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The New Orleans Saints have had a relatively quiet offseason so far, aside from a few key additions at positions of need, they have not yet broken the bank on any major pieces. While it is not necessarily the Saints' way to spend an exorbitant amount of money on an external signing or trade, there are some options this offseason to significantly improve the team while not destroying their cap space.
Recently, Anthony Palacios of Last Word on Sports listed five teams he believes would be potential trade destinations if the San Francisco 49ers were to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and the Saints were listed as fourth with the following rationale:
"The New Orleans Saints are at risk of losing Chris Olave, as he may request a trade if the team doesn’t improve. Brandin Cooks coming back won’t make much of a difference, and Rashid Shaheed has his bright spots, and it’s nothing that could help Derek Carr lead this team. Head Coach Kellen Moore could finally come in and tell Mickey Loomis it’s time to rebuild, and as long as he agrees, Brandon Aiyuk could be an exciting addition for Olave to stay."
So, could the Saints even pull off an Aiyuk trade? Well first off, the contract side of things is the first priority as that can immediately make or break a trade before compensation is discussed. When it comes to Aiyuk's new contract, the cap hit for 2025 is actually not too bad at the moment, coming in at $10,749,823, which the Saints could feasibly fit into their current cap situation given they have approximately $27 to $30 million remaining depending on the source. The problem would be in future years, as his cap hits get as high as $42,282,000 in 2027 and $44,158,000 in 2028. With that said, he does have two void years already tacked onto his deal by the 49ers, so the dispersion could be backed up a bit via the Saints' typical methods.
Then the question becomes what would the 49ers want for Aiyuk in a trade? Utilizing the A.J. Brown trade as a baseline is a pretty easy platform, as both players were generally in the same age range (while not exact), played near the same level at many points, and both fit into the dominant X-receiver role. Brown went for the No. 18 and No. 101 picks, a middle-of-the-first-round and late third-round pick (considered a compensatory pick). While the Saints do not have a middle-of-the-first-round pick, they do have pick No. 40 and two third-round picks, as well as multiple others to choose from.
Utilizing the Fitzgerald-Spielberger NFL draft pick value chart on OverTheCap, picks No. 18 and No. 101 have an added value of 2196 points. If you combine picks No. 40, No. 71, and No. 248, that would come out to 2179, nearly an identical value without giving up a first-rounder, but instead a second, third, and seventh. Giving up that value to a player who had 1,342 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023 is seemingly worth it, even if it no doubt is a bit much. Acquiring talent requires a sacrifice, and being able to retain picks No. 9 and No. 93 in the top 100 while also getting a barely 27-year-old second-team All-Pro is solid value.
Considering Aiyuk is two or so years older than Brown was at the time of a potential trade, his value could be slightly depleted comparatively as well, which means some of these picks could be shuffled around or taken from future classes instead to lessen the impact this year. Pairing him up with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed with Brandin Cooks in rotation is a lethal combination of mixed skillsets, and allows you to draft a different position of need in round one.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints picked as a trade partner for $120M 49ers wide receiver
Continue reading...
Recently, Anthony Palacios of Last Word on Sports listed five teams he believes would be potential trade destinations if the San Francisco 49ers were to trade wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and the Saints were listed as fourth with the following rationale:
"The New Orleans Saints are at risk of losing Chris Olave, as he may request a trade if the team doesn’t improve. Brandin Cooks coming back won’t make much of a difference, and Rashid Shaheed has his bright spots, and it’s nothing that could help Derek Carr lead this team. Head Coach Kellen Moore could finally come in and tell Mickey Loomis it’s time to rebuild, and as long as he agrees, Brandon Aiyuk could be an exciting addition for Olave to stay."
So, could the Saints even pull off an Aiyuk trade? Well first off, the contract side of things is the first priority as that can immediately make or break a trade before compensation is discussed. When it comes to Aiyuk's new contract, the cap hit for 2025 is actually not too bad at the moment, coming in at $10,749,823, which the Saints could feasibly fit into their current cap situation given they have approximately $27 to $30 million remaining depending on the source. The problem would be in future years, as his cap hits get as high as $42,282,000 in 2027 and $44,158,000 in 2028. With that said, he does have two void years already tacked onto his deal by the 49ers, so the dispersion could be backed up a bit via the Saints' typical methods.
Then the question becomes what would the 49ers want for Aiyuk in a trade? Utilizing the A.J. Brown trade as a baseline is a pretty easy platform, as both players were generally in the same age range (while not exact), played near the same level at many points, and both fit into the dominant X-receiver role. Brown went for the No. 18 and No. 101 picks, a middle-of-the-first-round and late third-round pick (considered a compensatory pick). While the Saints do not have a middle-of-the-first-round pick, they do have pick No. 40 and two third-round picks, as well as multiple others to choose from.
Utilizing the Fitzgerald-Spielberger NFL draft pick value chart on OverTheCap, picks No. 18 and No. 101 have an added value of 2196 points. If you combine picks No. 40, No. 71, and No. 248, that would come out to 2179, nearly an identical value without giving up a first-rounder, but instead a second, third, and seventh. Giving up that value to a player who had 1,342 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023 is seemingly worth it, even if it no doubt is a bit much. Acquiring talent requires a sacrifice, and being able to retain picks No. 9 and No. 93 in the top 100 while also getting a barely 27-year-old second-team All-Pro is solid value.
Considering Aiyuk is two or so years older than Brown was at the time of a potential trade, his value could be slightly depleted comparatively as well, which means some of these picks could be shuffled around or taken from future classes instead to lessen the impact this year. Pairing him up with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed with Brandin Cooks in rotation is a lethal combination of mixed skillsets, and allows you to draft a different position of need in round one.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints picked as a trade partner for $120M 49ers wide receiver
Continue reading...
