Saints trade Marshon Lattimore to Commanders: Full details and grade

It's happened: The New Orleans Saints have seemingly finally committed to rebuilding by trading Marshon Lattimore ahead of the deadline. Lattimore was shipped off to the Washington Commanders in exchange for three draft picks (a third, fourth, and sixth-round selection in the 2025 draft), which is a pretty decent haul.

Those picks can hopefully be used to help the Saints kick off their rebuilding process next spring. In the meantime, let's talk about this trade.

First and foremost, let's talk about the trade itself. Lattimore was arguably the Saints' best player and with the team not going anywhere this year, it made sense for this deal to take place. After starting the year at 2-0, the Saints have dropped seven straight games, which led to Dennis Allen getting fired on Monday morning.

Lattimore was an attractive trade candidate because he's talented and only 28 years old. It made sense to see not just the Commanders but the Chiefs checking in on his availability because he's still got plenty of gas left in the tank.

As for what the Saints got in return, it's hard not to be impressed with what New Orleans got in this deal. The Commanders are sending three picks to the Saints, including their original sixth-round pick that they sent to Washington for John Ridgeway.

Luke Johnson said it best when discussing the compensation on X, noting that "The Rams got a third-rounder and a little used TE for Jalen Ramsey, who was the same age Lattimore is now." Now, of course, the Saints still have to make the right picks with the draft selections they've acquired from Washington but if they do, the rebuild could start off on the right foot.

What grade do the Saints deserve for Marshon Lattimore trade?

Losing Lattimore certainly doesn't make the Saints a better football team right now but let's be real -- At 2-7, this team isn't going anywhere in 2024. Trading Lattimore means that the Saints could finally be open to rebuilding the team and that right there is a win because it's something the team has needed to do since Sean Payton left in 2022.

If the Saints only got one pick back, maybe we'd scoff at the compensation but they received three draft picks and can use those picks to help jumpstart the rebuild in the spring. Yes, it's sad losing Lattimore but this was a good move by the Saints.

Grade: A-