints were trading a 2028 sixth-round pick for offensive tackle Asim Richards and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
Outside of the oddity that is exchanging late-round picks three years in the future, this is a massive acquisition for the Saints, and one that the fan base has been clamoring for all offseason. Now, they have a suitable backup at the offensive tackle position.
Josiah Ezirim and Landon Young were not going to get the job done for the Saints, but Richards should be able to step in for New Orleans in a bind. He has 21 games of NFL experience under his belt and is a versatile piece on the offensive line, playing both left tackle and both guard spots.
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Richards is a good player who simply had the misfortune of being jumped on the depth chart in Dallas by another good player. He got decent playing time last season and was a fifth-round pick in 2023, but he was the odd man out for the Cowboys, much to the benefit of the Saints.
This preseason, Richards played well for the Cowboys, earning a pass-blocking grade of 75.5 from Pro Football Focus. He was penalized three times, but seemingly got better as the preseason went along in Dallas.
Now, Saints fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as the team has already sewn up one of its major concerns before the 53-man rosters are even finalized. Hopefully, Richards never has to see the field, but if he does, the team is in better hands than it was before.