Trying to make sense of the Eagles-Saints trade

April 4, 2022

Trying to make sense of the Eagles-Saints trade … Spent the past few hours trying to make some sense of the today’s big trade in which New Orleans acquired one of Philadelphia’s three first-round picks for what amounted to a 2023 first rounder, a #2 in 2024 and a third this year. In fact, the trade makes eminent sense for the Eagles who will be able to spread out the cap hit that comes from having extra first-round picks; it also puts them in a position to go after one of next year’s top QBs if incumbent starter Jalen Hurts struggles this coming season. On the other hand, this appears to only make sense for the Saints if they have something in place to move up to get one of this year’s top QB prospects. That part makes sense; the Saints were one of three teams that was all in on the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes last month. And the two other ‘losers’ in the Watson deal were NFC South rivals Carolina and Atlanta who pick 6th and 8th respectively later this month and are both expected to be targeting the likes of Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett. That would give the Saints added incentive to get in ahead of one or both later this month.

The bigger question is where would the Saints be going to try and get one of those QBs. And, again, teams usually don’t make the kind of deal that the Saints made today without knowing what it will cost to move up. Indeed, we’ve heard from several Giants’ fans today, for example, wondering if they might be able to work something out for either the 5th or 7th picks. Its certainly possible – it seems anything is possible this off-season – but personally we just don’t see it as likely. It would be hard to imagine, for one, that the Saints would have given up what they did to the Eagles on the chance that one of Willis and/or Pickett was still on the board at #7, making the 5th pick far more realistic (although that shouldn’t be a big deal for the Giants as they are almost guaranteed getting the same player with the 7th pick as they would at #5 if the QBs are in fact in demand.) However, even if the did get the 5th pick, there is no guarantee that the Panthers and Falcons wouldn’t be able to leapfrog them to an earlier pick as teams like Jacksonville and Detroit at #s 1 and 2 have both indicated they would be happy to trade down. Plus, the Giants have indicated that they want to come out of this draft with a first rounder in 2023. In fact, New Orleans would have had more success with the Giants if they just gave them the package they just sent to Philadelphia.

And while one never wants to overthink these things, but if the Saints indeed want to move up then Detroit, Houston or the Jets would make much mores sense. In fact, the team that makes the most sense might be Houston. The third pick would pretty much guarantee the Saints getting one of the two QBs. It also makes some sense for the Houston which has needs everywhere to pass on an elite player that doesn’t necessarily fill an immediate need for a couple or more players later in the opening round who would address those more immediate needs, although one could conceivably make the same case for both the Lions and Jets. And the Texans still have extra picks in 2023 if they needed extra draft capital to move up to get their QB next year. Whatever, its hard to imagine we are done with the dealing prior to the draft. Stay tuned!