Compensation update: Houston acquired a 2024 7th-round draft pick from New Orleans in exchange for veteran running back Mark Ingram, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2021
So that’s that: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the New Orleans Saints sent a 2024 seventh-round draft pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for running back Mark Ingram, which is decidedly less interesting than a potential swap of late-round picks in 2022 or 2023, which was the early speculation. But it’s significantly better value for the Saints than that proposed deal.
NFL teams are only allowed to barter with draft picks up to three years in advance of the current cycle, meaning the Saints sent the least-valuable asset possible in a seven-round draft per league rules. That brought home a fan-favorite player at a position that could use his help. You take that deal seven days a week.
It also doesn’t preclude New Orleans from making more trades before the Nov. 2 deadline. Here is how their future draft picks set up after the Ingram trade:
- 2022: 1, 2, 3 (compensation for Terry Fontenot), 4, 5, 7
- 2023: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
- 2024: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Additionally, the Saints are expecting more compensatory draft picks to trickle in next year after losing defensive linemen Trey Hendrickson and Sheldon Rankins in free agency (projections suggest they’ll get selections in the fourth and sixth rounds, but that isn’t official). Keep an eye out for more moves as we step closer to that deadline.
