Big Changes: How the Marshon Lattimore Trade Transforms Saints' Future!

A look at the updated draft picks and future impact for the Saints after trading Marshon Lattimore.

Sep 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor (1) reacts after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The next three months might be some of the most important ones for the New Orleans Saints franchise. Whether you want to call it a rebuild, retool, reshuffle or whatever else that makes you feel good about it, change is on the horizon. Trading Marshon Lattimore to the Commanders ahead of the NFL's Trade Deadline on Tuesday helped reinforce that.

Lattimore's exit leaves Alvin Kamara as the last man standing from that epic 2017 draft class. The Saints getting some nice draft capital for the 28-year-old corner who is still playing at a high level certainly helps them be able to lay some foundation for the future. Here's a look at their draft picks following the Lattimore trade.

New Orleans Saints Draft Picks - 2025

• Round 1
• Round 2
• Round 3
• Round 3 (via Washington)
• Round 4
• Round 4 (via Washington)
• Round 6 (original pick)

New Orleans would presumably have six picks in the Top 150 going into the 2025 NFL Draft. The 6th Round pick they got from Washington was the original one they sent to acquire John Ridgeway III from them. There's also a conditional 7th Round pick that can be gained from the Ridgeway trade. They can pick up an additional 7th Round pick via the compensatory process, which the current projected formula has factored in for Isaac Yiadom.

Alontae Taylor is now the team's unquestioned top cornerback for this year and potentially beyond. When Kool-Aid McKinstry returns from his hamstring injury, he'll go in as the second option. Those two could be quite a tandem for 2025, but there's also a lot of factors that could change. For instance, does New Orleans bring back Paulson Adebo on a one-year deal following his unfortunate season-ending injury? Who is the defensive coordinator next year? What assistants stay on?

Trading Lattimore will hand New Orleans a dead money bill, which isn't really surprising. There's two more years left on his contract, with a $18 million cap hit in 2025 and $18.5 million cap hit in 2026. The total projected cost will be $31.6 million for the Saints.

The Saints will need to find a new head coach next year, figure out what they want to do with Derek Carr, find out who else might not be in the plans for 2025 and then navigate their way to get under the salary cap. Thankfully, they have three months to hopefully get answers to all of that.