The New Orleans Saints are always in the business of making trades. Look at all the deals they’ve made over recent years. Franchise fixtures like Brandin Cooks, Jimmy Graham, Kenny Stills and Darren Sproles have all been shipped out of town to pick up draft capital. They’ve been just as eager to spend picks early on names like Marcus Davenport, Eli Apple and Teddy Bridgewater.
With so little draft capital to work with in 2019 — New Orleans has just one pick in the first four rounds of the draft — they will probably get back to the trader’s table to add more ammo. They may also bank on getting more from a veteran than a rookie draft pick, and choose to give up even more picks. Either way, let’s get weird and figure out who may be moved in the coming weeks.
For pick placements, we’ll refer to the full draft order at Tankathon. The NFL has not announced compensatory picks, however, so the draft slots for rounds four through seven are projected. They’ll change slightly once that last detail becomes clear.
4. A.J. Klein to the Raiders
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New Orleans gets:
- 2019 Round 4 pick (projected No. 100 overall)
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Oakland gets:
- LB A.J. Klein
The Raiders struggled to get competent linebacker play out of their starters last season, with Tahir Whitehead doing his best on 1,000-plus snaps and a platoon of guys juggling reps next to him. Marquel Lee was replaced by Nicholas Morrow down the stretch, but Oakland still finished the year with the worst yards per play allowed (6.3) in the NFL. It’s a position group that must improve.
Coincidentally, the Saints saw marked improvement out of their linebackers. Klein led the team in tackles for loss or no gain (16) and was one of the most improved players on the team according to Pro Football Focus grading. But with three good linebackers on hand — Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone and Klein — and room for just two on the regular defense, the Saints could move on from the odd man out. With $4 million saved by getting out of his contract, that makes Klein a marked man.
Recent pick-for-player trades make the compensation for Klein fairly clear. The Kansas City Chiefs acquired linebacker Reggie Ragland for a conditional fourth-rounder, while the New York Giants swapped fourth- and sixth-round selections for linebacker Alec Ogletree and a pick in the seventh round. The Raiders have so many higher draft picks from their Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper trades that they can afford to lose a mid-rounder for a big upgrade at linebacker.
3. Andrus Peat to the Texans
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New Orleans gets:
- 2019 Round 3 pick (No. 87 overall)
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Houston gets:
- OL Andrus Peat
- 2019 Round 5 pick (projected No. 158 overall)
This trade is modeled on the transaction sending offensive lineman Trent Brown to the New England Patriots from the San Francisco 49ers. The Saints would lose Peat and leap up two rounds in the draft, getting them another pick in the top 100. The Texans receive a versatile player who can help one of the league’s worst offensive lines. Including the playoffs, they allowed 65 sacks as a unit, an average of 3.8 per game. They must protect franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson better.
Peat wasn’t perfect in 2018 as he returned from a broken leg, suffered a concussion and gutted out the postseason with a broken hand. He was the weak link for the Saints line, but still performed at a level around league average — and then he was nominated to his first Pro Bowl. Even if he made that exhibition game as an alternate, it still carries weight in contract negotiations. He’s on the books for over $9 million in 2019, which the Texans ($68 million in cap space) can afford much easier than the Saints ($10.8 million).
His primary position is left guard, which is currently filled in Houston by former teammate Senio Kelemete. Peat has starter’s experience at left tackle, and he would likely be a big upgrade over incumbent Julien Davenport. It’s easy to picture Peat and Kelemete working well together on the left side, given their familiarity. If Peat doesn’t thrive at left tackle, he can move to left guard while Kelemete pushes for reps at right guard or even right tackle. The point is, both players can coexist.
New Orleans got quality reps out of backups Jermon Bushrod, Cameron Tom and Will Clapp when Peat was absent in 2018, and there’s a reason to believe any of them could win a starting job at left guard. But this is a position the Saints should address, whether in the draft or free agency. The ideal solution would be a talented rookie on a small, salary cap-friendly contract. But losing Peat would not be as problematic for New Orleans as gaining him would be a godsend for Houston.
2. George Kittle for the Saints’ top pick
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New Orleans gets:
- TE George Kittle
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San Francisco gets:
- 2019 Round 2 pick (No. 62 overall)
- 2019 Round 6 pick (projected No. 164 overall)
Here’s a curveball. What if the Saints evaluate this class of rookie tight ends, find it wanting just like they did last year, and decide to get someone who is a better player today than anyone they’d likely get at No. 62? They’d be foolish to not do that, especially when Kittle has two years left on his rookie contract. Any rookie tight end they pick at No. 62 would hopefully develop into the kind of player Kittle is in two or three years, which is too long to ask Drew Brees to wait.
Kittle would be a huge addition to the Saints offense, giving them a reliable receiving option who excels after the catch. The 49ers breakout ranked third in the NFL among tight ends in receptions (88), but led the group in receiving yards (1,377) and gains of 20-plus yards (20). He caught 64.7 percent of his targets despite inconsistent quarterback play after Jimmy Garoppolo’s early-season injury. Kittle logged fewer than 50 receiving yards just three times in 2018; the Saints tight ends as a unit broke the 50-yard mark just three times all season. He’s also a talented blocker, having been well coached at Iowa.
Swapping Kittle for the Saints’ second-round pick would give the 49ers rare draft mobility, as they would then be making selections at Nos. 62 and 67, then again at Nos. 163 and 164. They could effectively move up and down the draft board as they please, targeting prospects who could help lessen the blow of Kittle’s departure and build around Garoppolo. With Kittle’s contract set to expire in March 2021, that’s one less big contract for general manager John Lynch to worry about down the road. It would also be a fantastic return on a player who started out as a fifth-round pick.
There are few downsides to the Saints doing this, but it’s very unlikely San Francisco would sign off on it. Kittle was one of their few playmakers on offense after injuries ran through the team, and he’s rightfully seen as a building block for the future of their team. The only move crazier than this would be the Saints trading away superstar wide receiver Michael Thomas. Who would suggest something silly like that?
1. Michael Thomas to the Buffalo Bills
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New Orleans gets:
- 2019 Round 1 pick (No. 9 overall)
- 2019 Round 4 pick (projected No. 125 overall)
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Buffalo gets:
- WR Michael Thomas
Put away your torches and pitchforks. We’re just asking a question.
Consider what the Saints could get for Thomas, even if it’s just a passing thought. The Dallas Cowboys reset the market by swapping a first-round pick for Amari Cooper, who is probably 90 percent the player Thomas is (real scientific measurement there). That selection ended up ranking No. 27 in the draft. The Bills pick ninth overall.
Buffalo would trip over themselves to hand over that pick for Thomas. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen had an awful season, completing just 52.8 percent of his passes with average net yards gained per attempt at 4.37. His top receiver was Zay Jones, who caught just 56 of the 102 passes thrown his way. If Buffalo is serious about building around Allen, trading for the NFL’s most sure-handed receiver makes plenty of sense. The Bills also rank among the league leaders in salary cap space for the next two years, so they will be able to pay Thomas the record-setting contract he wants.
If they did this, the Saints would have a huge hole in the passing game to fill. So they’d have some serious work to do in finding his replacement, meaning they probably will not do this. On some level it makes sense, giving them another talented rookie on a low salary for the rest of Brees’ career and beyond. But destabilizing the offense in this way, in a year with serious Super Bowl implications, just doesn’t pass the smell test.
