After their big draft pick trade, are the New Orleans Saints readying an offer to the Detroit Lions for the second overall pick?
On Monday, out of nowhere, the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles made a trade strictly involving draft picks. The Detroit Lions were once one of the relatively few “cool kids” who had multiple first-round picks in the draft later this month, but the Saints are now the eighth team to have two. So half of the first round selections are the property of eight teams right now. But get back to me tomorrow, since it might change by then.
The Eagles will send picks 16, 19 and 194 in this year’s draft to the Saints, for picks 18, 101 and 237 this year, a first-round pick in 2023 and a 2024 second-round pick.
Surrendering next year’s first-round pick and second-rounder the following year to get a second first-round pick this year hints at the Saints having another move in mind. But given their annual salary cap issues, they might just be trying to add more younger and cheaper talent to the mix.
Will the Detroit Lions get a trade offer from the Saints for the No. 2 pick?
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press hinted, picks 16, 19 and 49 is almost enough to trade up to No. 2 based on trade value charts. Lions general manager Brad Holmes has been clear he’s open to trading down from No. 2, but pinning down a clear-cut trade partner who’d want to move up is not easy.
If the Saints are eyeing one of the top rookie quarterbacks (Malik Willis? Kenny Pickett?), Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has suggested the New York Giants at No. 5 as a spot they could target for a move up. The aforementionted draft pick value charts make that a little more palatable than trading all the way to No. 2, but the Giants have so many holes that keeping their two top-eight picks would seem ideal. But a deal with the Saints might give them three of the top-20.
Any trade-down hypotheticals for the Lions would ideally keep them in the top-10 overall. While a deep draft means there’s not a lot difference between having three of the first 34 picks and four of the first 34 in a possible deal with the Saints, surrendering a top-five pick while moving down almost half the first round is easy to see as a step too far.
The Saints could include a player in an offer to the Lions for the second overall pick, but then Detroit would likely be taking on an older, expensive player. It would depend on who it is, but that doesn’t feel like a great fit.
The Saints have something in mind, and I (as well as many others) doubt it’s to now stand pat with two top-20 picks. The Lions might get a robust trade offer from them for the second overall pick, perhaps not until the pick is on the clock April 28. The question then becomes if Holmes will take said offer.