Grading Bleacher Report’s preseason trade ideas for the New Orleans Saints

Grading Bleacher Report’s preseason trade ideas for the New Orleans Saints: Two duds and one smart move

We’re still a ways off from the uptick of trades and roster moves that follow NFL preseason games, but Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine shared a list of trade proposals for every team to consider while they’re still in training camp — including the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were a popular choice of trade partner in this speculation with three different player-pick swaps suggested. Let’s grade each of them:

Bleacher Report’s ‘dream offseason trade’ for Saints lands a Pro Bowl QB

Bleacher Report’s ‘dream offseason trade’ for the New Orleans Saints lands a Pro Bowl Games quarterback — Baltimore Ravens spot-starter Tyler Huntley:

One popular name among New Orleans Saints fans looking for their next quarterback is Tyler Huntley — the Baltimore Ravens backup has shown some moxie in a handful of starts over the last few years, throwing well enough under pressure and showing enough ability to make plays with his legs to suggest he can handle a full-time role. It helps that the Ravens just went 2-2 with him at quarterback to keep them in the thick of a crowded AFC playoff picture.

So you’ll see plenty of Saints trade ideas floating around centering on Huntley. Here’s one such proposal from Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, who plotted out a course that would send Huntley to New Orleans. Huntley is a restricted free agent this offseason, which gives the Ravens some options in either holding onto him or getting compensation should he leave:

“Baltimore can give Huntley a first- or second-round tender and hope that a team signs him to an offer sheet—thereby getting the matching draft selection back as compensation. Giving Huntley a first-round tender would cost Baltimore $6 million in 2023, according to Over the Cap.

If New Orleans signs Huntley to an offer sheet worth, say, $10 million annually, the Ravens may take the first-round selection rather than paying that amount to their backup quarterback.

Technically, this wouldn’t be a trade in the strictest of senses. However, it would allow the Saints to flip their low-first-round pick for a quarterback who was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and at a lower cost than they might sign a signal-caller in free agency.”

Now, to be fair, Huntley is a Pro Bowler — but he was only selected for the all-star event after Patrick Mahomes went to the Super Bowl, Josh Allen opted out, and the trio of Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, and Tua Tagovailoa chose not to play due to injuries. That left Trevor Lawrence, Derek Carr, and Huntley as the last guys standing.

But swapping a first-round pick for a quarterback who has only thrown for 2,040 passing yards in the NFL is kind of rich. Huntley has played sparingly behind Jackson, and he’s been kind of inconsistent with 15 interceptable passes (8 of which were picked off) on just 347 career pass attempts. He also hasn’t really stretched the field vertically with his passing ability while averaging only 5.9 yards per attempt through three years of spot duty.

Huntley is absolutely worth a look at the right price. He’s as far along in his development as some quarterback prospects in the 2023 draft will hope to be a year or two (or three) from now, and he’s only 25 years old. If Baltimore is seeking a first rounder for his services, though, the Saints should be looking elsewhere.

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4 trade candidates the Saints could pursue in 2020

The New Orleans Saints can improve by trading draft picks for veterans in 2020, targeting players like Stefon Diggs and David Njoku.

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How can the New Orleans Saints improve after another disappointing playoffs exit? They don’t have much to work with on paper as far as draft picks and salary cap accounting is concerned, but that’s typical for the Saints. Their goal every year is to maximize their resources and leave no stones unturned in search of upgrades. So expect New Orleans to again get creative during the long NFL offseason.

Trading some of those picks for players is one option they could explore. While the Saints got great production out of their first two selections in last year’s draft (Erik McCoy started every game at center, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson averaged 34 snaps per game at defensive back), every other rookie they drafted finished the year on injured reserve or on another team’s practice squad.

Swapping late-round picks for proven veterans on the outs with other teams — whether due to coaching staff upheaval or poor salary cap management — is one of the few big market inefficiencies in the NFL today, and the Saints should take advantage of it. It’s a tactic they’ve used in the past (and nearly did last year, before Robert Quinn made a poor decision to pick the Dallas Cowboys instead) and they’re set up well to do it again.

With that in mind, here are four trade candidates the Saints should call in about in the weeks ahead:

LB Christian Kirksey, Cleveland Browns

The Minnesota Vikings lost conservative play-caller Kevin Stefanski to the Browns, and he’ll be Cleveland’s new head coach. That means changes are on the way, and Stefanski doing some housecleaning could mean Kirksey gets offloaded. He’s played well for the Browns, earning a leadership role as team captain, but ended each of the last two years on injured reserve. If healthy, he could help the Saints replace two of their three projected starting linebackers, Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso, who are both recovering from season-ending injuries.

The trade: Saints acquire Kirksey in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.

TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

This would be more of a long-term move than an instant upgrade, but the Saints should really consider it. Jared Cook is entering the final leg of his two-year contract and projects to be one of the team’s biggest playmakers in 2020, while backup tight end Josh Hill remains an integral blocker. Njoku was in Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse last year for unclear reasons, and there’s no telling whether Stefanski will have the patience to let Njoku learn another new system and develop. The Saints could bring him in as an heir-apparent to replace Cook after the 2020 season.

The trade: Saints acquire Njoku in exchange for their 2021 second-round pick and their 2020 sixth-round pick.

LG Lane Taylor, Green Bay Packers

Nick Easton is projected to start at left guard for New Orleans next season (two-time Pro Bowler Andrus Peat is headed for free agency), but Taylor would be a clear upgrade if the Saints can land him. While he was cut down by an injury just two games into the 2019 season, Taylor did start 45 games in the previous three years. The Packers have an obvious in-house replacement for him in second-year pro Elgton Jenkins, and could clear salary space by trading Taylor away. If the Saints acquired Taylor (counting a little over $4.6 million against the cap) and released Easton (freeing up about $3.8 million), it would result in a net cost of roughly $780,000.

The trade: Saints acquire Taylor in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.

WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are one of two teams currently in the red for 2020 salary cap space, and Diggs is a logical trade candidate. The offense’s run-first approach makes him a bit redundant next to Adam Thielen as two highly-paid wideouts, and Diggs’ frustration with the coaching staff was evident last year. With Gary Kubiak taking on a larger role in conducting the Vikings offense (which means even more reliance on the running game), it’s possible Diggs lands somewhere else in 2020. And as a 26-year-old in the middle of a $72 million contract, he won’t come cheaply. Would he be a better addition for the Saints (at that cost) than a rookie first-round draft pick?

The trade: Saints acquire Diggs in exchange for their 2020 first-round pick.

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