New Orleans Saints

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Eagles are shipping two 2022 first round picks (numbers 16 and 19) and a 2022 6th round pick to the Saints for the 18th pick in the 2022 draft, a 2023 first round pick, and 2022 3rd and 7th round picks.

Fantasy Impact

In a trade with a lot of moving pieces, both teams swap draft position in attempt to better position themselves for future seasons. The Saints, who have been navigating salary cap challenges for the last few seasons, make a win-now move to acquire a second 2022 first round pick in exchange for a haul of picks that includes a 2023 first round pick that they hope will fall towards the end of the first round next season. The Eagles, in trading away one of their three 2022 first round picks, avoid having to pay guaranteed money to three 1st round rookies from the same class and avoid potentially having to attempt to re-sign three impact players when their rookie contracts expire at the same time. They also benefit from having two first round picks in 2023 now, which can be viewed as insurance in the event that Jalen Hurts doesn’t take a step forward as a passer and they decide to move off of Hurts in 2023. The 2023 quarterback class is expected to be better than this years crop, but Hurts appears to have at least one more year to prove he’s a franchise quarterback.

The New Orleans Saints ended their search for an Offensive Coordinator on Wednesday, as Pete Carmicheal will remain with the team as the OC. He will call offensive plays for the first time since the 2012-2013 season.

Fantasy Impact

Carmicheal will handle playcalling duties for the first time since 2012-2013, during Sean Payton's suspension. In that season, the Saints had the league's top ranked passing offence, third overall scoring offence, and twenty-fifth ranked rushing offence. It is important to take these numbers with a grain of salt, as the construct of that team was much different from this one. Future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees was the quarterback of that team, and the QB of this edition of the Saints is yet to be determined. If Jameis Winston is resigned, he could be a top-12 to 15 quarterback in Carmicheal's system. Michael Thomas would also be a major bounce-back candidate, provided he can recover fully from ankle surgery. If Alvin Kamara is eligible to play next year, following an off-season arrest, he should return to the passing game volume we are accustomed to, as Saints running backs caught 120 balls for 1,050 yards in 2012. There may be some late-round value in one of the Saints tight ends if one can separate from the other in camp, as Jimmy Graham caught 85 passes for nearly 1000 yards and nine touchdowns last time Carmicheal called plays. Third-year TE, Juwan Johnson would be the higher upside pick, as he was used more as a vertical and redzone threat this past season. Keep an eye on the quarterback situation, as this coaching move could prove fruitful for Saints fantasy players.

The New Orleans Saints have brought in Doug Marrone to be a primary offensive coach to help new head coach Dennis Allen. Marrone comes over from Alabama, where he had a great deal of success building an offensive line.

Fantasy Impact

This is good news for whoever ends up behind center for the Saints. Marrone has a history of coaching excellent offensive lines, so he will be able to maximize the talent at his disposal. Whoever ends up at QB will have time to make good throws. If it is Jameis Winston, he could be a sneaky QB2. If it is a rookie, same situation. Watch the Saints very closely this offseason.

Per Ian Rapoport, the New Orleans Saints have named DC Dennis Allen as their next HC

Fantasy Impact

On Monday, the Saints promoted defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to their head coaching position. The news came at a bit of a surprise as the Saints interviewed Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy for eight hours Sunday. Bieniemy will return back to the Chiefs for his fifth consecutive season after drawing interest around the league for an HC position for the previous three seasons.

According to Jeremey Fowler, the New Orleans Saints spent nearly eight hours interviewing Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy for their head coach position on Sunday.

Fantasy Impact

With Sean Payton, the coach of the Saints walking away after coaching the team from 2006-2021, the Saints have continued to search for their next head coach. This offseason, the Saints have continued to search for head coaching candidates, Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator for the Chiefs interviewed with the team for nearly eight hours on Sunday. The Saints walked away without a deal but speculation is saying they have narrowed him down to one of the few finalists left. New Orleans remains one of only two teams without a head coach.