The New Orleans Saints just shook up the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.
On Monday, April 4, the Saints pulled off a rare blockbuster pre-draft trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Saints receive: No. 16 overall (first-rounder), No. 19 overall (first-rounder), and No. 194 overall (sixth-rounder)
- Eagles receive: No. 18 overall (first-rounder), No. 101 overall (third-rounder), No. 237 overall (seventh-rounder), 2023 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick
A major shakeup to this year’s draft.
More ahead on ESPN’s NFL Live on the air now.
According to the NFL draft value chart, Philadelphia won the trade by a significant margin over New Orleans:
Although the move ahead of the move is the one that could feature the New York Jets.
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A Very Interesting Proposition
General manager Joe Douglas just turned his phone from silent to vibrate.
As NFL draft guru Chad Reuter tweeted out, “the price for the third and fourth picks just went up.”
The price for the 3rd and 4th picks just went up.
With the Eagles looking toward the future and the Saints loading up for the present, many have already speculated what is the next move to be made?
uStadium tweeted out that based on the old value chart, the Saints could combine their pair of first-rounders (No. 16 and No. 19) to launch “at or around” the No. 4 overall pick, which the Jets own. Although they may have to “sweeten the deal” on top of that to make it happen.
New Orleans’ two first-rounders are worth (1,875 points) versus the Jets’ No. 4 pick which is worth (1,800 points). However, the value chart is more so a guideline than a hard-fast rule that every NFL team follows.
Douglas has a long track record of making trades and this could be a really good opportunity to move back and maximize quantity over quality.
NFL Insider Daniel Jeremiah tweeted out that the Saints could be looking to “jump” the Carolina Panthers for a quarterback based on him reading the tea leaves.
Something to Watch
Before making any trades, what Douglas needs to do is fully understand what he is trying to accomplish ahead of the 2022 season.
By potentially trading out of the No. 4 overall pick for a pair of first-rounders in the teens, the green and white would be sacrificing quality (an opportunity at one of the top players in the class) for quantity (multiple solid players).
With the number of needs the Jets still have on their roster, it would make a lot of sense to pull the trigger on that.
You could also make the argument on the other side of the coin that the Jets don’t just need quantity, they need quality as well.
There aren’t enough blue-chip players on this roster which is a big reason they haven’t been to the playoffs in 11 years.
There are pros and cons to every single argument and this potential Saints-Jets trade is no exception. The good news is the Jets have options this offseason and some NFL teams can’t say that.
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Saints Now in Position to Pull off Big Time Jets Draft Trade