Unfortunate development could make Saints ideal Broncos draft trade partner

The Denver Broncos are in a very interesting spot with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. There are so many different ways things within the top 11 picks could go, but many in Broncos Country feel it would be in the team's best interests to trade down to acquire more picks if at all possible. The New Orleans Saints might be a team to watch in a pick swap scenario right now, even if it's only a couple of spots.

The Saints currently hold the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, just two spots behind the Broncos. But the Saints may need to pay the price to move up and secure the tackle they covet most in this class, should that player be available, given the recent update on their star right tackle Ryan Ramczyk.

The health of Ramczyk, coupled with the struggles of 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning, have put the Saints in a position where they may need to be aggressive in pursuit of a tackle in this year's draft. It just so happens that at no. 12 overall, the Broncos could potentially offer them the pick of the litter.

The top tackles in this class according to most NFL Draft experts are Notre Dame's Joe Alt, Penn State's Olu Fashanu, Oregon State's Taliese Fuaga, Washington's Troy Fautanu, Georgia's Amarius Mims, and Alabama's JC Latham. Even though there's a good chance that one of those guys might be available to the Saints at pick no. 14 overall, there's also a decent chance they will prefer one over the others.

The Broncos could be the ideal spot for the Saints to trade, and the Broncos moving down just two spots from 12 overall and picking up some additional selections in the process (though the Saints don't have a 3rd or 4th in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they'd have to get creative) could be ideal.

The Broncos need as many darts as they can get at this point, and trading down to the 14th overall pick would leave just the Raiders in front of Denver in terms of plucking someone else off the board. Some may view that as a deal breaker. Being in front of the Raiders right now is advantageous for a variety of reasons, especially with both Denver and Las Vegas in the market for quarterbacks.

But the Broncos will have a good idea of what the Raiders want to do come draft night. Trading down always involves a little bit of risk, but if the Broncos are in a position to trade down in the first place, it likely means that they are not dead set on any specific quarterback available anyway.

Perhaps the Broncos could trade down with the Saints and pick up an extra pick or two, followed by another trade down the board to add even more selections.