All of the excitement surrounding the NFL draft isn’t fueled just by the rookies turning pro. The event also functions as a deadline for some high-profile veteran players to be traded while the value of current-year draft picks is at an all-time high; think about recent deals like the trade that sent Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles.
We probably shouldn’t expect the New Orleans Saints to start selling off their picks after spending months scouting prospects, but you never know. They are active in the trading market while usually seeking to move up in the selection order. Maybe things shift a little and they see an opportunity to add a veteran who brings more to the table than a first-year pro that they could choose instead. If that’s the case, here are four names to watch out for:
WR Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders don’t have much motivation to move Renfrow after paying his $4.32 million roster bonus back in March, which means they’d be left with a $7.34 million dead money bill by trading him now. They also aren’t hurting for draft capital with five picks in the top 109 selections. But they make puzzling personnel decisions all the time, and Renfrow was one of Derek Carr’s favorite targets, so it would make sense to see if he’s available.
New Orleans would be on the hook for his $6.5 million salary in 2023 and $11.1 million salary in 2024, which would almost certainly be restructured into a new contract. Having a veteran slot specialist in the receiving corps to take pressure off Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed (and Michael Thomas as he continues to recover from injury) would make sense, but the Saints should try and draft a receiver early on before pivoting to a trade like this.
Proposed trade:
- Saints get: WR Hunter Renfrow
- Raiders get: No. 146
DE Chase Young, Washington Commanders
The Commanders declined to pick up the fifth-year option for their former No. 2 overall draft pick, which would have been valued at more than $17.4 million for 2024 — a frustrating knee injury has limited Young to just 114 and 477 defensive snaps over the last two seasons. Still, this could be a big buy-low opportunity for New Orleans to secure Cameron Jordan’s successor. And, yeah, the Ohio State connection is in play.
Young is only 24 years old and he played well after returning to the lineup late last year. Washington is short a third-round pick and sits under the salary cap by just $2.4 million; they could save more than $5.3 million by trading Young, which the acquiring team would take on between his $1.01 million base salary and a $4.3 million roster bonus due in training camp. That’s mightily affordable.
Proposed trade:
- Saints get: DE Chase Young, pick No. 47
- Commanders get: Nos. 40 and 71
RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
Ekeler is the closest thing to Alvin Kamara another team has managed to find, having first earned snaps for his work on passing downs before proving he can run the ball efficiently, too. His contract dispute with the Chargers is an opportunity for a team that knows how to use running backs to swoop in and pull of a coup.
If the Saints are chalking up Kamara’s decline in recent years to his age and wear and tear rather than his usage and poor quarterback play (which wouldn’t be my argument, just to be clear) it could make sense to acquire Ekeler and position him as Kamara’s long-term replacement in tandem with Jamaal Williams. But I’d rather try and draft a rookie than swap Kamara for someone his own age, even if Ekeler has lower mileage than most veterans.
Proposed trade:
- Saints get: RB Austin Ekeler
- Chargers get: No. 115
DT Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills
Oliver hasn’t quite met expectations in Buffalo as a former top-ten draft pick, but he’s still played really well and he would be, by far, the top dog at his position in New Orleans. He’s racked up 37 or more pressures in each of the last three years; David Onyemata led the Saints with 35 last year, which is the same number that Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd combined for on their old teams. Oliver is due more than $10.7 million while playing on his fifth-year option but the Saints could trim that number down significantly on a long-term contract extension.
He’s only 25 years old and could be a cornerstone player for New Orleans as they reshape the defensive line, but you have to think they don’t pivot to him without striking out on a high-impact rookie draft pick first. The Bills probably aren’t motivated to move Oliver considering their own lack of depth along the defensive line (despite the pressure he may or may not be putting on them through social media), so the Saints would likely have to overpay for him. They would do better to try and draft a talented rookie than to mimic the DeForest Buckner trade from a few years ago.
Proposed trade:
- Saints get: DT Ed Oliver
- Bills get: No. 40
