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New Orleans Saints News & Rumors

Saints Trade Up For QB Tommy Stevens

April 25th, 2020 at 5:34pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As the draft comes to a close, the Saints are making an interesting selection. New Orleans traded back up into the seventh-round to take Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens with the 240th pick.

The Saints gave the Texans a sixth-rounder in the 2021 draft to get the pick. The Saints are reportedly planning on having Taysom Hill take over for Drew Brees, and Stevens could take over for Hill. He’s a similar type of swiss army knife player who reportedly impressed scouts in workouts earlier this offseason. Stevens entered Penn State as a highly-recruited passer, but got blocked on the depth chart behind Trace McSorely.

While serving as McSorely’s backup he also played a large role on offense, as Penn State had a package of plays where he’d line up in the backfield or as a receiver. In the 2017 season, he had 250 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns. Before last season he transferred to MSU, and initially became their starting quarterback.

He struggled with injuries and was benched at times, finishing the season with 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. It’ll be interesting to see if he can carve out a Hill-like role in the pros.

Vikings Trade No. 105 To Saints

April 25th, 2020 at 8:28am CST by Ben Levine

Another late-night trade to pass along. ESPN’s Field Yates reported (via Twitter) that the Vikings and Saints made the following swap:

Saints acquire:

  • No. 105

Vikings acquire

  • No. 130
  • No. 169
  • No. 203
  • No. 244

New Orleans used the third round’s penultimate pick on Dayton tight end Adam Trautman.

Barring a trade, that could be the Saints’ final pick of the weekend; after drafting three players through the first three rounds, New Orleans is now tapped out of picks. As NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets, this could be the first time the Saints come away with three or fewer draft picks since 1999, when they traded that infamous haul for Ricky Williams.

On the flip side, after making four selections through the first three rounds, the Vikings still have 13 picks remaining. The team could certainly make a handful of trades, but Pelissero tweets that Minny is approaching history. The most picks by a team in the seven-round draft era is 14 by the 1997 Jets and 2016 Browns. The 1968 Bengals selected 17 players in the first seven rounds of the 17-round draft.

Browns Trade Pick No. 74 To Saints, New Orleans Takes Zack Baun

April 24th, 2020 at 9:08pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints reportedly were looking to trade up in the second-round, and they just moved up in the third. They’ve acquired the 74th pick from the Browns, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Cleveland is also sending the 244th pick in the seventh-round, while they’ll get back number 88 and a 2021 third-rounder. As Yates notes in his tweet, this is the first time in this draft that a 2021 selection has changed hands. New Orleans’ willingness to give up future draft capital makes sense, given they’ve been heavily signaling that they’re going all in on one last Super Bowl run with Drew Brees in 2020.

They’ve signed some aging vets, and are trying to get as much out of this draft as possible. The Saints used the 74th pick to take linebacker Zack Baun from Wisconsin, who some thought had a good chance of getting drafted in the first-round. Linebacker had been a relative position of weakness for New Orleans, which explains why they wanted to move up to get the surprising faller. As a senior with the Badgers Baun had 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, earning first-team All-Big 10 honors.

Saints Looking For Early Second Round Pick In Trade Talks

April 24th, 2020 at 12:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are looking to trade for an early second round pick, according to Albert Breer of The MMQB (on Twitter). As of this writing, the Saints have zero Round 2 choices, so they’d likely have to deal from their 2021 stockpile to get something done.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis threw everyone a curveball at No. 24 last night with his selection of center Cesar Ruiz. The Michigan product was pegged by many as a second-round type and offensive line depth wasn’t thought to be the Saints’ top priority. Meanwhile, LSU linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback Kristian Fulton were still there for the taking.

The Saints have a stacked roster, but there are still areas they could target early in Round 2. On defense, Fulton, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Utah’s Jaylon Johnson would all make sense at cornerback. Linebacker could also be an area of need in New Orleans, and the Saints could target prospects like Willie Gay (Mississippi State) or Zack Baun (Wisconsin).

Of course, New Orleans is never afraid to add to its already high-powered offense, and the club could look for another pas-catcher to team with Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Denzel Mims (Baylor), Laviska Shenault (Colorado), Tee Higgins (Clemson), and Michael Pittman Jr. (USC) all remain on the board.

Saints Re-Sign Johnson Bademosi

April 23rd, 2020 at 3:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints are bringing back cornerback Johnson Bademosi, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Terms of the deal between New Orleans and the special teams ace are not yet known.

Bademosi spent time with the Browns, Lions, Patriots, Texans, and Dolphins before joining up with the Saints last year. His trip from Houston to Miami came courtesy of the Laremy Tunsil blockbuster. When he was dropped by the ‘Fins last October, the Saints scooped him up.

Meanwhile, the Saints are pushing hard to trade up in the first round of the NFL Draft. It won’t be easy for New Orleans to swing a deal – they’ve got only five picks in their possession and only two of those are inside of the first three rounds. They’re also not ruling out the possibility of drafting a quarterback. If they fall farther than expected, players like FIU’s James Morgan, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, and Washington’s Jacob Eason could be in consideration for GM Mickey Loomis if he’s serious about backstopping Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.

Jets, Saints, Packers Looking To Move Up

April 23rd, 2020 at 3:16pm CST by Ben Levine

There are a number of teams pushing to move up in the first round. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Falcons, Jets, Saints, and Packers are among the teams “who have made some noise about potentially moving up.” We previously heard that Atlanta was looking to make a deal.

Rapoport notes that the Jets are “presumably” looking to move up to take an offensive tackle. Gang Green currently has the 11th-overall pick, meaning they should get their hands on one of Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills Jr., Andrew Thomas, and Mekhi Becton. However, if there is a sudden run of lineman, the Jets may be required to make a move.

It might be tough for the Saints to make a trade considering their limited draft capital. New Orleans is currently in possession of only five picks, and the only have a pair of selections in the first three rounds (No. 24 and No. 88).

On the flip side, the Packers are loaded with draft picks, as they’re currently armed with 10 selections. Of course, it’s worth noting that six of those selections are in the fifth round or later. The Packers have the No. 30 pick in the first round. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst discussed the team’s trade prospects earlier this week.

Saints Won’t Rule Out Drafting QB

April 23rd, 2020 at 9:54am CST by Rory Parks

Although the Saints have long been said to be planning for Taysom Hill to succeed Drew Brees when Brees retires — which could be as soon as the end of the 2020 season — the team will not rule out selecting a signal-caller in this year’s draft, as GM Mickey Loomis noted (via John DeShazler of the team’s official website).

New Orleans’ very public confidence in Hill, as shown by the team’s tendering the RFA passer at the first-round level this offseason, has raised plenty of eyebrows. After all, Hill will turn 30 in August and has thrown a mere 13 passes in his professional career. Although he has excelled as a gadget player and is expected to see more action as a pocket QB in 2020, a little youthful competition couldn’t hurt.

If the Saints do select a collegiate QB, it would almost certainly not be with their No. 24 overall pick. Barring a trade of some kind, New Orleans would not be on the clock again until the No. 88 selection, and the team also has picks in the fourth through sixth rounds. Players like FIU’s James Morgan, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, and Washington’s Jacob Eason could all be Saints targets if the board falls in a certain way.

“I think that any time you have a chance to get a quality quarterback prospect, regardless of your quarterback situation, you’d like to take advantage of that,” Loomis said. “For us, it hasn’t come. There hasn’t been the match where we’re picking with a prospect that we really like. Our approach is exactly the same this year: If there’s someone there that we really like and have a vision for at the time we’re picking, then we’re not afraid to pull that trigger.”

Hill is not expected to sign his RFA tender anytime soon, though he has until June 15 to put pen to paper.

Saints Won’t Conduct Offseason Program

April 22nd, 2020 at 12:08pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While many NFL teams have kicked off “virtual” offseasons, with players taking part in online meetings and workout sessions, the Saints don’t plan on doing the same. Head coach Sean Payton recently told New Orleans’ players that the club won’t hold a virtual offseason at all, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

Saints players won’t be required to show up at the team facility even if league rules change. Payton told his players to take care of their families and “show up for training camp in the best shape of [their] lives,” per Russini.

While not holding an offseason program may give Saints players peace of mind, it could have complicated the payment of workout bonuses, which were intended to be earned through the virtual program. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets, linebacker Demario Davis is due a $250K workout bonus, while other players like Terron Armstead, Cameron Jordan, and Larry Warford have bonuses of $100K in their contracts.

However, the Saints have already contacted the NFLPA about their plan to not hold virtual sessions, tweets Jane Slater of NFL.com. Players who have workout bonuses will still receive them, per Slater.

Taysom Hill Won't Sign Tender Soon

April 20th, 2020 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints used a first-round RFA tender on Taysom Hill. However, the gadget player/backup quarterback is not expected to sign it in the near future, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports. Hill will, however, participate in New Orleans’ virtual offseason program, per Florio. RFAs have until June 15 to sign their tenders or teams can rescind them and pay 120% of their 2019 salaries. No noise on a potential Hill offer sheet surfaced this offseason, but Drew Brees‘ backup did say he was open to leaving New Orleans if he felt the Saints would not give him an opportunity to start. Despite coming into the league in 2017, the BYU alum will turn 30 this year. It’s been widely reported that the Saints intend to have Hill take over whenever Brees hangs up his cleats. Hill stands to make $4.7MM this year on the first-round tender.

NFL Draft Rumors: Giants, Herbert, Tua

April 20th, 2020 at 11:30am CST by Zachary Links

Will the Giants actually consider quarterback Justin Herbert with the No. 4 overall pick, even though they already have Daniel Jones under center? The answer is no, according to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, though GM Dave Gettleman has been eyeing him for quite some time. Had Herbert entered last year, he would have been Gettleman’s top choice, Pauline hears.

Here’s a look at the latest draft rumblings from around the NFL:

  • In private conversations, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has indicated that Herbert is not actually in consideration for the No. 5 pick, a source close to Ross tells Pauline. That same source says the pick will either be used on Tua Tagovailoa or a position player, with Jordan Love being selected sometime later. If it’s a non-QB at No. 5, Pauline hears that tackle Andrew Thomas is the most likely choice.
  • Multiple NFL execs tell ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler that the Vikings are looking to move back. The Vikings own Nos. 22 and 25, but they could fill their needs at cornerback and wide receiver later on. In the second round, they should be able to land one of this year’s second-tier corners such as Utah’s Jaylon Johnson, LSU’s Kristian Fulton, or Alabama’s Trevon Diggs – the brother of former Vikes receiver Stefon Diggs.
  • Based on what we’ve heard, Washington’s Jacob Eason profiles as a Day 2 pick for QB-needy teams like the Patriots. He could also be a fit for teams looking to groom their next signal caller. One AFC exec pondered the possibility of Eason going to the Buccaneers, where the pure passer serve as the heir to Tom Brady. The Bucs own the No. 45 overall pick in the second round and Eason could be there for them, provided that teams like the Colts (No. 34) don’t pounce first.
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