Article Exploring How the Saints Could Trade Up for Cam Ward

[JackDiesel]

If Cam Ward was Jayden Daniels 2.0 then yes, but he is not. He’s a good QB but if he came out last year he would have been picked in the 2nd round. I would take a flyer later in the draft and look at next year when it’s supposed to be a better class at QB. Plus, we’re stuck with Carr for a year.

2nd round? Lol. He's in the QB4-7 range of last year's draft competing with Penix, JJ and Nix. Personally I'd take him over those 3 but he's going at the absolute worst top 15 and that's just because last year was such a QB rich draft class.

He's going to Indy instead of Richardson in 2023 and top 3 in 2022 that had Pickett as the best QB in that God awful class.

Next year you have 5-6 potential guys but all need to show they can take that next step. Klubnik and Allar have the production (behind Ward and Sanders though). Nuss, Sellers, Lamaleva need to reach their potential. Does Manning even declare? It could be another draft where there's only a few worth a top 8 pick and if we're better then last year then we're in the same situation of having to give up multiple firsts to move up.

 

[madsaint1967]

2nd round? Lol. He's in the QB4-7 range of last year's draft competing with Penix, JJ and Nix. Personally I'd take him over those 3 but he's going at the absolute worst top 15 and that's just because last year was such a QB rich draft class.

He's going to Indy instead of Richardson in 2023 and top 3 in 2022 that had Pickett as the best QB in that God awful class.

Next year you have 5-6 potential guys but all need to show they can take that next step. Klubnik and Allar have the production (behind Ward and Sanders though). Nuss, Sellers, Lamaleva need to reach their potential. Does Manning even declare? It could be another draft where there's only a few worth a top 8 pick and if we're better then last year then we're in the same situation of having to give up multiple firsts to move up.

So, you would give up multiple 1st round picks for him?

 

[3ParStillDriver]

Giving up that much capitol for a QB that would likely be at absolute best QB2 off the board just about any other year seems a bit crazy to me. Ward isn't a generational talent at QB. Not by a long shot. Next year alone will likely have 3 or 4 QB's in the draft better than him. It would be far more beneficial just to trade away #9 for ammo in next year's draft and take a QB in 2026 draft then to give up a kings ransom for a QB who may not even be among the 4 best next year.

 

[madsaint1967]

That's not the idea behind the Dilfer pic, it is to show that the other picks do matter, a lot.

There needs to be a balance. You can't give all your picks for a rookie QB, because no matter how good that QB is, and how good you think he's going to be in the pros, he is not going to win without a supporting cast. Picking a QB within the 1st 10 picks is no guarantee either. However, you can win with a decent QB and a good supporting cast, and you will definitely win more games with a decent QB with a good supporting cast than with a generational talent at QB with no supporting cast, defense included.

Out of curiosity, thinking of the Saints winning a SB with a FA QB, I went and looked at the last SB winners since the Saints won it with Brees; I was curious as to how many QBs picked within the first 10 picks have won SBs with the teams that drafted them since then. Then I figured, I'll do it since 2000, because why not, and to be fair to the guys who were drafted the last 5-6 years. After all, the SB is the ultimate goal, right?

Keeping in mind that Eli Manning was originally drafted by the Chargers, then traded to the Giants:

Out of the 26 SB winners, 7 teams won it with free agent QBs.

Only the Chiefs (Mahomes) and the Colts (P. Manning) have won SBs with the QB they drafted within the 1st 10 picks in the draft.

4 teams won it with the backup QB (Rams-Warner, Ravens-Dilfer, Eagles-Foles, Patriots-Brady, who was the backup to Drew Bledsoe in the 2001 season)

Out of 85 QB's picked in the 1st round, only 5 QBs have won SB's with the team that drafted them: Mahomes (10th overall), Flacco (18th overall) , Rodgers (24th overall), P. Manning (1st overall) and Roethlisberger (11th overall).

Here's the list:
2000 Rams Kurt Warner FA backup QB
2001 Ravens Trent Dilfer FA backup QB
2002 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall backup QB
2003 Bucs Brad Johnson FA
2004 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2005 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2006 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2007 Colts Peyton Manning 1st overall
2008 Giants Eli Manning trade
2009 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2010 Saints Drew Brees FA
2011 Packers Aaron Rodgers 24th overall
2012 Giants Eli Manning trade
2013 Ravens Joe Flacco 18th overall
2014 Seahawks Russell Wilson 3rd rd, 75th overall
2015 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2016 Broncos Peyton Manning FA
2017 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2018 Eagles Nick Foles 3rd rd, 88th overall, backup QB
2019 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2020 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2021 Buccaneers Tom Brady FA
2022 Rams Matthew Stafford FA
2023 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2024 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2025 Eagles Jalen Hurts 2nd rd 53rd overall

That record shows that winning the Superbowl is more about team than anything else. Supporting cast is the real Superbowl winner. Let’s build a team and let the coach find his QB, no matter what round or through FA. We need draft picks now and as many as we can get. Mickey tried to get the few pieces that we needed while Brees was here and failed miserably, we got old and the time is now to get younger and shed some of these contracts. Build thru the draft.

 

[webster]

If Cam Ward was Jayden Daniels 2.0 then yes, but he is not. He’s a good QB but if he came out last year he would have been picked in the 2nd round. I would take a flyer later in the draft and look at next year when it’s supposed to be a better class at QB. Plus, we’re stuck with Carr for a year.

You’re being generous, he may have went later than the second in last years draft. Let’s not get desperate and trade away the future. Either trade back and go with the shotgun approach or stay pat.

 

[Lustmord]

Fels like the titans are locked in on a QB in the draft based on their FA moves. this is a pipe dream

 

[tyler735]

Giving up that much capitol for a QB that would likely be at absolute best QB2 off the board just about any other year seems a bit crazy to me. Ward isn't a generational talent at QB. Not by a long shot.

Yet many drafts feature #2/#3 QB's that are absolutely worth their weight in gold. Daniels in 2024, CJ Stroud in 2023, Herbert in 2020, Josh Allen in 2018, Patrick Mahomes in 2017.

Ward has shown to be very productive over the past few years and continues to take strides forward each year. Has impressive arm talent in terms of velocity/arm angles to go along with his top tier production, has "Mahomes esque" athleticism to extend and buy time with his legs, has great anticipation for a college QB (which is probably one of the most important traits for success), very good about not taking sacks, and throws with touch and accuracy. Like there's no real big "red flags" for Ward as a prospect. There's no such thing as a "sure thing" QB prospect, but Ward seems to check just about every box you'd like to see to give him a good chance of being a quality NFL QB.

Next year alone will likely have 3 or 4 QB's in the draft better than him. It would be far more beneficial just to trade away #9 for ammo in next year's draft and take a QB in 2026 draft then to give up a kings ransom for a QB who may not even be among the 4 best next year.

Who will be better than Cam Ward next year? As it currently stands, none of them are better than Cam Ward. Arch Manning hasn't proven anything yet and it seems very possible he could stay until 2027. Iamaleava, Allar, Sellers, Nussmeier "have talent", but they all need to take a huge step forward to be on Ward's level. Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued by some of them, but that's all it is right now. Many QB's never take that next step.

 

[DerrickB]

 

[JackDiesel]

So, you would give up multiple 1st round picks for him?

I was just correcting you about him being a 2nd round pick last year.

It's about what Moore thinks he is. If he thinks he can be a franchise QB for the next 15 years then its worth the same kind of deal the Panthers made to trade up. Without one at best all you can do is tread water.

 

[3ParStillDriver]

Yet many drafts feature #2/#3 QB's that are absolutely worth their weight in gold. Daniels in 2024, CJ Stroud in 2023, Herbert in 2020, Josh Allen in 2018, Patrick Mahomes in 2017.

Ward has shown to be very productive over the past few years and continues to take strides forward each year. Has impressive arm talent in terms of velocity/arm angles to go along with his top tier production, has "Mahomes esque" athleticism to extend and buy time with his legs, has great anticipation for a college QB (which is probably one of the most important traits for success), very good about not taking sacks, and throws with touch and accuracy. Like there's no real big "red flags" for Ward as a prospect. There's no such thing as a "sure thing" QB prospect, but Ward seems to check just about every box you'd like to see to give him a good chance of being a quality NFL QB.

Who will be better than Cam Ward next year? As it currently stands, none of them are better than Cam Ward. Arch Manning hasn't proven anything yet and it seems very possible he could stay until 2027. Iamaleava, Allar, Sellers, Nussmeier "have talent", but they all need to take a huge step forward to be on Ward's level. Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued by some of them, but that's all it is right now. Many QB's never take that next step.

I'm not into picking apart a post. So I'll just address a few things. You claim Ward didn't show any red flags, but tell me what good defenses he played against that would've forced red flags? Sanders didn't face any either and struggled against BYU and Nebraska. Ward may not have bombed out 1 single game, but he didn't face anyone either. How does he respond if his offensive line is getting dominated? We haven't a clue in 2024. In 2023 it wasn't good. He struggled a lot with an inferior oline. When they struggled, he struggled badly. Was there a play calling issue? gameplan issue? QB issue? Really hard to say. But in 2024 he was never tested in the sense of how he responds when his offense struggles. So it's folly to say "there's no red flags" when he has struggled whenever his offense as a whole didn't dominate the team in front of him and there wasn't a defense in 2024 to determine if he grew from that.

I simply get an impression that Ward is being a bit overhyped by many, and he'll have some struggles adjusting to the NFL just like any rookie QB. But with Ward, theres cause for concern. He was on a very talented offense and was never truly put up against equal talent. So we don't know what those struggles to adjust will look like.

 

[Hubig]

Kellen Moore knows QB's better than a lot of people. If this were to happen, I'd trust it. I don't think this happens, everything the Saints have done thus far says they believe last seasons debacle was injuries and coaching. The hope is a new coaching staff squeezes out something out of players who have underperformed.

You don't resign and run things back with a lot of these guys if you don't think you can't squeeze production out of them. Giving away a bunch of draft assets to snag Ward would be shocking.

 

[SailorJerrysHorse]

I’m in the camp of if they do it then I’m for it and trust that Moore sees him as HIS guy. I can’t blame a new HC or an org moving up for someone they think is a franchise QB.

That said, if I had my druthers I’d trade down this year and get some extra capitol in next years draft to use to move up for one of the 2026 qb’s. We might not be drafting top ten next year, but I suspect there will be 2-3 first round graded qb’s in 2026 as apposed to just the 1 this year, so you might not need to jump to #1 to get your guy. It will still require a multiple 1’s, but if you use this draft to build up the team and make it younger it will be more palatable AND you’ll have more qb options.

It’s all a crap shoot tho, I remember even the rumors of wanting to move up for Mahomes made some folks nervous, so

 

[bayoumilitia]

Carr can’t be traded until after June 1.
Before June, a Carr trade would be a 58.4M dead money cap charge putting the Saints about -28 million over the cap.

Post 6/1, it’s 19.21M dead money/1.25M cap savings from a trade. Or $20.46M dead money, same as his current cap hit, from a release. Carr would be traded or released later in the offseason in a separate move if they go in that direction.

It’s crazy how that works but you’re 100% correct. “It’s cheaper to keep her”, well him until after June 1st in this case definitely. The difference is staggering.

 

[Bayareasaint]

LOL at 30% chance.

 

[sammymvpknight]

That's not the idea behind the Dilfer pic, it is to show that the other picks do matter, a lot.

There needs to be a balance. You can't give all your picks for a rookie QB, because no matter how good that QB is, and how good you think he's going to be in the pros, he is not going to win without a supporting cast. Picking a QB within the 1st 10 picks is no guarantee either. However, you can win with a decent QB and a good supporting cast, and you will definitely win more games with a decent QB with a good supporting cast than with a generational talent at QB with no supporting cast, defense included.

Out of curiosity, thinking of the Saints winning a SB with a FA QB, I went and looked at the last SB winners since the Saints won it with Brees; I was curious as to how many QBs picked within the first 10 picks have won SBs with the teams that drafted them since then. Then I figured, I'll do it since 2000, because why not, and to be fair to the guys who were drafted the last 5-6 years. After all, the SB is the ultimate goal, right?

Keeping in mind that Eli Manning was originally drafted by the Chargers, then traded to the Giants:

Out of the 26 SB winners, 7 teams won it with free agent QBs.

Only the Chiefs (Mahomes) and the Colts (P. Manning) have won SBs with the QB they drafted within the 1st 10 picks in the draft.

4 teams won it with the backup QB (Rams-Warner, Ravens-Dilfer, Eagles-Foles, Patriots-Brady, who was the backup to Drew Bledsoe in the 2001 season)

Out of 85 QB's picked in the 1st round, only 5 QBs have won SB's with the team that drafted them: Mahomes (10th overall), Flacco (18th overall) , Rodgers (24th overall), P. Manning (1st overall) and Roethlisberger (11th overall).

Here's the list:
2000 Rams Kurt Warner FA backup QB
2001 Ravens Trent Dilfer FA backup QB
2002 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall backup QB
2003 Bucs Brad Johnson FA
2004 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2005 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2006 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2007 Colts Peyton Manning 1st overall
2008 Giants Eli Manning trade
2009 Steelers Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall
2010 Saints Drew Brees FA
2011 Packers Aaron Rodgers 24th overall
2012 Giants Eli Manning trade
2013 Ravens Joe Flacco 18th overall
2014 Seahawks Russell Wilson 3rd rd, 75th overall
2015 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2016 Broncos Peyton Manning FA
2017 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2018 Eagles Nick Foles 3rd rd, 88th overall, backup QB
2019 Patriots Tom Brady 6th rd, 199th overall
2020 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2021 Buccaneers Tom Brady FA
2022 Rams Matthew Stafford FA
2023 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2024 Chiefs Patrick Mahomes 10th overall
2025 Eagles Jalen Hurts 2nd rd 53rd overall

I see a ton of elite QBs on that list. The ones that were had elite defenses…and not just elite but all-time great types. Certainly, you can strive to build that’s type of elite defense but that’s not happening in the next three years. The easiest way to become elite is by hitting on an elite QB. Statistically that is much more likely to occur in the early rounds. You can find the Warners/Bradys out there but you are talking about perhaps the two biggest outliers in NFL history. This doesn’t typically happen by luck.