TRADE ALERT
Anthony Parker • April 26, 2026
If you have never shopped for deals outside of Black Friday, then this trade is not for you.
The Saints have a big hole to fill in the edge room along their defensive front. They did not address this need in free agency or in the first two days of the draft. The expectation heading into the day was for the Saints to finish with someone new walking into that room. While there were some surprising edge rushers available in the draft today—for example, Joshua Joseph—the Saints decided to opt for a veteran who has the talent and is in need of a fresh start.
Wilson was drafted seventh overall in the 2023 draft by the Raiders, and while he has appeared in fifty games over the span of his young career, he has only recorded twelve total sacks. He finished his rookie year with three and a half sacks, had a career high in 2024 with four and a half, and finished last season with four, with half of that total coming in the final game of the season against the Chiefs.
The Raiders are noted as one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the league, and the instability Wilson faced could be a reason why he struggled to reach his full potential.
Wilson had success at Texas Tech, where he finished with a career total of 122 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 17 sacks. He has a great frame, measuring in at just under 6’6”, 271 lbs, with nearly 36-inch arms. He has the prototypical size that a defensive staff running a 3–4 scheme wants to see from an edge rusher.
The Saints gave the Raiders their fifth-round pick in this year’s draft—which the Raiders used to select Dalton Johnson, a safety from Arizona—and the Saints not only received Wilson but also a seventh-round pick, which they used to draft Iowa defensive back TJ Hall.
This was a really good trade.
You get an edge rusher with experience and high potential, taking a flyer on him using a fifth-round pick, and you were still able to get another pick in return. This was elite-level Black Friday deal shopping from the Saints in April.
While the future for Wilson and what he will be able to accomplish for the Saints remains uncertain, one thing is certain: he will be wearing a brand-new jersey number. Wilson has worn number 9 since he entered the league, but Saints fans around the world know that number 9 in black and silver may not be special. However, when you change the silver to gold, number 9 is placed into a realm where the only time a player wears it is in a video game.
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The Saints went through the offseason making major investments around rising starting quarterback Tyler Shough, but one of their biggest investments came along the offensive line. If the Saints want to have more success and improve upon the way they closed out the 2025 season, it has to start with the group controlling the line of scrimmage. The Saints have invested a great deal of high-end draft capital into the offensive line over the past several seasons. They have finally answered the questions at both tackle spots and have solidified the center position with Erik McCoy. Now, however, McCoy enters his eighth season with questions of his own. Can the veteran center make it through an entire season healthy? Alongside McCoy, the Saints had questions at both guard positions, but the free-agent acquisition of David Edwards answers one of those concerns. Edwards was the top available offensive lineman in free agency this year and immediately solidifies the left guard spot. That leaves right guard as the final position up for grabs, currently occupied by veteran Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz is entering the seventh year of his career after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Michigan as a center. It was a questionable selection at the time, considering the Saints had drafted McCoy in the second round just one year earlier. Despite not having a first-round pick in 2019, McCoy stepped in as a rookie and played exceptionally well. This is a contract year for Ruiz, so he must prove that he is a dependable guard capable of holding onto his starting job. However, the leash on that position may have gotten much shorter. The Saints used a fourth-round pick in this year's draft on Jeremiah Wright, a road-grading offensive guard with outstanding size, athleticism, and strength. Wright still has areas of his game that need refinement, but through training camp and the preseason, he could push Ruiz to either elevate his play or lose the starting job altogether. If either of those scenarios plays out, the Saints will have a significantly improved offensive line, and that should translate into a much better offense overall. Follow AP on X , as well as his podcast Timeouts & Tangents
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