Look, there isn’t a lot of great news surrounding the New Orleans Saints after Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. So forgive us for looking ahead a bit.
It’s early, but right now the experts at Tankathon project the Saints to receive a valuable pick from the Denver Broncos in the 2024 NFL draft as compensation for trading their former head coach Sean Payton: the first selection in the second round, at No. 33 overall.
That isn’t a first-rounder, but it’s as close as you can get.
Sure, things could change if Payton and his Broncos turn things around and rattle off a series of wins. But right now they’re one of the NFL’s worst teams, and they were just beaten by the powerhouse Miami Dolphins by a staggering tally of 70-20. It’s going to take a while for that team to seriously compete.
And the Saints stand to benefit from their struggles. They received the No. 29 pick in the 2023 draft from Denver, which they invested in standout defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. If they can find a similarly impactful player with this second-round choice in 2024, they’ll be well on their way to sustaining success.
This doesn’t come without some bad news. The Saints don’t control their own pick in the second round, having traded it to the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago so they could get left tackle Trevor Penning in the first round while moving up for wide receiver Chris Olave. Tankathon projects that pick to fall at No. 48 overall before transferring to Philadelphia. So the Saints effectively moved up 15 spots by trading Payton to the Broncos, at least in these way-too-early predictions.
If you’re curious, here are the last five players selected at No. 33 overall:
- 2019: CB Byron Murphy Jr. (Arizona Cardinals)
- 2020: WR Tee Higgins (Cincinnati Bengals)
- 2021: CB Tyson Campbell (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 2022: DL Logan Hall (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- 2023: QB Will Levis (Tennessee Titans)
That isn’t a bad group to sample from. Wherever the Saints end up picking with this selection from the Broncos, let’s hope they find a good player. But it sure would be nice to go back-to-back at Nos. 32 and 33 after winning a Super Bowl championship.
[lawrence-auto-related count=4]