New Orleans Saints: Failed draft trades actually for the better

The New Orleans Saints attempted to trade up into the top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft but failed. That’s actually to their benefit in the long run. 

Seeing the New Orleans Saints operate aggressively in the NFL Draft is nothing new. Back in 2018, they gave up the 27th overall pick, a fifth-round pick in that draft, and a 2019 first-round pick in order to trade up to No. 14 and take defensive end Marcus Davenport. The results have been varied on the pass-rusher but, if nothing else, he was their guy and they did what it took to get him.

Apparently, they tried to do more of the same in the 2021 NFL Draft as well.

Head coach Sean Payton appeared on The Rich Eisen Show the week after the draft and noted that the Saints were trying to trade up into the top 10 in order to select one of the top two cornerbacks in the draft, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. Obviously, New Orleans was unable to get that deal done.

While that may have thwarted their aggressive plans to make a move to fill a void in the cornerback room, the fact of the matter is that the Saints are probably better off with how things played out for them without the trade.

Not making a big trade will be best for the New Orleans Saints.

Had the Saints tried to pull off a trade from No. 28 up into the top 10, you would have to assume that they would have to give up next year’s first-round pick but likely something more than the fifth-rounder they needed to move up for Davenport.

As the team transitions into an era where Drew Brees is no longer the quarterback, they aren’t in a position where they can afford to be dealing in that manner. They have options at quarterback with Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill but neither is a sure thing to work out, especially for the long term.

Moreover, with the roster cuts they were forced to make this offseason, they also have numerous holes to fill throughout the depth chart. That becomes much more difficult to do without draft picks.

Granted, the Saints didn’t exactly compile my favorite draft class in 2021. They reached on Payton Turner at No. 28, got two solid impact defenders in the next two rounds with linebacker Pete Werner and cornerback Paulson Adebo, but then ended with three picks that all seemed pretty uninspiring.

However, with the position New Orleans finds itself in, being able to swing and miss on picks is better than trading them away for a cornerback prospect, even one as good as Surtain and Horn are. In the long run, the Saints will look back and be thankful their attempt to make a big trade up the board didn’t pan out.