2022 NFL Draft: Saints’ two first-round picks offer enticing options

By Rob Rang
FOX Sports NFL Draft Analyst

Outside of Canal Street, in an offseason full of blockbuster trades in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints’ acquisition of a second first-round selection in next week’s draft has largely gone unexplored.

General manager Mickey Loomis and new head coach Dennis Allen clearly like the talent in the 2022 draft and wanted higher picks. After their April 4 deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Saints went from having three selections among the top 100 to four, including Nos. 16 and 19 overall.

While exciting, acquiring that extra first-round selection was also expensive. Moving up so boldly cost the Saints their first-round choice in 2023 and second-round pick in 2024.

Even in the ultra-aggressive NFL, trades such as this are rare, usually completed only to acquire true difference-makers, such as a quarterback or edge rusher.

The defensive-minded Allen might be pushing for an edge rusher. This year’s class is loaded with them, after all. New Orleans is already stacked at the position, however, with Cameron Jordan ranking among the NFL’s better rushers, even at the age of 32, and recent first-round picks Marcus Davenport (2018) and Payton Turner (2021) just scratching the surface of their potential.

The Saints' defense as a whole, in fact, is loaded.

New Orleans allowed just 20 passing touchdowns last season (third-fewest in the NFL) while nabbing 18 interceptions (fourth). And the Saints were even stiffer against the run, leading all clubs by allowing just 3.7 yards per carry.

Quarterback, meanwhile, is a significant concern. The Saints have more quantity than quality at the game’s most important position.

The team opted to re-sign Jameis Winston last month, giving the No. 1 selection of the 2015 NFL Draft (Tampa Bay) a two-year deal worth up to $28 million. Still just 28 years old and coming off an injury-shortened season in which he quietly posted a career-best 102.76 QB rating and an impressive 14:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Winston could be the guy under center. Which is why no one should dismiss the idea of the Saints using at least one of their first-round picks to bolster the receiver corps — perhaps even both picks.

As is the case with edge rusher, this year’s receiver crop is loaded. New Orleans has already brought in Jameson Williams (Alabama), Treylon Burks (Arkansas) and Skyy Moore (Western Michigan) for private visits. Williams and Burks are considered first-round locks, and the speedy Moore is viewed by scouts as no sure thing to be available for the Saints’ Day 2 selections (Nos. 49 and No. 98 overall). 

Maybe the massive contracts awarded to receivers Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs (among others) this offseason prompted New Orleans' bold trade for a second first-round pick. Perhaps the Saints are looking to boost their pass-catching corps with gifted, relatively inexpensive talent.

Or, as some have suggested, perhaps the two first-round picks could be enough to convince the Seattle Seahawks to part ways with star pass-catcher D.K. Metcalf. Interestingly enough, his father, Terrance, capped his seven-year NFL career at guard for the Saints in 2010.

Speaking of the offensive line, given the loss of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead to the Miami Dolphins, perhaps the Saints acquired the extra pick to nab one of this year’s top blockers. A brawler such as Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning at No. 16 or No. 19 would provide New Orleans with a more physical element than the club had with the ultra-athletic but oft-injured Armstead. Penning actually matched up quite well with Armstead in terms of athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Then again, the Saints might already have a replacement for Armstead on the roster in Pro Bowl guard Andrus Peat, who starred at the blind side position at Stanford prior to the Saints nabbing him 13th overall back in 2015. Peat missed the second half of last season due to a torn pectoral but was capably replaced by veteran Calvin Throckmorton, perhaps giving New Orleans confidence that the club could move on from Armstead more easily than some believe.

Which brings us back to the most important position on any team.

Banking on a quarterback coming off an ACL tear — and one with Winston’s track record of turnovers — is hardly ideal for a new head coach. Allen is both eager to take full advantage of his second stint as an NFL head coach and very much aware that his specialty lies on defense, unlike his predecessor, Sean Payton.

And while the contract awarded to Winston is a significant raise from the one-year, $5.5 million deal he signed with the Saints a year ago, beware of reading too much into it. In an illustration of just how much NFL teams value quarterbacks, Winston’s average of $14 million per season would rank him 34th among NFL passers. Further, the deal is set up so that the club could easily move on after just one year.

The Saints brought in some insurance at the position by inking veteran Andy Dalton to a one-year, $3 million deal a week after re-signing Winston. Dalton, who will turn 35 midway through next season, is coming off a career-low QB rating of 76.85 with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions in eight games for the Chicago Bears. Last year’s fourth-round selection, Ian Book, currently checks in third on the club’s QB depth chart, as Taysom Hill will focus on playing tight end as he enters the second year of a four-year, $40 million contract.

Optimists will argue that the Saints should roll with their current quarterbacks. Nothing about the team trading back into the 2022 first round, however, suggests that's the way Loomis & Co. are leaning.

The Saints were well represented at all the major pro day workouts from this year’s quarterbacks and have reportedly brought in Liberty’s Malik Willis, Ole Miss' Matt Corral and North Carolina’s Sam Howell among their top 30 visits. Doing their due diligence is one thing. Doubling down in the first round by acquiring a second top-32 selection and inviting several of the top quarterbacks into the facility — after watching them at either the Senior Bowl, combine or pro day (or all three) — suggests that the club is very much considering selecting a passer with either of their current picks or packaging them in an even bolder move into the top 10.

Therein lies the fascinating potential with the Saints’ acquisition of the second pick in the first round.

Until Tom Brady elects to retire — and stay retired — the Buccaneers are clearly the class of the NFC South. The Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers have to be operating under the hope of being the next divisional powerhouse and Super Bowl contender. That, of course, requires quality play at quarterback.

With QB-needy Carolina holding the sixth overall selection and Atlanta — just as desperate after trading Matt Ryan — selecting just two picks later, the Saints could watch their divisional opponents nab the top quarterbacks in this class. That's precisely the kind of nightmare scenario that might have pushed New Orleans to make its aggressive trade with Philadelphia — and could push Loomis to be even bolder on April 28.

While a trade all the way up to No. 1 seems unlikely, the Saints jumping ahead of their division rivals with a colossal draft-day trade into the top five would have fans in New Orleans celebrating in late April. The Jacksonville Jaguars are at the top of the board, with the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and both New York teams slated to pick before the Panthers (No. 6) and Falcons (No. 8).

Regardless of how they utilize the selection, the Saints’ bold trade to acquire a second top-20 pick was almost surely made to boost the passing game. Doing so puts New Orleans in position to challenge Tampa Bay for division supremacy.

And if the pick delivers a difference-maker at quarterback, the Saints could remain in that role for quite some time.

One of the most recognized names in the industry, Rob Rang has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others.