The New Orleans Saints are huge fans of trading up in the NFL draft, there is no doubt about that. Their history of doing so is a long one, and while it works out sometimes, it also backfires spectacularly other times.
In a recent article put out by Bleacher Report, they discussed some of the top candidates who the Tennessee Titans could trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft to. Among those five teams are the Saints, who while considered somewhat of an outlier among the others, are on the list regardless.
The package for the pick would be a relatively large one, even in a down class compared to some others. The compensation they provide as their projected return is:
- 2025 No. 9 overall pick
- 2025 third round pick
- 2026 first round pick
- 2026 second round pick
Then following that up, their rationale for the Saints being a candidate:
“This would be the exact same jump Carolina made two years ago, with the Saints leaping from No. 9 to No. 1. It’s extremely unlikely considering that New Orleans still has Derek Carr and would be better off loading up on more picks if it were to finally commit to a rebuild, but it also can’t be totally ruled out because…NFL.
The Saints have an extra third-round pick this year. I believe they’d have to give that up along with the obvious 2026 first-rounder, and probably another Day 2 selection.”
The logic is… less than sound to say the least. Trading up just to trade up is something that nearly never happens in the NFL, teams trade up for a player they want, and the team trading down has to keep that in mind. With the Saints in desperate need of a youth movement, it feels like trading away all their premier assets for 2025 and 2026 in the draft is a ridiculous notion, especially when the 2025 class is not particularly plentiful with blue-chip prospects.
Trading away the 2026 first round pick is asking for disaster, as if the Saints fall apart in the 2025 season, they would be missing out on a high draft pick in a class that is currently viewed quite highly, especially at the quarterback position.
The Saints feel more like an inclusion due to lack of competitors more than anything. While they do have a knack for trading up, it tends to happen in day two or three predominantly, and unless the Saints get extremely desperate for a quarterback that they’re willing to make that jump, it is hard to rationalize.
