The 2025 NFL trade deadline has officially passed, but not before the New Orleans Saints got involved. The Saints had a busy day, and as expected, because of their 1-8 record, they were sellers at the deadline. New Orleans moved two offensive starters, sending Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks, and Trevor Penning to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The first move New Orleans made on Monday was the Shaheed trade. The Saints sent one of their top wideouts to the Seahawks to reunite with former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Kubiak is currently in charge of one of the league’s best units in Seattle, and Shaheed will only make the offense even better. While it’s tough to say goodbye to the explosive receiver, moving him before he left in free agency did net New Orleans two additional picks, a fourth and a fifth, in the 2026 Draft.
As the deadline was minutes away, the Saints dealt Penning for a bag of peanuts. A late Day 3 pick in two years was the price to peel away Penning. That certainly seems more about the Saints attitude towards the former first round pick than it was the offer on the table. Still, it's something.
New Orleans Saints 2026 Draft picks
Round 1 (Saints)
Round 2 (Saints)
Round 3 (Saints)
Round 4 (Seahawks)
Round 4 (Saints)
Round 5 (Saints)
Round 5 (Seahawks)
Round 6 (Saints)
The 2026 Draft will be huge for the Saints, who are clearly a rebuilding team. New Orleans needs to load up on picks so that it can stack young talent and eventually return to being a competitive team. With eight current picks in next year’s draft, the first step of that process is off to a great start.
Of course, a rebuild is usually a multi-year process, and it’s always great to add young talent, so adding draft picks in future drafts is important as well. That’s what New Orleans did by sending Penning to the offensive line-needy Chargers for a 2027 sixth-round pick. Here’s a look at how the Saints' picks are currently shaping up for that draft.
New Orleans Saints 2027 Draft picks
Round 1 (Saints)
Round 2 (Saints)
Round 3 (Saints)
Round 4 (Saints)
Round 5 (Saints)
Round 6 (Chargers)
The picks in the 2027 Draft, which will surely change by the time it’s actually time to make selections, is relatively thin right now for New Orleans. The Saints posses their first five picks, and now have a sixth rounder thanks to the Penning trade. However, New Orleans gave up its original 2027 six for wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk, and their seventh for Davaughn Vele.