Could the Saints trade into the top 10?

It will be expensive, but it could be worth it.

The New Orleans Saints love to trade up in the draft, no matter where they are. However, the team makes more mistakes when they trade up for a player who just fits a need instead of focusing on talent and need. It is best to trade when you see a player as a top-tier prospect in an achievable range. An example would have been if the Saints traded up for Mahomes, who they viewed as a can’t-miss prospect. Obviously, there are times when this does not work, but that is just how the draft goes. In this year’s NFL draft, there is potential for this to occur again, but who could it be, where could it be, how could they do it, and is it worth it?

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In the top 10, there are two players that are potential prospects the Saints could target for a trade-up, barring any drop from a QB or Marvin Harrison. These two prospects are Left tackle out of Notre Dame, Joe Alt, and edge rusher out of Alabama, Dallas Turner. These are two prospects that the Saints could view as can’t-miss, and they can help fill needs. At 6-foot-9, Joe Alt is considered the top tackle prospect and has Hall of Fame potential. Dallas Turner is viewed as the top edge rusher prospect and has the potential to dominate a game himself. Both prospects would be able to not just fill needs for the Saints but also be what the team is yearning for. Alt and Turner would be cornerstones on their respective sides of the ball, and these players would make the Saints look a lot more dangerous.

It would be amazing for the Saints to get one of these players, but there is a minuscule chance that this occurs at pick 14. What pick could the Saints trade up for to get one of these prospects? It would have to be either with the New York Giants at pick 6 or with the Tennessee Titans at pick 7. In almost every mock draft, Joe Alt is said to be drafted at pick 7 by the Titans. This would make it a priority to get either pick 6 and jump in front of the Titans or pick 7 and actually trade with the Titans. The Atlanta Falcons are a perfect fit at pick 8 with Dallas Turner. This would make it paramount for the Saints to trade up to pick 7 to intercept Turner in front of the Falcons. In theory, this makes sense, but why would the Giants and Titans trade back in the first place? The Giants will trade back if they feel they can get a wide receiver at 14 and if they do not view themselves as being a wide receiver away from competing. The Titans would trade back if they felt they could get one of their top tackles at pick 14 and if they also viewed themselves as being farther away than just a tackle away from competing. The cost for this trade-up would be around pick 14 and either the current or a future second round pick.

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The biggest question left to answer is, is it worth it? Well, there is not a definitive answer. They are a must-draft if one of these prospects is available at pick 14. That is not up for debate, but there are a lot of pros and cons to trading up to pick 6 or 7.

Starting with the cons, it is very expensive, as I said before, it will cost pick 14 and a second. The Saints would want to trade that future second because that is what they have done in many past trades. Even if both players are the top prospects in their respective positions, other players in these positions will be available at pick 14. Tackles Olu Fashanu, Taliese Fuaga, or J.C. Latham would be options at pick 14, and there is potential for them to end up being the best tackles in the class. For Edge Rushers, Jared Verse and Laiatu Latu are two players that would be available at pick 14. In the end, these edge rushers have the potential to be better than Dallas Turner. There is a higher chance that one of the two edge rushers, not named Dallas Turner, becomes the best in the class, in contrast to one of the other tackles, not named Joe Alt, becoming the top tackle. Another Con is that an edge rusher is not the biggest need for the Saints, and if the team views Trevor Penning as the left tackle next year, then right tackle would be the position the Saints target instead of left.

Going away from the negatives, let’s look at this more positively. If the Saints trade up for one of these prospects, they are getting potential cornerstones for the future. I mentioned this before, but Joe Alt will be your left tackle for a while, just like Ryan Ramczyk on the right. Dallas Turner would be the same on the defensive side of the ball and could be the next great edge rusher in the league. Another pro is that trading up to pick 7 and getting Turner would weaken the Falcons. An edge rusher is one of their most prominent positions of need, and getting Turner could ruin their draft plans. Regarding the cost of trading up, the Saints trading a future second could be a good idea in the short and long term. The Saints could get Alt at 6 or 7 and get Braden Fiske, Keon Coleman, or Darius Robinson at pick 45. If they trade up for Turner, they could get a very good tackle, such as Jordan Morgan at 45. The Saints could also trade up again, but this time from pick 45 to get players like Laiatu Latu, Johnny Newton, or Troy Fautanu late in the first. This proves that even when trading up from pick 14, the Saints have a lot of flexibility in using their capital in this year’s draft.

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There are many pros and cons to this, and it could be the move that elevates this team to another level, but it will definitely be contentious. In my opinion, it might be more worth it to trade up for Joe Alt instead of trading up for Dallas Turner. This is because an edge rusher is nowhere near as big a need as a tackle, and Joe Alt is the higher-ranked prospect. As I mentioned before, there is also a smaller gap between Turner and the other edge rushers in contrast to the gap between Alt and the other tackles. This idea is definitely outside the box, and I don’t know if it is a good idea, but as of now, that is why it is just an imaginary situation for the 2024 NFL Draft.