Few teams are as aggressive in the NFL draft as the New Orleans Saints have been under Mickey Loomis, who has held the post at general manager since 2002 — and many of their trades have centered on valuable first-round picks.
With the 2023 draft rapidly approaching, it’s worth looking back on what Loomis and the Saints have done in the first round to get an idea of their tendencies and typical strategies on draft day. Here’s a quick recap of 11 trades the Saints have made since 2000 involving first rounders:
1
2023: Saints acquire 29 for Sean Payton
New Orleans trades: Sean Payton and 2024 third-round pick
Denver trades: 29 and 2024 second-round pick
The Saints initially sought two first rounders for Payton’s services, but settled for less after he narrowed his list of acceptable destinations down to Denver. At least they’re back on the board in the first round this year with a good pick in line next season if the Broncos are bad again.
2
2022: Saints acquire 11 from Washington
New Orleans trades: 16, 98, and 120
Washington trades: 11
This was the final step in a monthslong plan to get in position for Chris Olave, and the rookie responded with one of the best seasons anyone has ever turned in at wide receiver for the Saints. It was expensive to move up just five slots, though.
3
2022: Saints trade 18, future picks to Philadelphia
New Orleans trades: 18, 101, and 237 as well as a 2023 first-round pick and 2024 second-round pick
Philadelphia trades: 16, 19, 194
The Saints wanted to get another first-round pick so they could continue to look at their options while planning to move up further for Olave, and that ended up turning into Trevor Penning. Back-to-band foot injuries bookended his rookie season and there’s a lot of pressure on him to bounce back going into 2023.
4
2018: Saints acquire 14 from Green Bay
New Orleans trades: 27, 147, and 2019 first-round pick
Green Bay trades: 14
The Saints thought Marcus Davenport was their one missing piece from a Super Bowl, but he didn’t perform as hoped. After five up-and-down years with just 21.5 sacks in 63 regular season games, the Saints let Davenport leave in free agency without a fight.
5
2017: Saints acquire 32 for Brandin Cooks
New Orleans trades: Brandin Cooks and 118
New England trades: 32 and 103
Cooks took his complaints about his role in the offense to the media, and the Saints took action to ship him out of town after Michael Thomas rose to prominence in his 2016 rookie year. They wound up trading Cooks to the Patriots for a pick that turned into Ryan Ramczyk, who has won All-Pro recognition at right tackle — when healthy.
6
2014: Saints acquire 20 from Arizona
New Orleans trades: 27 and 91
Arizona trades: 20
Ironically, the Saints acquired Cooks in the first place with another first-round trade, moving up seven spots in 2014 through a deal with the Cardinals. Cooks had a solid rookie year (that unfortunately ended with injury) but consistently impacted the offense as a dynamic deep threat.
7
2011: Saints acquire 28 from New England
New Orleans trades: 56 and 2012 first-round pick
New England trades: 28
There was some debate about whether to pick Cameron Jordan or Mark Ingram II at No. 24, so the Saints opted to grab Jordan first and then trade back into the first round for Ingram. A decade later, Jordan has won the team’s sacks record and Ingram owns the franchise rushing records.
8
2008: Saints acquire 7 from New England
New Orleans trades: 10 and 78
New England trades: 7 and 164
The Saints made a move to get Ellis, thinking he was going to be a game-changing force at defensive tackle for the next decade. Instead, he turned in modest production before choosing to walk away from football once his four-year rookie contract expired.
9
2005: Saints acquire 13 from Houston
New Orleans trades: 16 and 78
Houston trades: 13
The Saints saw All-Pro potential in Jammal Brown, and he played really well for them until a 2009 ACL injury sidelined him. Despite having earned two Pro Bowl nods, he was traded to Washington and replaced in the lineup by Jermon Bushrod. Injuries continued to be an issue for him later in his career.
10
2003: Saints acquire 6 from Arizona
New Orleans trades: 17, 18, and 54
Arizona trades: 6, 37, and 102
The first draft pick Mickey Loomis ever made for the Saints was one of his biggest busts, having moved up 11 spots in the first round to get Sullivan, who was unceremoniously traded out of town a few years later. Sullivan was out of the NFL entirely by Oct. 2006. The Saints owned back-to-back picks in the middle of the first round after trading Ricky Williams a year earlier.
11
2003: Saints acquire 25 and future pick for Ricky Williams
New Orleans trades: Ricky Williams, 114
Miami trades: 25, 125, and 2003 first-round pick
The Saints parted ways with Ricky Williams after several frustrating years. getting back multiple first-round picks in return. They used the first of those on defensive end Charles Grant, who became one of the best pass rushers the team has had in its modern era.
