One year after making Jimmy Graham the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints traded the three-time Pro Bowler to the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday. Later that day, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis explained on SiriusXM NFL Radio that the trade was a necessary move to fix one of the NFL's worst defenses, according to NFL.com.
Saints GM says Jimmy Graham traded to improve defense
The Saints need to fix their defense and Mickey Loomis said on Tuesday that trading Jimmy Graham is a good place to start.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
With Graham’s contributions, the Saints finished 2014 with the No. 1 offense, but had the second-worst defense in the NFL. Opposing teams reached 30 points against the New Orleans defense seven times and the league’s top-ranked offense wasn’t enough to push the Saints into the postseason.
By trading Graham, the Saints acquired Seahawks center Max Unger and Seattle's first-round draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. On Tuesday, Loomis said that the extra draft capital acquired in the trade is exactly what the Saints need to improve one of the league's worst defenses.
“There’s three ways to get players in our league,” Loomis continued, “and that’s through free agency, the draft and then trades. We kind of believe in using all avenues. So we took one of our assets on offense and turned it into some resources (that) hopefully we can improve our defense with.”
Following the trade, the Saints own the No. 13 and 31 selections in the 2015 NFL Draft. In the latest mock draft from SB Nation’s Dan Kadar, done before the trade involving Graham, the Saints are projected to help improve their defense by selecting Missouri pass rusher Shane Ray with the No. 13 pick.
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