The New Orleans Saints have a burgeoning star in wide receiver Chris Olave. Olave has come in and from the start of his rookie season has established himself as an up-and-coming receiver in this league. Unfortunately for both Olave and the Saints, there are a lot of unsettled situations surrounding him in the Saints offense.
One of those situations is a lack of depth in the receiver corps. Olave is the clear leader in the wide receiver room, and Rashid Shaheed has burst on the scene and started to make a name for himself in the league, too. But beyond that, there aren’t many complementary pieces for Olave and starting quarterback Derek Carr. That’s why one NFL analyst is urging the Saints to pull off a trade with a team rife with options at the position, the Houston Texans.
Bleacher Report NFL writer Alex Ballentine recently took a look around the league and came up with one trade each team should explore before the start of the season. For the Saints, Ballentine wants to see them improve the wide receivers group by reaching out to the Houston Texans to strike up a deal for Noah Brown.
Brown has proven himself a capable receiver in this league when given the opportunity. Brown was one of the better receivers in the league last season at gaining yards after the catch, and was fourth in the entire league with 17.2 yards per reception. He’s also one of the most efficient receivers in the league, averaging 10.3 yards per target.
Unfortunately for Brown, those targets and all the yards after the catch didn’t result in touchdowns, as he was only able to score twice all season. Now, with the Texans adding former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs, along with a healthy Tank Dell and Nico Collins, there may not be much opportunity for Brown in the Texans offense.
Should he find himself in New Orleans, though, Brown could reasonably find himself as the third receiver behind Olave and Shaheed. He’d be competing with fifth-round pick Jerrod "Bub" Means, last year’s sixth-round pick A.T. Perry, and former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins receiver Cedrick Wilson, Jr. for that third spot, with an excellent chance to beat out everyone.
In this hypothetical trade, the Texans would receive a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft back from the Saints in exchange for Brown. Not a high price-tag for the Saints for a player who could factor into the offense in a significant way.
