Ranking how Eagles fleeced Saints in trades, and why the best one can happen Sunday
Since it's the gift-giving season, perhaps no team has benefitted from the generosity of its fellow NFL brethren than the Eagles have from the New Orleans Saints.
While the Saints have been stuffing the Eagles' stocking with elite players and draft picks, the Eagles have been stuffing the Saints' with mostly coal.
And that includes the present day, where the Eagles can celebrate the football equivalent of Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa in one − and all at the Saints' expense this Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
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That's because an Eagles' win over New Orleans not only locks up the NFC East crown and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, but it also virtually guarantees that the Saints' first-round draft pick will be in the top 10 of the 2023 NFL draft − and not No. 19 or worse.
"I mean, obviously our motivation is to win the division and to get the first-round bye, which is all in our grasp now," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "Well, this game directly affects both of those things, and the draft status. ... It will be sweet if we can go out there and get this win, and then once we're making the draft pick (in April), we can say to ourselves, 'Well, that really did help us out.'"
Incredibly, that isn't even the top trade/transaction with the Saints dating back to 1995. At least not yet:
8. April 2006
To the Eagles: fourth-round pick
To the Saints: DT Hollis Thomas and fourth-round pick
Who won? The Saints, by a lot. Thomas, an icon during the Eagles' run of four straight NFC Championship games, had three fairly productive seasons with the Saints. But New Orleans walloped the Eagles in this deal when they turned the fourth-round pick (No. 108) into guard Jahri Evans. Evans played 11 seasons with the Saints and was selected to six Pro Bowls. The Eagles moved up to No. 99 and also took a guard in Max Jean-Gilles, passing on Evans. Jean-Gilles started 26 games in three seasons. The Eagles picked the wrong guard.
7. April 2009
To the Eagles: seventh-round pick and 2010 fifth-round pick
To the Saints: fifth-round pick
Who won? The Saints, by a lot. New Orleans used that draft pick punter Thomas Morstead, who spent 12 seasons with the Saints, was selected to the Pro Bowl and was a Super Bowl winner. The Eagles traded the seventh-round pick to Indianapolis, and the Colts used it on another Pro Bowl punter in Pat McAfee. They traded the fifth-round pick and WR Brandon Gibson for LB Will Witherspoon. Witherspoon, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, only played 11 games with the Eagles, with 58 tackles and one sack.
6. August 2006
To the Eagles: WR Donte' Stallworth
To the Saints: LB Mark Simoneau and 2007 conditional fourth-round pick
Who won? Draw. The Eagles had traded for Simoneau in 2003, and he had two productive years before losing his starting job in 2005. Simoneau had two productive years for the Saints. Stallworth had a solid season for the Eagles, with 38 catches for 725 yards. But he left after the season as a free agent. Stallworth played five more seasons in the NFL and also served a one-year suspension.
5. August 2017
To the Eagles: seventh-round pick
To the Saints: LS Jon Dorenbos
Who won? Dorenbos. The long snapper had played in 162 straight games, still the Eagles' record. But Dorenbos had lost his job that summer to Rick Lovato. Shortly after the trade, a routine physical showed that Dorenbos needed immediate heart surgery to correct an aortic aneurysm. Dorenbos never played again, but the trade saved his life because he wouldn't have had a physical otherwise. The Eagles returned the draft pick.
4. August 2022
To the Eagles: S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and a seventh-round pick
To the Saints: fifth-round pick in 2023, and the later of two picks in the sixth round in 2024
Who won? Eagles, by a lot. Gardner-Johnson became an instant starter at safety and is still tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with six despite missing the last four games, and possibly at least one more, with a lacerated kidney. The reason why this isn't an all-time steal is that Gardner-Johnson can become a free agent after the season, and thus sign with another team. Still, Gardner-Johnson is a big reason why the Eagles are the best team in the NFL.
3. March 2014
To the Eagles: Darren Sproles
To the Saints: fifth-round pick
Who won? Eagles, by a lot. Sproles made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons in Philly. There wasn't a more dangerous punt returner in the NFL as Sproles returned four punts for touchdowns. He also had at least 700 yards from scrimmage in each of those three seasons as a running back and receiver. Injuries hampered Sproles in the next three seasons. The Saints used the pick on LB Ronald Powell, who played just the one season in the NFL.
2. April 2022
To the Eagles: first-round, third-round, seventh-round picks in 2022; first-round pick in 2023 and second-round pick in 2024
To the Saints: two first-round picks in 2022; sixth-round pick in 2022
Who won? Eagles, by a lot, and possibly a lot more. The Eagles used the No. 18 pick from New Orleans to trade for WR A.J. Brown, who has 1,304 yards receiving this season. The Saints used the No. 16 pick from the Eagles to trade up to No. 11 for WR Chris Olave, who has 940 yards receiving. The Saints took T Trevor Penning with the other pick from the Eagles, at No. 19. Penning missed the first 10 games with an injury.
An Eagles win Sunday will make the trade even more lopsided because that will eliminate the Saints from the playoffs, meaning that the Saints' first-round pick to the Eagles won't be No. 19 or worse. In fact, another Saints loss should guarantee that first-round pick is in the top 10. In addition, the Eagles also have the Saints' second-round pick in 2024.
1. March 2014
This isn't a trade, per se. But the Saints allowed S Malcolm Jenkins to become a free agent so they could sign a different free agent safety in Jairus Byrd. The Saints gave Byrd a six-year contract worth as much as $56 million, while the Eagles signed Jenkins to a three-year deal worth $16 million. Byrd lasted three seasons in New Orleans, playing in 33 games with three INTs and one sack. Jenkins, meanwhile, lasted six seasons, never missing a game and rarely missed a defensive snap. He had 11 interceptions, 406 tackles and 5½ sacks. He was also a tremendous leader.
The Saints signed Jenkins in the spring of 2020, and he played his final two seasons in New Orleans.
Updates on Hurts, Lane Johnson, more
Sirianni said quarterback Jalen Hurts is still recovering from his sprained shoulder and would not speculate on whether he'll play Sunday or even practice. The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday and will have a full practice Thursday, which would be a true indication of Hurts' availability.
As for right tackle Lane Johnson, who has torn adductor muscle, the NFL Network reported that Johnson will forego surgery and try to return for the playoffs. Sirianni wouldn't confirm that, other than to commend Johnson's toughness. Johnson will sit out the final two games of the season. Sirianni would not say who would replace Johnson. It could be Jack Driscoll, Andre Dillard, or even possibly moving Jordan Mailata from left to right tackle while having Dillard play left tackle. "I’m not going to give that answer because then I give the Saints that answer," Sirianni said. "We have a lot of options.”
The Eagles have not yet opened the practice window for safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, making it unlikely that he'll return this Sunday against his former team. Gardner-Johnson is on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney. He has missed the required four games.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Ranking Eagles' best trades with Saints, from Darren Sproles to safety
