The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints are arguably each other’s biggest rival, and in this year’s NFL Draft, they could also be each other’s best trade partner.
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Alvin Kamara
The Falcons and Saints are heated rivals, but could find themselves as trade partners in this NFL Draft.
Saints vs. Falcons
In-division trades are a rarity, but the last time it happened was just last year when the Philadelphia Eagles struck a deal with the Dallas Cowboys to move up two spots in the draft to take Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, while the Cowboys moved to No. 12, where Micah Parsons fell in their lap.
The New Orleans Saints revealed their potential draft intentions earlier this month, trading with the Eagles to grab an extra first-round pick this year. Now, the Saints have two first-round picks (Nos. 16 and 19) and are in position to draft one of the top quarterbacks in this draft. However, both the top options, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis, have a chance of coming off the board before No. 16.
The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons have potential to take a quarterback in the top 10, but are less likely to select a signal caller than the Seattle Seahawks, who sit at No. 9.
The Seahawks currently have Drew Lock sitting at the top of the quarterback depth chart after trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos earlier this offseason. Selecting a quarterback in the draft almost seems like a certainty at this point for Seattle.
Scroll to Continue
In order to ensure the Saints get the pick they want, they’ll have to jump into the top five. However, it’s unlikely to see any of the top five teams trading down in the draft when the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, New York Giants and New York Jets already have an additional first round pick.
The Falcons have reason to trade back, considering the team is just beginning its rebuild and could use as many draft picks as possible.
Trading back eight spots would still allow the Falcons to draft a talented receiver or pass-rusher in the first round, all while adding more picks in a draft where there is more value in the middle rounds.
It might feel like a deal with the devil, but we say the pros outweigh the cons in a trade back with the Falcons’ biggest rival.