If you asked fans what the New Orleans Saints should have done at the trade deadline after their Week 2 44-19 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the answer would have been simple: buy, buy, buy, baby.
Momentum was at the Saints' back, their point differential was massive, and they came just a few points shy from the all-time points scored record through two weeks of NFL action.
Oh, what a difference six weeks can make.
Since that fateful game, the Saints are winless, listless, and and have an overall point differential of -21. Sure, some of those losses can be written off as Spencer Rattler games, as Derek Carr was out of action with an oblique injury, but it's clear that success in Week 1 and 2 was more fool's gold than indicative of what the season could be, leading fans to feel incredibly disheartened by how the last six week have shaken out.
Suddenly, the team is being begged to blow it all up by more than a few fans, pundits, and ex-coaches alike, as, between their cap issues and overall meh-ness, the path to long-term contention is seemingly drying up by the day.
But is it? Should the Saints send off some of their best players in order to load up on assets, or is there still some magic left in the Superdome that just needs an additional player or two to really take them over the top? Let's evaluate the options.
1. Trade Marshon Lattimore to the Chiefs for a second-round pick
When the Kansas City Chiefs decided to trade L'Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans instead of giving him a long-term extension, it was certainly a choice for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
On one hand, the old adage is correct: teams really can't pay everyone, and if they felt like Sneed was a system player, was coming off of a massive season, or simply felt comfortable in their depth – be that Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, or Joshua Williams – to let the former fourth-round pick out of LA Tech walk.
Unfortunately, that strategy hasn't quite worked, as the Chiefs' passing defense as a whole dropped from the fourth-best mark in 2023 to the 17th rank in 2024.
So, really, it's no wonder that Adam Schefter of ESPN noted that if he becomes available, the Chiefs would be willing to pull off another massive trade to get into the Marshon Lattimore business, as they need him pretty badly if they are going to get where they want to be come February.
“The Saints have gotten calls about Marshon Lattimore, according to league sources. One of the potential holdups of a deal is Lattimore's health, sources said,” Schefter wrote for ESPN.
“The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback is not playing Sunday against the Panthers, but it hasn't stopped teams from calling about him, including the two-time defending champion Chiefs. The Chiefs already have traded for DeAndre Hopkins and Joshua Uche, but some sources around the league believe that whether it's Lattimore or another player, Kansas City could push to make another move.”
Are the Saints ready to blow it up after years of poor cap management and creative – in a bad way – roster construction? Maybe yes, maybe no, but if they fall to 2-7 in the worst division in the NFL in Week 9, losing to a Panthers team that has no right having one win, let alone two, they might just have to out of fear of fan mutiny alone.
Even at 28, with 104 total games on his resume as a pro, Lattimore should still be in incredible demand on the open market and should be able to net the Saints more than Sneed got Kansas City, which was a third-round pick with no protections plus a swap of seventh-round picks. If the Chiefs offer up a second-rounder, Latimore should be in red and yellow by Week 10.
2. Trade a fifth-round pick for Darious Slayton
If the Saints do pull out a win against the Panthers and feel galvanized to really take it to the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead of starting the longest-due rebuild in NFL history, one interesting option on the open market who could fit the bill is Darious Slayton, the one-time rookie sensation of the New York Giants.
Initially drafted in the fifth round out of Auburn – and not to be confused with Eagles cornerback Darius Slay – Slayton burst out of the gates hot as a rookie, catching 48 balls for 740 yards and eight touchdowns, but has become more of a secondary target since behind players like Malik Nabers and Wan'Dale Robinson.
And yet, despite public perception being somewhat down, maybe because of the emergence of Nabers, maybe because he plays for the Giants, Slayton is actually having a pretty solid sixth professional season, averaging the second-most yards per game of his career behind his rookie year and ranking second in the team in yards at 420. With his two-year, $12 million contract set to expire at the end of the year and the Giants projected to be bad again until they figure out their quarterback situation, the idea of moving Slayton now for a 2025 draft pick has been kicked around for some time now.
Could the Saints be the team that pulls the trigger? Well, with Rashid Shaheed out for the rest of the season and Chris Olave basically fighting for his life alone with a collection of misfits and late-round picks, adding a receiver like Slayton would seriously impact the Saints' offense for the better, even if he ends up leaving at the end of the season. Fortunately, if that happens, the team could probably recoup more or less whatever pick they give up to acquire via the comp pick formula, making the deal very low-risk for New Orleans brass.
Saints Bonus: Do not trade Alvin Kamara
As fans discuss the idea of the Saints blowing it all in favor of a legit rebuild, one name that consistently comes up, likely from fans of other teams, is do-it-all running back Alvin Kamara, who has been arguably the team's best offensive player since Drew Brees retired a few years back.
Theoretically, this external interest makes all the sense in the world, as Kamara could fit in any scheme, can impact an offense in a variety of different ways, and, at 29 with two more years left on his contract, can still be an impact player for the foreseeable future.
With that being said, why wouldn't the Saints want Kamara to continue to be that player for them, especially if they are trending towards drafting a new quarterback who will need a proper ecosystem from which to play the position, aka not just Olave, Shaheed, and Jammal Williams plus developmental players around him? Doesn't Kamara, as one of the faces of the franchise, deserve that opportunity?
If some team comes in hot, offering up a first-round pick for Kamara's services, then sure, make the deal and go for it; why not at that point? But considering the open-market compensation has been somewhat down in 2024, and the running back market is a curious one from year to year, better to keep Kamara and build around him than throw him away mid-season for a third-round pick or less.
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