O Line Going Forward (1 Viewer)

[WxM]

I think considering the amount of salary and that he is on his last year of his contract, I think it is highly optimistic that we can get anything higher than a 4th-5th round pick for Warford.

At that point we have to consider what is more valuable to us, to keep him for another year and let him leave as a free agent, or trade a low draft pick this year.

We may get a better (compensatory) pick then what we may get by trading him this year.

Right now, I can see Warford leaving on a trade, only he is used to go up some spots without giving away picks, or using him and a pick to trade up.

This is probably a good application of conventional wisdom under the old CBA, but the new CBA suggests a new line of thinking may be better. Under the old CBA, you could get a late compensatory pick for a player who got not much more than the veterans' minimum. You can't, now. Looking at who is slated to get the picks, no one making much less than $4 million a year is going to get anything. The best case scenario I see for Warford is that he would get a deal averaging $7.5 to $10 million a year. That currently nets a fifth round pick.

But that's not in this year's draft, nor is it in next year's. It's two drafts after this one. And if you go by the conventional wisdom of discounting a draft pick one round per year, a fifth rounder two years from now is worth only a seventh rounder today.

Also, in order to get this pick, the Saints are going to have to be net losers in free agency, which as we all know, is not something they like to do, but they kind of had to this year, because of the cap. That might well be the case next year because of who we have to re-sign, but it might not. I don't think the Saints are going to alter what they do just to keep a mid to late round pick alive.

And another point is, what if Warford loses his starting job this year? Do you think he'll command nearly as much in free agency if he rides the pine? Nope. There's a very real possibility we'd get nothing for him at all.

It makes a lot more sense to me to get the better pick now for Warford, if it is possible. Freeing up the salary this year for a player who is clearly no longer in our long term plans will allow us to add one more piece for a Super Bowl run, or go ahead and retain one of our young studs earlier, freeing up more money down the road. We can then back-fill the roster spot with a competent, cheap depth piece like Patrick Omameh.

Since the 49ers are known to be trading Kwon Alexander, I thought maybe a swap would work, but Alexander's contract is structured weirdly. He counts very little this year, but it jumps up to over $12 million each of the next two years. I don't think such a deal will work for either side in that case, but hopefully we can swing something for Warford.

I'm still not expecting a trade to happen, though. I can't even remember the last time we traded away a player; Darren Sproles? Jimmy Graham (Devaroe Lawrence doesn't count)?

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

Considering the lack of OTAs and possibly an abbreviated camp, we may be better off keeping him.

Plus if we keep Warford we have great depth if someone gets injured.

 

[saint_drago]

Yeah McCoy or Ruiz at Center. I trust SP to figure it out. For now I left McCoy at Center but I think he has the better size for a move to Guard. On paper it's a really good group either way.