The Saints are expected to trade Marshon Lattimore to a team with New Orleans ties.
With the 2024 NFL Draft behind them and training camp nearing, New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore could be traded before the season begins.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell expertly outlined a number of prospective trade targets. His first major project was to find a new squad to put Lattimore on. He sided with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to Barnwell, the Jaguars will only give up a fourth-round pick in exchange for Lattimore.
Although I previously stated that the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers are my preferred landing spots for Lattimore, I like Barnwell’s approach to bringing him to Jacksonville.
It has everything to do with how his contract is structured, his previous injury history, and Ryan Nielsen’s coordination of the Jaguars defense.
In layman’s terms, the Saints postponed money to Lattimore until a bonus is due before the start of the season. They enjoy kicking the can down the road, but they will ultimately run out of pavement. With Lattimore missing 17 games over the last two seasons and accounting for a significant portion of their cap, I could see the Saints moving him. Jacksonville might be the best fit.
Let’s talk about why that is, and why the Saints might want to get ahead of this before it’s too late.
Marshon Lattimore’s ideal trade destination is actually in Jacksonville.
Barnwell argues that age, injury history, and price will limit Lattimore’s trading market more than we anticipated.
The Saints appear to favor their defensive backs, having recently signed former Alabama standout Kool-Aid McKinstry a few weeks ago.
Jacksonville’s defense was vulnerable in the back end. It was a major reason for their failure on the stretch.
Nielsen may have left New Orleans early last season to manage the archrival Atlanta Falcons defense, but it was not his fault that offensive-minded Arthur Smith failed as head coach. Dirty Bird Nation was not pleased when Nielsen left to work for Doug Pederson in Duval.
That is all you need to know about this up-and-coming defensive coordinator. Lattimore had previously played under him.
While Nielsen is more of a defensive line specialist, the Saints played excellent complementary defense for many years under his leadership, first under Sean Payton and then Dennis Allen.
Although Jacksonville is not a postseason lock, they are the Texans’ most challenging opponent in the division.
Because the Saints play in the opposite conference as Jacksonville, it wouldn’t surprise me if they assisted an ally in Nielsen in this matter.
The sooner the Saints move on from Lattimore, the more likely it is that the franchise will rebuild.
