Historically speaking, the New Orleans Saints have never been shy about trading up to get the best players in the NFL Draft. This aggressive thinking is why the team ended up with great players like Chris Olave, but it can also make it impossible to recover when the organization misses on a player like Trevor Penning.
Selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Penning was a raw prospect who was supposed to develop into a decade-long starter at left tackle. Instead, the Northern Iowa product already lost his job and doesn’t appear to have much of a future in New Orleans. With Penning ineffective and Ryan Ramczyk still injured, the Saints will likely turn to the NFL Draft to find their next starter.
The Saints currently hold the 14th overall pick in the draft, but PFF’s Brad Spielberger believes the team will trade this selection, along with their second- and fifth-round picks, to the Chicago Bears for their first- and third-round selections. With this new pick, Spielberger believes the Saints will select offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.
Saints Could Trade Up For Olu Fashanu In NFL Draft
Spielberger justifies this trade by pointing out the glaring need at offensive tackle. The NFL analyst specifically targeted the ninth-overall pick in the draft, as it gives the Saints a chance to pass the New York Jets (10th overall) and Las Vegas Raiders (13th). While New York has short-term options in Morgan Moses and Tyron Smith, they do not have a long-term answer at tackle.
It’s hard to argue against this reasoning. Joe Alt is widely believed to be the best offensive tackle in the 2024 NFL Draft class, and the Saints don’t have a realistic path to securing his services. Olu Fashanu, however, should still be on the board.
Alt deserves to be the first tackle off the board, but Fashanu could have what it takes to be a cornerstone player for the right organization. Blessed with great feet and the ability to match both the speed and strength of opposing rushers, Fashanu would help keep Derek Carr upright throughout the 2024 season. However, should the Saints give up this much draft capital for just one player?
Does This Proposal Make Sense?
Ironically, this proposal would make more sense if Ryan Ramczyk was healthy. New Orleans entered the offseason needing to find an answer at left tackle, and Olu Fashanu could fill that void. However, now that they need to fill two tackle positions, the Saints have too many needs to justify giving up so much for just one player.
As things currently stand, the New Orleans Saints only have two picks in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft. This means that, unless they get extremely lucky in the later rounds, they should only plan on having two rookies capable of making a Day 1 impact. If they go through with this trade, they’ll have to wait an additional 30 picks to make their second selection.
The hit rate in that range drops dramatically, and New Orleans needs two good players more than they need one great one. Given the current state of the roster, the Saints should wait to draft someone like JC Latham with the 14th-overall pick and use their second-round selection on another player capable of making an immediate impact.
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