By John Sigler | Saintswire
How can the New Orleans Saints improve after another disappointing playoffs exit? They don’t have much to work with on paper as far as draft picks and salary cap accounting is concerned, but that’s typical for the Saints. Their goal every year is to maximize their resources and leave no stones unturned in search of upgrades. So expect New Orleans to again get creative during the long NFL offseason.
Trading some of those picks for players is one option they could explore. While the Saints got great production out of their first two selections in last year’s draft (Erik McCoy started every game at center, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson averaged 34 snaps per game at defensive back), every other rookie they drafted finished the year on injured reserve or on another team’s practice squad.
Swapping late-round picks for proven veterans on the outs with other teams — whether due to coaching staff upheaval or poor salary cap management — is one of the few big market inefficiencies in the NFL today, and the Saints should take advantage of it. It’s a tactic they’ve used in the past (and nearly did last year, before Robert Quinn made a poor decision to pick the Dallas Cowboys instead) and they’re set up well to do it again. ...
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