The Saints are alive and the pulse is beating fast. The team just made their biggest move of the offseason by trading with the Eagles to get two first round picks in this year’s draft. The Saints received the 16th and the 19th pick along with the 194th pick in the 6th round. The Eagles received the 18th pick, the 101st pick in the third round, pick 237 in the seventh round, next year’s first and a 2024 second round pick.
This is a really big move for any team, but where the Saints are at currently it’s an even bigger one. With the team having some big holes on the team, trading for two first round picks could mean quite a few different things, but ultimately I think there are two scenarios.
The first scenario could be that the Saints want to get two high value players without spending money. Rather than signing someone in free agency, they’re targeting guys in the draft. The two positions I would think the Saints value that high are left tackle and wide receiver.
Those two positions are in need of some talent. James Hurst could possibly hold down the left side but I think the Saints are trying to feel out all their options before making any assumptions. And of course everyone knows that wide receiver is a big position of need.
The Saints could’ve been torn on if they should draft a receiver or a tackle, so they decided to get both. They could be targeting Trevor Penning and Jameson Williams/Chris Olave. Who knows, but one thing is for sure. Draft day will consist of the highest peak of anxiety, if you thought last year was bad, this year will consist of more rumors and reports.
Now, there is a scenario where the Saints use those two draft picks to move up and take a quarterback. I think if the right guy is available at the right spot, then they make a trade with their two draft picks. I highly doubt the Saints would’ve made the trade with the Eagles unless there was a trade already set up with another team in the scenario a certain player is available at that position if that is what there plan was all along.
I think that the two guys and possibly a third guy the Saints view that highly are Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, and Desmond Ridder. These prospects have all met with the Saints and those meetings have gone well. Another guy who the team might trade up for is Chris Olave depending on how they value him and where they believe other teams value him.
With this trade though we can see that the Saints want to win now. They want a talented roster and they’re not trying to rebuild. If they do draft a quarterback it won’t be to start this year and possibly next year. They are trying to stay at the highest peak of competition and stay that way in the near future as well.
It just comes down to how they view Jameis. If they think he’s the franchise guy then the team probably drafts assets and gives him help with those two first round picks. If they don’t view him as the franchise guy, they use those two picks and trade up to draft someone and get into a similar situation as the 49ers. Developing a young guy while staying a winning team.
A big part of being a winning team however is signing guys in free agency. And I mean the Saints have been signing guys in free agency, just not on offense outside of Andy Dalton. So, why haven’t they gotten any help on the offensive side of the ball?
Let’s go back to Dennis Allen’s press conference last week. He said that receivers are something they want to improve upon and add talent to the room. Later on he mentioned that he would much rather address positions of need through the draft rather than free agency.
Through all of free agency the Saints have been adding depth to the defensive side of the ball. Adding some special teams players and depth guys. Not much else.
Dennis Allen essentially hinted at us saying: hey we won’t sign big name offensive players, but we will add talent through the draft. The draft is where the front office plans to add talent and get Jameis the help that he needs to help the team win.
Another contributing factor to the lack of activity in free agency could be due to the cap space. Obviously they can manipulate the cap number every year, but I think the front office at some point soon would like to not have to worry about restructures and cuts. They want more normalcy with the cap space.
To finish off the article, we’ll look at each free agent signing so far and I’ll give you the vision the Saints probably had when signing these players.
DE, Taco Charlton: A rotational defensive end who probably has a similar role to Tanoh Kpassagnon. Great depth to an already stacked defensive line room.
S, Justin Evans: A camp body, but I would assume special teams would be his focus with Ty Montgomery leaving.
DT, Jaleel Johnson: A great run stuffer but not a full time starter. Possibly a practice squad guy who gets elevated occasionally.
QB, Andy Dalton: A solid backup to Jameis Winston. With some veteran experience he can provide some help to Jameis as well on the little things.
S, Daniel Sorenson: Sorenson’s role is solely to replace Jeff Heath. Special teams player nothing else.
DT, Kentavious Street: Another rotational body, who likley has a similar role to Jaleel Johnson.
S, Marcus Maye: Depending on what happens with Tyrann, Maye is a wildcard. He can play free or strong safety. If Tyrann signs then Maye moves to free.
TE, JP Holtz: Mainly a camp body. A blocker who can play full back.
Written by Kadin Janisch
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