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How active will the New Orleans Saints be at this year’s NFL trade deadline? Recent history suggests they’ll be right in the thick of things. They acquired linebacker Kwon Alexander at the 2020 deadline and came close to trading for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in 2019; cornerback Eli Apple arrived in a 2018 trade. And, oh yeah, they just brought Mark Ingram back after his three-year exodus with the Ravens and Texans. Expect them to continue to work the phones in search of upgrades.
And there isn’t a more obvious upgrade than the group of pass-catchers surrounding Jameis Winston. Well, pass-catchers in name only — 16 targets went to wide receivers during Monday night’s close win over the Seattle Seahawks, but only four of them were caught. With Michael Thomas still on the PUP list, Deonte Harris injured, and Tre’Quan Smith looking rusty-at-best, the Saints are quite literally beggars now, with their only real hope of improving Winston’s supporting cast being another team’s cast-offs.
They may be unwilling to throw too many resources at the problem after putting two draft picks on the table for Bradley Roby, but it’s worth noting that New Orleans still has a number of picks to work with in 2022 and 2023, with several compensatory picks expected to convey. But here are nine names they should call about: