The New Orleans Saints are firmly in the mix for the NFC South title. At 3-3, they currently have as many wins as the division-leaders Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints could have been ahead of those teams at this point of the season if they were able to hang on to the 17-0 lead they held over the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. The three wins they have been able to muster haven't been all that impressive either. They squeaked by the Tennessee Titans and the Carolina Panthers by a combined four points. They did beat the breaks off the New England Patriots, but the Patriots are one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The Saints also got blown out at home by the Bucs in Week 4, their NFC South foe. The Saints do lead the division in point differential at +13, but that isn't a super impressive mark by any means. Their organizational philosophy has been to be aggressive and look to win now. This team isn't perfect, so they could look to double down on that stance and pursue players that could help them win now. The question is, who should the Saints go after?
Brian Burns
Probably the biggest need for the Saints is help with their pass rush. The Saints currently rank last in the NFL in ESPN's pass rush win rate metric, which measures how often a team's pass rusher wins their rep against an opposing offensive line on a dropback. In terms of just sacks, the Saints are tied for 26th in the league with only 13. Only the New York Giants (5), Chicago Bears (9), Houston Texans (9), Atlanta Falcons (10), Los Angeles Rams (10), New England Patriots (12), and Jacksonville Jaguars (12) have registered fewer sacks than the Saints. Of those 13 sacks, 4.5 of them have come from Carl Granderson. Cameron Jordan, who has long been New Orleans' preeminent sack artiste, has only one sack through six games this season.
They need help. Someone who could help them and also knows the division? Brian Burns. Burns has four sacks through six games this season and had 12.5 a year ago. But Burns is entering the final season of his rookie contract and has yet to agree to a long-term extension with the Carolina Panthers. That has led to speculation that the Panthers could look to move Burns before the trade deadline. With the Panthers being 0-6 at the moment, not having Burns locked down long-term, and without a first-round pick due to the trade that netted them the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft last season, it would make all the sense in the world for the Panthers to fetch as much draft capital as they can get for Burns.
Perhaps the Saints could be that team. They've long been aggressive in trades and are no strangers to overpaying to get a deal done. The Saints basically traded a second and fourth-round pick to move up two spots to draft Chris Olave during the 2022 NFL Draft and traded a 2023 first-round pick (which eventually helped the Eagles land Jalen Carter) to take on the 19th overall pick in the 2022 Draft. They also once traded a future first-round pick to move up from 27 to 14 in the 2018 NFL Draft to select Marcus Davenport. If the Saints find a trade they like, they make sure to get it done, even if it means bidding against themselves.
The Panthers surely wouldn't love to trade Burns inside their own division, but they did have a chance to get a haul for Burns last year. They turned down two first-round picks and a second-round pick from the Los Angeles Rams. They might not get that type of haul offered to them again, but if anybody would present that type of offer, it would be the Saints.
The veteran signed a four-year deal with the Panthers in 2019 before Carolina picked up their option on him for the 2023 NFL campaign.
Yannick Ngakoue
If the Saints want a cheaper pass rusher alternative, Yannick Ngakoue could be the target. Ngakoue is a bit of a one-trick pony, but he is very good at that trick. He's accumulated at least eight sacks in every year of his career except for 2020 when he had five in six games. He can get the job done.
The problem is he's on the Bears, who aren't close to competing at the moment. The Saints could easily throw a third or fourth-round pick at the Bears and get someone who can jump-start their pass rush. Ngakoue would be a worthwhile addition for the Saints to pursue.
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