Thursday, April 24
Saints upping the ante
According to a league source, the
New Orleans Saints are getting more serious in their efforts to move from No. 10 overall into the top portion of the first round in order to select DT
Sedrick Ellis and are dangling former Pro Bowl OT
Jammal Brown in front of a team with a higher pick.
Deductive reasoning tells us that team is likely the
Kansas City Chiefs, who have the fifth overall pick. The
St. Louis Rams should take DT
Glenn Dorsey at No. 2, and the
Atlanta Falcons (No. 3) and the
Oakland Raiders (No. 4) do not have much interest in Ellis. The
New York Jets won't want to trade back from sixth overall because of the chance they could get RB
Darren McFadden at No. 6, and the
New England Patriots are rumored to be leaning toward Ellis at No. 7 because of the value that pick would offer. All of which means Kansas City is in a perfect spot. DE
Chris Long will be the Chiefs' pick if he's available, but should he be off the board, Kansas City will want to retreat. Swapping first-round picks with New Orleans and bringing Brown into the fold would be an attractive scenario, as the Chiefs then could opt for another offensive lineman at No. 10 or get a much better value on their preferred defensive end,
Derrick Harvey. And don't forget that extra picks beyond the swap of first-rounders likely would be included as well, so this would be a hard deal for Kansas City to turn down.