Look, the New Orleans Saints didn’t quite see this one coming. When they agreed to trade their 2023 first round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, they had no expectation that it might end up being the tenth overall selection after a hard-to-watch season. They expected to be in the thick of the playoffs and playing meaningful football in January, not reflecting back on a lost season.
But Saints general manager Mickey Loomis wants it known that he doesn’t regret the decision to send that pick off as part of a blockbuster trade. He pushed back on the narrative that the Saints don’t have a first rounder during his end-of-season press conference; he views wide receiver Chris Olave and left tackle Trevor Penning through the same lens as he’d evaluate a draft prospect taken with this year’s first-round pick, considering New Orleans wouldn’t have gotten either of them without making that deal with Philadelphia.
