What Would It Take for the New Orleans Saints To Trade Up in the NFL Draft?

The Saints are without a 3rd and 4th Round pick right now, but how difficult would it be to get one and what about the earlier rounds?

Author:
John Hendrix
Apr 25, 2024

In this story:

Mickey Loomis

New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints Draft

Saints Draft

Jeff Ireland

NFL Draft

Saints GM Mickey Loomis joked with the media on Tuesday afternoon in his pre-draft press conference that he's 15-0 when it comes to trading up. It's a familiar strategy for New Orleans, who work the phones a lot leading up to the draft to see where things are at. When the draft starts, things get even more interesting, and when they eventually get on the clock, a lot more chaos ensues.

Will the Saints trade up in this draft? That's probably the easiest prop bet to take, if that's even one. The real mystery is what it costs to move up. Most teams still use the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, but there have been other tools used by other teams. Loomis also has an encyclopedia of sorts that shows draft trades from over the past decade as a point of reference.

So, what will it take for New Orleans to move up? We'll be looking at the first several rounds from last year's draft mainly because that's where we really anticipate New Orleans being active, being without a 3rd or 4th Round pick. Naturally, they are quite active on Day 3, but how they operate in the first several rounds will be particularly interesting. One other thing that should be kept in mind is the teams the Saints have traded with in the past, as Mickey Loomis has mentioned that it's easier to deal with them due to the familiarity.

Round 1 Trading Cost Examples

Jaguars traded their 1st Rounder (No. 25) and their 4th Rounder (No. 130) to get the Bills 1st Rounder (No. 27)
Giants traded their 1st Rounder (No. 25), a 5th Rounder (No. 160) and a 7th Rounder (No. 240) to the Jaguars to get their 1st Rounder (No. 24)
Steelers traded their 1st Rounder (No. 17) and 4th Rounder (No. 120) to the Colts to jump up three spots (No. 14)
Eagles traded their 1st Rounder (No. 10) and a 2024 4th Rounder to the Bears to jump up one spot (No. 9)
Cardinals traded their 1st Rounder (No. 12), 2nd Rounder (No 34) and a 5th Rounder (No. 168) to the Lions to get a 1st Rounder (No. 6) and a 3rd Rounder (No. 81)
Texans traded their 1st Rounder (No. 12), a 2nd Rounder (No. 33), a 2024 1st Round and 3rd Rounder to the Cardinals and moved up in the 1st Round (No. 3) and gained a 4th Rounder (No. 105)

It's not impossible, but looking at what it took to move up for some teams, even if it was a couple of spots, the Saints would have to probably look to next year or use their 2nd Round pick to move up too.

Round 2 Trading Cost Examples

Broncos traded a 3rd Rounder (No. 68) and 4th Rounder (No. 139) to the Lions to get a 2nd Rounder (No. 63) and a 6th Rounder (No. 183)
Texans traded a 3rd Rounder (No. 65), a 6th Rounder (No. 188) and a 7th Rounder (No. 230) to the Eagles for a 2nd Rounder (No. 62)
Bears traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 61) and 5th Rounder (No. 136) to the Jaguars for a 2nd Rounder (No. 56)
Chiefs traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 63), 4th Rounder (No. 122) and a 7th Rounder (No. 249) to the Lions for a 2nd Rounder (No. 55) and 6th Rounder (No. 194)
Buccaneers traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 50) and 6th Rounder (No. 179) to the Packers to move up two spots (No. 48)
Lions traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 48) and 5th Rounder (No. 159) to the Packers to move up three spots (No. 45)
Falcons traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 44) and 4th Rounder (No. 110) to the Colts to move up six spots (No. 38)
Raiders traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 38) and 5th Rounder (No. 141) to the Colts to move up three spots (No. 35)
Cardinals traded a 2nd Rounder (No. 41), 3rd Rounder (No. 71) and a 2024 3rd Rounder to the Titans for a 2nd Rounder (No. 33) and 3rd Rounder (No. 81)

I like the Lions-Packers trade here as a possible course of action to move up, using one of those 5th Rounders (No. 150) and their 2nd to potentially move up, if they desire. Not having those 3rd and 4th Round picks honestly hurt.

Round 3 Trading Cost Examples

Lions traded a 4th Rounder (No. 122) and two 5th Rounders (No. 139, 168) to get a 3rd Rounder (No. 96) from the Cardinals
Broncos traded a 4th Rounder (No. 108) and 2024 3rd Rounder to get a 3rd Rounder (No. 83) from the Seahawks
Panthers traded a 3rd Rounder (No. 93) and 4th Rounder (No. 132) to get a 3rd Rounder (No. 80) from the Steelers
Giants traded a 3rd Rounder (No. 89) and 4th Rounder (No. 128) to get a 3rd Rounder (No. 73) from the Rams

If the Saints were to trade a future 3rd and something else to get into this round, that might be the play. However, you can see that most of the costs end up being a 3rd of your own and something else. They don't have a 4th, so it makes it a little harder.

Round 4 Trading Cost Examples

Raiders traded a 5th Rounder (No. 144) and 6th Rounder (No. 214) to get a 4th Rounder (No. 135) from the Patriots
Saints traded a 2024 4th Rounder and 7th Rounder (No. 227) to get a 4th Rounder (No. 127) from the Jaguars
Chiefs traded a 4th Rounder (No. 134) and a 2024 5th Rounder to get a 4th Rounder (No. 119) from the Vikings
Patriots traded their 4th Rounder (No. 120) and 6th Rounder (No. 184) to get a 4th Rounder (No. 112) from the Jets
Eagles traded their 2024 3rd Rounder to get a 4th Rounder (No. 105) from the Texans
Saints traded a 4th Rounder (No. 115) and 5th Rounder (No. 165) to get a 4th Rounder (No. 103) from the Bears

One pick I could see the Saints coming after in the 4th Round would be Jacksonville's 116th. They already have 114th, and New Orleans has had dealings with them in the past. This is where the extra fifths could come into play, but look at a point of reference from last year about them gaining a 4th Rounder from Jacksonville and the cost.