NFL teams will tell you how they value a player by the contracts they hand out and what they’re willing to send in trades with one another. And while cornerback remains a premium position, players being swapped for draft picks are not bringing back very strong returns. Not even great ones like Jalen Ramsey. It means the New Orleans Saints shouldn’t expect a great haul of draft picks for trading Marshon Lattimore, either.
As noted by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, high-end corners like Ramsey, Carlton Davis, and Rasul Douglas have all been traded in the last 12 months. Here’s what those trades brought back:
- Jalen Ramsey: Traded for a third-round pick and backup tight end
- Carlton Davis: Traded with two sixth rounders for a third-round pick
- Rasul Douglas: Traded with a fifth rounder for a third-round pick
That’s a sorry return for three players who are all healthier and/or more productive than Lattimore over the last two years. Lattimore has 12 passes broken up across 17 games with just a pair of interceptions, compared to Douglas (14 PBU’s and 5 interceptions in 16 games), Davis (21 PBU’s and 3 interceptions in 25 games), and Ramsey (23 PBU’s and 7 interceptions in 27 games).
Saints fans aren’t going to want to hear that, but it isn’t a diss at Lattimore. He’s played football at an incredibly high level even if his best work isn’t reflected on the stats sheet. He’s shut down DK Metcalf, DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans in recent games. But when you look at the impact plays where he’s breaking up passes or taking the ball away, there are players with better numbers being traded for inconsequential picks around the league.
And that’s what the Saints would be hearing if they started shopping Lattimore around. A third rounder and a late-round pick is the rumored price for Kansas City Chiefs franchise-tagged corner L’Jarius Sneed, too, and he’s someone else with more pass deflections (25), interceptions (5), and games played (33) than Lattimore the last two years. Saints fans are reasonably wanting a first-round pick and more for Lattimore, but teams aren’t going to offer that.
Which is why this situation shouldn’t get to that point anyway. If this is the best trade offer the Saints could expect then it’s worth more to them to mend whatever’s broken. They’ve let it known that their frustrations with Lattimore’s lengthy recovery from injuries has boiled over. At the same time, it hasn’t reached a point where Lattimore has requested a trade or been granted permission to seek one. The Saints haven’t made calls to see who might be interested in cutting a deal. They’re open to it, which is why they restructured his contract to facilitate a trade.
But there’s reason to think everyone can be adults here, including Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis. To his credit, Allen was complimentary of Lattimore when asked about him at the NFL Scouting Combine. Loomis was more guarded when Lattimore’s unique restructure came up in his end-of-year press conference. Those two men are more responsible for the team’s success than anyone else in the building. They need to get on the same page with their four-time Pro Bowler.
This relationship isn’t too far gone. Lattimore showed up on the sideline to support his teammates in the regular season finale, unlike other injured players like Michael Thomas, who had already accepted he wouldn’t be back for 2024. He hasn’t been critical of anyone on social media. He’s taken the high road. It’s clear they won’t get a trade package back that would justify trading Lattimore. It’s time they put this speculation to rest and insure Lattimore will be making plays for New Orleans, not some other team, in 2024 and beyond.
