The New Orleans Saints have made their offseason mission pretty clear: put as much help around Tyler Shough as possible.
They’ve already attacked the roster from multiple angles, bringing in Jordyn Tyson in the first round, adding Travis Etienne Jr. in free agency, reworking Alvin Kamara’s deal and signing David Edwards to help the offensive line. The message is obvious. Everything is being built to give the second-year quarterback a real chance to settle in.
That’s why the Chris Olave extension situation matters so much. The talks have dragged on, and while a trade is still viewed as highly unlikely, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell floated a value for Olave that would at least make the idea interesting on paper.
Barnwell’s projection for Olave’s trade return: “One first-round pick: DT Bryan Bresee, WR Chris Olave, WR Jordyn Tyson,”
If the Saints ever did move Olave, Barnwell thinks they could get a first-round pick back. But that’s where the conversation gets messy, because there’s not much of a clean path to a deal that actually makes sense.
For a trade to even be remotely plausible, the Saints would need to fail to lock Olave into a long-term extension and then find a top Super Bowl contender willing to pay that price. Even then, they’d probably need to add another receiver either in the same deal or somewhere else along the way.
That’s a lot to untangle, especially for a team that has spent the offseason loading up the offense around Shough. Keeping a receiver he already knows is the simpler move, and the one that fits the Saints’ current plan much better.
So while Barnwell’s projection gives a sense of how valuable Olave would be if the Saints ever opened the door, it doesn’t read like a real warning sign. The expectation is still that an extension gets done this offseason.
And even if that doesn’t happen immediately, Olave doesn’t look like someone headed out the door. He’s still expected to be Shough’s top target, and this trade valuation looks more like a measure of his market than a sign that New Orleans is preparing to move him.
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Over the last three decades, the Saints have built a modern identity around a handful of players who changed the way the franchise looked and felt. Drew Brees set the standard at quarterback, Cameron Jordan became the defensive constant, and Alvin Kamara brought a different kind of electricity to the offense, giving New Orleans a core that helped define its most successful stretch.
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With Tyler Shough entering the picture, the Saints are being pushed to think beyond just the rookie quarterback and look hard at the pass-catching help around him. Analyst Moe Moton pointed to a proven veteran receiver who is still on the market after a productive season with the Chargers, a move that would give New Orleans a steadier option as it tries to build a workable support system for Shough early.
The case for adding that kind of help is easy to see in New Orleans, where the receiver room already carries some uncertainty and the team could use a dependable presence in the middle of the field. There is also the familiar connection to Kellen Moore, who has worked with the player before, and that history makes the fit feel natural even if the Saints still have to decide how aggressively to move before another team steps in. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Fans Already Have Every Reason To Defend Tyler Shough
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For New Orleans, the appeal is obvious: Shough is being discussed in the same breath as the other high-profile names from that draft class, even as the supporting situations around them are being used to explain why each could take a jump. Dart is getting help back on offense, Shough has new pieces around him too, and the two quarterbacks are set to meet on the field this season for their first true head-to-head matchup, which should only add fuel to a comparison already gaining traction. [Read more 🡒]