Draft day slides are no new thing. They happen every year. Some really talented player begins to fall in the draft after having a difficult spring — interviews don’t go well, they time slower than anticipated in workouts, and teams overthink the player. Then, it comes time for them to play, and they are just as talented as you think they would have been. This year, one of the candidates for a slide could benefit the New Orleans Saints very well.
Is it worth it to trade up yet again for a top player? All signs point to the Saints wanting to leave the draft with three rookie starters. Is there a scenario where they could pull off a trade-up and still achieve their draft goal? Here is one way that could happen, should the strange slide for Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton put him in reach:
The Trade
Houston Texans receive
Round 1, Pick 16
Round 3, Pick 98
New Orleans Saints receive
The Texans are a prime candidate for the Saints to trade with. The value charts put this trade at essentially a draw, with a slight edge to New Orleans. The Texans get to add an extra player to their class, and the Saints get to grab a player at a position of need. Win-win. It helps that Houston has cut a couple deals with New Orleans before, sending out Bradley Roby and Mark Ingram, so there’s some history between both organizations.
Round 1, Pick 13: S Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Hamilton is one of the top players in the draft, but has seen a fall due to him not having inhuman athletic testing numbers in the pre-draft process, particularly the 40-yard dash (which he timed in 4.59 seconds at the NFL scouting combine). This is not a concern to me, as his numbers aren’t even that bad; in fact, his size-adjusted Relative Athletic Score is better than what Marcus Williams posted coming out of college. Hamilton weighed in at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and put up the agility and explosive scores of a smaller player.
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But those numbers aren’t as important…