This Saints-Giants Trade Involving Evan Engram Would Make New Orleans' Offense Terrifying
By Andrew Gullotta
The Saints came into the 2020 offseason with questions surrounding the team’s offensive weapons, especially in the receiving game. New Orleans had little production out of supporting cast members players like Ted Ginn Jr. and Tre'Quan Smith, which clearly didn't make the unit as strong as it could have been.
The Saints have already added veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in free agency, but they could still use one more weapon to become a dominant offense.
Why not call the New York Giants and inquire about Evan Engram's availability? The Saints took a look at pass catching tight ends this offseason, such as Tyler Eifert and Marcedes Lewis, so this falls right in line with their reported desires. Plus, it wouldn't be farfetched for them to make one more surprise splash before the 2020 season.
The #Packers have agreed to terms with TE Marcedes Lewis on 1-year deal worth $2.25M, including more than $1M guarantee, source said. He drew interest from the #Saints, as well.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 19, 2020
Instead of drafting an unproven rookie in the mid rounds, the Saints could instead use a third-rounder to try and poach Engram from the G-Men. The former Ole Miss star is also relatively cheap, only carrying a $3.4 million cap number into 2020, which would be especially enticing to the Saints as they are only $5.7 million under the cap.
With Emmanuel Sanders and D.J. Swearinger's salaries processed, Saints have $5,787,357 million in cap space. Sanders has $2 million in base salary in 2020, counts $4 million against the cap, Swearinger counts $800K against cap. With top 51 rule, took up $4.1 million in space
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) April 9, 2020
This trade sounds great for the Saints, but would the Giants pull the trigger? Considering incoming rebuild, the Giants should want to unload players they don't consider long-term assets. Engram has two more years left on his contract, but he's proven to be injury prone, missing 13 games the past two seasons. But if Sean Payton can harness his talent and create space for him, this would be a match made in heaven.
This deal seems like a win-win for both teams as the Giants would add a top-100 draft pick and the Saints would acquire a big receiving tight end to solidify their spot as a Super Bowl contender.