Saints urged to make draft trade that Mickey Loomis 'doesn't ever' do

TL;DR

The New Orleans Saints hold the eighth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and are being urged to trade down, a strategy that general manager Mickey Loomis typically avoids. Analysts suggest this move could help the team acquire additional valuable picks.

Saints urged to make draft trade that Mickey Loomis 'doesn't ever' do originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coming into the 2026 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints own the eighth overall selection, along with their picks down the board in rounds two and three.

As is the case every year, fans should keep an eye out for general manager Mickey Loomis to make a draft trade or two. Such a move would likely move up for a top player.

But, in Bill Barnwell of ESPN's opinion, he is urging the Saints to do something that Loomis "doesn't ever" do during drafts, and that is trade down from the No. 8 pick.

Saints urged to trade down in NFL Draft

"In my mock draft of only trades last week, I tried to account for what the Saints are most likely to do. General manager Mickey Loomis doesn't ever trade down in the first round, and as a result, I had the Saints moving up," Barnwell writes. "But here I'm arguing for what teams should do. And for the Saints, that's pretty clearly trading down."

Barnwell wants the Saints to do something that Loomis doesn't do during NFL Drafts, and that's trade down with their first-round pick.

Picking at No. 8 overall, the Saints could be a prime spot for a team to move up and jump the Kansas City Chiefs to swipe a top defensive player off the board. The Dallas Cowboys make sense as a trade partner if such a deal were to happen.

While Barnwell want's the Saints to trade down, the front office isn't a group that would likely make such a decision.

More: Carnell Tate is scheduled to visit with Saints among four other top-10 picking teams for 2026 NFL Draft

But, moving down and adding more picks in the mid-rounds for a team in need of better depth and more dart throws makes sense.

A big question whenever a team trades down is what that team is passing on. While Carnell Tate out of Ohio State might be hard to pass up, there is a lot of great WR depth in this year's draft class.

New Orleans could move down a few spots, add some mid-round picks, and take a WR like Chris Bell out of Louisville in the second round to reunite with Tyler Shough.

The Saints are urged to trade down in this year's draft by Barnwell, and for good reason. Loomis might not make such a decision, but Barnwell believes it's the move the Saints should make this offseason.