PFF proposes trade-up scenario for Saints in Round 1 of 2024 draft

Pro Football Focus says the Saints should consider this draft-day trade in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL draft, making a big move to upgrade at left tackle:

Few teams are as aggressive on draft day as the New Orleans Saints have been with Mickey Loomis calling the shots for the last 20 years. They almost always trade up, never down, and the Saints are a candidate to move up the board again in the 2024 NFL draft.

Pro Football Focus analyst Brad Spielberger recently proposed six first-round trade scenarios that he would like to see happen on draft night. Of the six deals that he drew up, the New Orleans Saints were involved in a trade with the Chicago Bears.

In this scenario, Spielberger has the Saints trading up from Nos. 14 to 9 in the first round. In doing so, the Saints would give up picks Nos. 45 and 168 and receive No. 75 in return. That’s exchanging second- and fifth-round picks for a third rounder. Here’s why Spielberger said the Saints should make this deal:

“A tackle already made sense for the Saints with question marks on the left side, as 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning has not panned out thus far and veterans James Hurst and 2023 starter Andrus Peat — who is still unsigned — are not long-term starting options. Now, with news that stalwart right tackle Ryan Ramczyk has unfortunately not recovered as well as the team had hoped from knee surgery, tackle is by far the biggest need for this roster headed into 2024.

The Saints get ahead of the New York Jets at No. 10, who could still be in the market for a top tackle prospect despite adding Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses this offseason — both are signed only through 2024 — and the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 13. New Orleans has never shied away from a trade-up for a desired player, and this year could be no different, with a glaring need at one of the most important positions in the sport and with veteran quarterback Derek Carr in need of better protection.

Fashanu has great feet to cleanly kick slide and also reset against counters, and he allowed just 16 quarterback pressures and zero sacks over the past two seasons, earning an 88.4 pass-blocking grade in 2023 with an 82.0 true pass set pass-blocking grade. He appears to be sliding a bit in draft conversations, at least in the media’s eyes, even after many viewed him as the No. 1 tackle if he had been able to declare for the NFL after the 2022 college season.”

Spielberger makes a lot of great points specifically with the Saints’ offensive line struggles. With Trevor Penning and now Ryan Ramczyk each posing some level of uncertainty at the tackle spots, it makes the most sense in leaning in the direction of selecting a tackle in Round 1.

In terms of compensation, it seems a little rich for the Saints to give up that 45th pick in the draft due to the many needs that this team now has. Losing out on a potential starter at a different position doesn’t feel like a risk worth taking for this year’s Saints team, especially with the limited resources they have to play with. Getting a third rounder back is nice but there will be better prospects available earlier on, and the Saints could still get a quality offensive lineman in the first round without trading up. It’s a deep class and they need to take advantage of it.

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Saints have 18th-most draft capital in NFL this year

Will the Saints be big players in the 2024 NFL draft? Most of their picks are in the later rounds, which hurts their value, but don’t rule out Mickey Loomis:

Are the New Orleans Saints going to be big players in the 2024 NFL draft? You never know with Mickey Loomis, but other teams are better positioned to make a move early on. New Orleans owns a lot of draft picks but most of them are distributed in the later rounds, where they’re less valuable.

In addition to a first-round pick, the Saints have 8 other selections on Days 2 and 3. Five of those are compensatory selections, which were just handed out on Friday. Tankathon ranked every team based on its draft capital this year, applying point values to each selection, and the Saints have the 18th-most among the NFL’s 32 teams.

Their nine picks are worth 761.8 points, slightly ahead of the 19th-ranked Tennessee Titans (758.2). The Arizona Cardinals have the most capital in the NFL (1,468.9 points), followed by the Washington Commanders (1,236.6) and Chicago Bears (1,089.5). The Cleveland Browns have by far the least amount of capital with only five picks worth 377.8 points.

The Saints could use draft capital this year to move around the draft with some wheeling and dealing, but they also have a tendency to dip into future assets as well. Don’t expect Loomis to stand pat and let the board come to him on draft day, especially when he has a history of using compensatory picks as bartering chips to trade for higher picks.

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Saints picked as a surprise team to trade into the 2024 draft’s top-10

Bleacher Report picked the Saints as a team who could trade up into the top-10, targeting a quarterback. Here’s two reasons that won’t happen:

Mickey Loomis is known for being aggressive, but could this be the year he goes for broke? The New Orleans Saints were listed as one of five surprise teams who could trade into the 2024 NFL draft’s top 10 picks by Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton.

Why would they do that? Moton says it should a move for a quarterback to develop as Derek Carr’s replacement. New Orleans has been aggressive, but it’s doubtful they will be that aggressive. Restarting with a rookie quarterback would help the team avoid their annual salary cap gymnastics. Moton writes:

In all likelihood, Carr will get another opportunity to take the Saints to the playoffs, but New Orleans shouldn’t rule out a move into a top-10 spot for a quarterback with more potential. The Saints have the 14th overall pick, so they wouldn’t have to make a massive leap to get the third- or fourth-best signal-caller in the draft.

New Orleans can sit its rookie signal-caller for the 2024 campaign and then reassess its thoughts on Carr next offseason. In 2025, the club can opt to find a trade partner that appeals to Carr or cut him in a transition to an upstart signal-caller.

Sitting a rookie for a year would allow the Saints to grab their quarterback of the future while also keeping Carr as the starter this season. But there are two major issues with this theory for New Orleans. The Saints are committed to Carr, not stuck with him. Carr may not be the future at the position in three or four years, but Dennis Allen will give him every opportunity to earn that opportunity.

The other issue is the Saints aren’t necessarily in a position to trade up for a player who won’t impact their 2024 season. Allen could lose his job if the Saints are unsuccessful this season and again fall short of the playoffs. Their first-round pick should be spent on an immediate-impact player. If that quarterback can’t at least show promise as a rookie, Allen may never see the benefit of drafting them.

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Dylan Sanders’ post-combine 7-round Saints mock draft

The NFL combine has shaken things up for the New Orleans Saints. Here’s who they picked in Dylan Sanders’ post-combine 7-round Saints mock draft:

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone, meaning it’s now time to take stock of how players performed and what this year’s draft might look like.

While the New Orleans Saints’ team needs didn’t magically change during the combine, where players might get drafted did. There will be some players the Saints were eyeing that will be out of range now and some that they might need to target earlier than previously expected. It was a great combine in terms of performances from the positions that the Saints need most, such as defensive end and offensive tackle.

Here’s a seven-round (six, really, after making a trade) mock draft for the Saints, taking the NFL combine results into consideration:

There isn’t much history of NFL teams trading down from the 14th pick

There isn’t much history of NFL teams trading down from the 14th overall pick, but this is a good year for the Saints to try it:

If there’s ever been a year for Mickey Loomis to break his streak of NFL drafts without a trade down (dating back to 2007!), it’s this one: the New Orleans Saints are getting perilously older at multiple positions and they’re short on draft picks. Restocking the roster is going to be tough with just two picks in the top four rounds.

At the same time, the 2024 draft class is remarkably top-heavy. A historically small class of underclassmen declaring has winnowed the talent available in the later rounds, where the Saints expect to have most of their selections once compensatory draft picks are announced in a week or two. Some crafty maneuvering — moving down early on, packaging those later picks to move up in the middle rounds — could pay off in a big way.

But beyond Loomis continuing to snub trade offers and move down, there isn’t much historical precedent for trading out of the 14th pick. We went back and studied every draft class since 2004 to get an idea of what the Saints could ask for in a trade down in 2024:

List of Saints’ 2024 NFL draft picks in each round

The latest projections are in. Here are the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 NFL draft picks in each round:

The 2024 NFL draft will be here before we know it, and it’s a critical event for the New Orleans Saints. With so many salary cap dollars going towards the team’s aging veterans, it’s vital that the Saints hit on as many picks as possible to replenish the roster with young talent.

And this year, the Saints are expected to receive nine picks — they already own six selections, but they’re anticipating three more as compensatory picks for losing free agents last offseason. Where those picks slot in and whether they even actually transfer is yet to be seen, but we’ll refer to the latest projections from Over The Cap and Tankathon to give you can idea of what the Saints should have to work with in April.

Here’s a quick look at each of their nine picks and and how they acquired each selection:

Mexico Open at Vidanta 2024 odds, course history and picks to win

Let’s get a winner in Mexico.

Before the PGA Tour heads to the Sunshine State for the Florida Swing, it’s south of the border for the Mexico Open at Vidanta in Vallarta.

Defending champion Tony Finau — coming off a top-20 finish at the Genesis Invitational — is hoping to make a run at back-to-back titles. Last year, Finau beat Jon Rahm by three shots.

Other players in the field include Nicolai Hojgaard, Emiliano Grillo, Keith Mitchell, Patrick Rodgers and Ryan Fox.

Will Zalatoris — runner-up at Riviera Country Club — withdrew from the field earlier this week. With an important stretch coming up, it’s no surprise to see this field lack a bit of star power.

Golf course

Vidanta Vallarta | Par 71 | 7,456 yards

2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta
Erik van Rooyen of South Africa lines up a putt during the pro-am prior to the Mexico Open at Vidanta at Vidanta Vallarta on April 26, 2023 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Course history

Betting preview

Former Saints draft pick, Alabama football star takes high-profile college coaching job

Former Saints draft pick and Alabama football star Vinnie Sunseri has taken a high-profile college coaching job at Washington:

Here’s some good news for a former New Orleans Saints draft pick: Vinnie Sunseri has taken a high-profile college coaching job as the Washington Huskies safeties coach, where he’ll be tasked with developing the next generation of defensive backs at a West Coast powerhouse with national championship ambitions.

Things have come full circle. Sunseri was a standout at Alabama during his own college playing career, and Alabama’s decision to hire Washington’s former head coach Kalen DeBoer led to a lot of turnover for the Huskies coaching staff.

Sunseri, 32, was picked by the Saints in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft. But he struggled to get on the field after dealing with a series of injuries. He finished his NFL playing career with the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers.

After hanging up his cleats, Sunseri began a coaching career at Alabama as a graduate assistant; he returned to the Patriots in 2020 to get more experience, where he first worked with the defense before moving to the offensive side of the ball for three years coaching running backs. Now he’s going back to his roots with much more responsibility under new Washington head coach Jedd Fisch.

The job comes with high expectations. Washington is fresh off a national title bid, and the school has sent many defensive backs to the NFL draft in recent years; Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon were both top-50 picks in 2022, while Elijah Molden was selected at No. 100 overall (followed by Keith Taylor in the fifth round) in 2021. Byron Murphy and Taylor Rapp were each second-round picks in 2019 with Jordan Miller also drafted in the fifth round. Sunseri will be charged with recruiting and developing players to follow in their footsteps. Good luck to him.

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Saints trade down, select QB of the future and one of his WRs in 2024 mock draft

The Saints made a surprising trade down in this 2024 mock draft, picking their QB of the future and one of his receivers:

You have to think the New Orleans Saints are due to trade down in the NFL draft sooner or later. Mickey Loomis hasn’t traded down at all since 2007, and he’s never moved down in the first round during his two-decade run as their general manager.

But if there were a year to move down, get more picks and restock the roster, it’s this one. And that’s a scenario explored by RosterWatch’s Cody Carpentier in a recent 2024 mock draft. With playmaking tight end Brock Bowers in their sites, the Cincinnati Bengals traded up with the Saints — moving up from No. 18 to 14, sending a third-round pick to New Orleans (No. 80 overall) in the process.

Bowers has been a popular draft target among Saints fans desiring more firepower on offense, so trading out of the slot where he’s ultimately picked would sting. But this team does need more early-round picks (especially in such a thin draft class), and a small trade back like this would make sense. So who did they spend these picks on?

After moving back to No. 18, the Saints selected Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, of whom Carpentier writes: “Murphy and his college teammate T’Vondre Sweat combined for a 34.9% Win Rate and 76 pressures, numbers that compare to the 2018 Clemson Interior duo of Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence (29.7% Win Rate and 67 pressures).”

Murphy would bring a formidable presence to the Saints defensive line. Pairing him with Bryan Bresee could give New Orleans a dominant pair of interior linemen and improve on their run defense, which ranked 11th-worst in rushing yards per carry and per game allowed last season.

What about their other picks?

That’s where this mock draft gets interesting. Carpentier has the Saints spending their second-round choice (at No. 45, coming from the Denver Broncos) on a possible quarterback of the future: Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. He’s one of the most exciting prospects in this draft class after leading the Huskies to the national semifinals. Penix struggled to elevate his draft stock at Senior Bowl practices earlier this month, but he’s known as a gamer and should develop into a fine pro. Even if the Saints are committed to starting Derek Carr in 2024, it would be worth investing in a long-term answer at the position.

And as for that third-round pick coming from the Bengals (at No. 80): it’s used on one of Penix’s receivers at Washington, Ja’Lynn Polk. Polk is an impressive NFL prospect in his own right — he averaged 5.2 yards after the catch in his college career (a full yard better than Chris Olave and a yard-and-a-half more than Rashid Shaheed last year) while consistently winning on 50-50 balls. He plays with a lot of physicality and could add a dimension to the offense. Having familiarity with his quarterback would certainly help.

So is this realistic? Probably not. Loomis is one of the most aggressive draft-day decision-makers in the NFL and he doesn’t have a history of trading down or drafting quarterbacks early. But you never know. That trend has to break eventually. Maybe this is the year.

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Who the Saints are picking in post-Super Bowl mock draft roundup

Who are the New Orleans Saints picking in the latest mock drafts? Here’s a quick look in our post-Super Bowl roundup:

We’re moving into the offseason at full speed. The Super Bowl is behind us, putting a cap on the 2023 season, and the 2024 NFL draft order is set (at least in the first two rounds). So who are the New Orleans Saints picking in the latest round of mock drafts?

Remember, the goal isn’t necessarily to be right; it’s to explore different scenarios and get an idea of the players expected to be available when the Saints are on the clock. New Orleans likes to address their needs in free agency and go into the draft ready to pick the best players available, so their team needs in February are going to look different from the list we’ll be working with in April. Accuracy isn’t exactly the goal in these predictions.

With that in mind, here are some prospects that forecasters expect to be available once the Saints go on the clock: