Sunday potentially marked the end of an error in New Orleans.
Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport exchanged blows with running back D’Onta Foreman in the third quarter of a 10-7 Panthers win, and both players were ejected.
That play will likely sear itself in Saints fans memories as the lasting image of one of the franchise’s worst draft decisions since the infamous Ricky Williams trade of 1999.
New Orleans moved up from 27th overall to 14th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft to select Davenport by trading 2018 first- and fifth-round picks as well as its 2019 first-round pick to the Green Bay Packers.
To put the deal in context, that same draft the Jets, Cardinals and Bills all traded into the top 10 of the first round to draft QBs, and none traded more than one first-round pick to do so. If other teams aren’t trading multiple firsts to pick a QB, it hardly makes sense to trade multiple firsts for a defensive end.
That the Saints picked Davenport over QB Lamar Jackson makes the move even worse.
In fact, the team could have stood pat, kept its picks and still drafted Jackson to groom under aging future Hall of Famer Drew Brees. He ended up going 32nd overall to the Ravens after they only needed to trade two second-round picks and a fourth-round pick to the Eagles to move up to choose him.
There would be less questioning of the deal had New Orleans won a Super Bowl in 2018, which it nearly did. The Saints were the No. 1 seed in the NFC the season they drafted Davenport and were a missed pass interference call away from going to the Super Bowl. Instead, the Saints lost 26-23 in overtime to the Rams.
That bitter loss stings even more now knowing the team hasn’t come nearly as close to reaching a Super Bowl in the years since. The Saints’ window would still be open with Jackson at QB. Instead, they’re home for the postseason for the second year in a row.
Jackson is 45-16 in his career as a starter and was named MVP in 2019 by the Associated Press, and even amid injuries and inconsistency helped lead the Ravens to postseason yet again this season. Davenport finished the 2022 season with just half a sack and never reached double digits in that stat during his tenure in New Orleans.
