'Deal With The Devil?': A Falcons & Saints NFL Draft Trade Scenario

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.
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.
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.

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.
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