"The Splash" Mock Draft post hypothetical Saints trade

The War Room
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Detroit Lions send picks #2, 177, 181, 217, QB David Blough, and WR Trinity Benson to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for picks #16, 19, 49, 98, QB Ian Book, TE Adam Trautman, 2023 3rd round pick, and 2024 4th round pick.

Yes, it’s the Mega Blockbuster. The Saints climb the board to get their QB of the future in Malik Willis, while the Lions upgrade a pair of backup positions, gain 4 top 100 selections, and a couple future beans.

Why it makes sense- The Saints receive enough picks back to flesh out their roster with cheap contracts in rounds 5 and 6, get their guy, and don’t mortgage their future too badly. The Lions get three 1st round picks, two 2nd round selections, and a trio of 3rd rounders, giving them unprecedented ability to add top talent in a middling draft class that lacks top end pop, but is deep in blue collar talent.

Lions new Draft Board, picks 16, 19, 32, 34, 49, 66, 97, 98, and 234. Let’s do this.

#16 - Jameson Williams OR Treylon Burks. Both of these receivers can add much needed pop and depth to the receiver room. There’s a good chance one of them will be gone by this point, and an equal chance that one will be here.

#19 - DE Jermaine Johnson or George Karlaftis, there’s a tremendous amount to like about either of these guys. There are other DE’s that fit the bill here, depending on how the board falls, and the Lions take the pick of who they want.

#32 - DT Jordan Davis, or Travis Jones. The Run stops here. Between this, Alim McNeil, and Penisini, the Lions become stout on the goal line, and 3rd and short is going somewhere else.

#34 - S Daxton Hill, Jaquan Brisker, or Lewis Cine. All three of these fine Safeties are fine prospects and will contribute immediately. One of them will be here, and the Lions snag one.

#49 - RB Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State. Arguably the best back in the class, Walker provides a 1-2 punch behind one of the nastiest lines in the league.

#66 - DT Perrion Winfrey, Oklahoma. Winfrey was a favorite of the Senior Bowl and put his potential on display.

#97 - LB Damone Clark, LSU. Lions get a sure tackler and a whole lot of untapped talent in their LB corps.

#98 - G Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan. The offensive line keeps getting deeper and stronger, and provides an heir apparent to Big V.

#234 - Zander Horvath, FB, Purdue. Kind of a do-everything back, Horvath is good on special teams, has good hands, and is a jack of all trades.

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I respect the time it must have took to come up with this.

But, what the heck would the Saints want with these 2 scrubs.

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8 players in the Top 100!

Well, that’s one way to add talent to the roster.

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Blough makes a camp arm, insurance should any of the three in front of him take an injury going into the regular season. Benson has just enough teasing talent on tape to make scouts intrigued into taking a no risk flier.

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The draft needs to get here!!
Phew!!
But the scenario is pretty neat

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If it gets us Jermaine Johnson, Jordan Davis and Perrion Winfrey, then hell yea brother! Our D-line would be insane.

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It sure would be nice if Jordan Davis made an Ashawn Robinson type fall. I’d take him @ 16 and figure out receiver later. Although it would be tough to decide between him and burks. I’d take my chances on Pickens falling.

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That’s the beauty of having so many choices, Lions front office has flexibility to mix and match based on internal priorities in combination with who is likely to be taken where. All of these selections are simply general guidelines meant to display the type of roster changing firepower such a trade would bring.

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Doesn’t Damone Clark have a pretty bad neck injury?

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Yes, he recently had spinal fusion surgery, which is probably why he goes so low. This kid is good, and a true 3 down Linebacker. He may not play this year, but he’s worth waiting for. On a defense with plenty of one year deals, he provides an ideal segue into next year when the defensive line has matured a bit and should provide linebackers with better, cleaner, tackling lanes.

I view him as a top 50 talent that’s going to slide on something that could happen to any other rookie post draft. Getting a year of film and familiarity with the defense should make him a splash play when he gets his pads back.

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and

Yee-freaking-haw!!

Gimme, gimme, gimme. I don’t want to look up the fairness or the rationality of it. I want it. Don’t wake me up!!

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I would still take him I he drops

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What I was thinking too. No way he’s there that late. (just my feeling/guess)

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While I would of course love it, I don’t think there’s any way the Saints do something like this after giving up so many future picks to the Eagles. You say we offer them low round picks so they can fill their roster cheaply, but in actuality we’re swapping the same number of picks, and while late rounders are cheaper, all rookies are cheap relative to veteran contracts, the difference re: roster building would be negligible. So they’re giving up four, cheap picks (16, 19, 49, and 98) for one slightly more expensive pick (2) and three slightly cheaper picks (177, 181 and 217), almost certain to bring in lesser players. I can’t quite make myself believe it.

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If they’re sold on Willis, and it only takes one team, they know the Lions hold the ticket. Preliminary discussions with the Lions may have yielded a threshold of picks they would accept in a trade for 2oa, which would make sense.

The whole scenario is far fetched, i know, just as all speculation is at this stage. But c’mon, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about what you would do with that kind of firepower.

The upside for the Lions is 8 of the top 100. The Saints don’t lose in the number of selections and are able to have the same number of warm bodies while the Lions aren’t bringing in too many warm bodies.

When you look at what the 49ers gave up to move to 3 last year, this deal is a bargain by comparison. Of course, if Jacksonville deals, this all becomes academic.

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Oh I have for sure, lol. Every time I do a first-pick.com mock, that site is crazy. And yeah, I suppose some team could come up for Willis, but I think it would be Atlanta, Seattle or Carolina well before the Saints. Frankly I think the Saints want an OT and a WR.

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The Office Thats GIF

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He may never get cleared by physicians to play again. If he does get cleared… there is a chance he may herniate a different adjacent disc in his cervical spine.

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NFL Scouting Combine. Pelissero reports Clark is likely to miss the 2022 season but is expected to make a full recovery.

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There is no such thing as a “full recovery” after spinal fusion.

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