Canal Street Chronicles
Let’s look at some hypothetical trades that could be made.
Not having a third or fourth round pick increases the odds of the New Orleans Saints trading up in this year’s NFL Draft. The Saints do not like to sit and wait till a player drops to them, and this year should not be any different. They could use their copious amounts of day three picks to trade up, but there is another way to acquire earlier picks. On draft night, we have seen some trades over the years that include players for picks, but not too many. I wanted to see what players could be traded away from the Saints and what they would get in return.
Although this might not be the most exciting trade, there is a high potential for it to happen. James Hurst has been a pure backup offensive lineman for the Saints and never made the important impact that fans hoped for. Hurst was supposed to be a backup who could play all positions on the offensive line. This flexibility is why he can still sustain value, but the Saints could be looking to trade him, even with the current offensive line woes. Hurst will not be a good fit in the new offensive scheme, and there is a good chance that a team will take him as a depth piece. Understandably, this trade could be risky, but if the Saints use at least two picks on the offensive line and use post-draft free agency to sign at least one more, then the risk could be worth it. A trade will save some cap space with a small dead cap hit. Two teams that I like for trade partners are the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. These teams have arguably had worse offensive line play in 2024 than the Saints. This would cause the Jets and the Jaguars to be in the market for more depth on that side of the offense. Both teams have two 4th round picks in this year’s draft, which would allow the Saints to trade Hurst for one of them. There would probably be some draft capital attached to Hurst for the trade to go through.
Saints: James Hurst & 6th round-#190 < ------ > Jets: 4th round-#134
OR
Saints: James Hurst & 5th round-#175 < ------ > Jaguars: 4th round-#116
This transaction would hit the fan base much harder than the Hurst trade. Pete Werner is a well-liked player who has made an impact on defense. The Saints and fans have hoped that Werner would be the successor for Demario Davis, and before last season, that looked to be true. In the 2023 NFL Season, Werner did not take the next expected step and took a step back. The linebacker out of Ohio State always struggled with pass protection, but that was fine because of his tackling and blitzing ability. Last season, Werner struggled overall, and it was a worrying...
