The Tennessee Titans are looking for at least three first round picks, or equivalent value, in return for the first overall pick. Equivalent value would mean throwing players into the trade package to retain future assets. If the New Orleans Saints were to make this trade, one of the players the Titans ask for would have to be Chris Olave. This is where the Saints should draw the line.
The Saints clearly like Cam Ward, but trading Olave in order to make acquire Ward would hurt the quarterback in the long term. The Carolina Panthers made a similar trade, giving up D.J. Moore to move to the first overall pick and draft Bryce Young. Young struggled in his first year and part of that is due to not having a reliable, go-to weapon at wide receiver.
You can look around the NFL at the young quarterbacks who were helped by a playmaking wide receiver. Joe Burrow and Ja'marr Chase, Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs and Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper are some of the most prominent examples of the benefit of getting a young quarterback a playmaker and it helping their development.
The Saints already have that young wide receiver who can be a safety valve for a developing quarterback. Taking that away from Ward in addition to losing draft picks would only slow down the development. It would also place a larger responsibility on Ward as a rookie. In the short-term and long-term, trading Olave in order to grab a rookie quarterback is a move the Saints should shy away from.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Trading lead receiver for the 1st overall pick would be a bad move
