5 Steps to a Black and Gold Supa Bowl: Trade for Lito Sheppard

From the look of our poll, I do not need to convince most of our readers that trading for Lito Sheppard is in our best interest, but convincing GM Mickey Loomis of that might be another story.

The more I think about our draft, the more I am convinced that even if the Saints brass follows only the first three steps of my plan (see 5 Steps to a Black and Gold Supa Bowl), I would still consider this draft a huge success. If we emerge from the first 4 rounds of this draft with Sedrick Ellis, Lito Sheppard, and Jonathan Vilma – and no one else – would you not say that our draft exceeded all expectations going into the off-season? That would mean three potential pro-Bowlers added to our defense. These are not the role players like Jon Stinchcomb, Devery Henderson, or Josh Bullocks that we usually pick up in the second round. Nor are they the busts, like Alfred Fincher or Cie Grant, that we draft in the third round. These guys are future Pro-Bowlers. It’s time for Mickey to admit, “Hey, I’m just not that good at drafting players, BUT I have been effective in putting together some pretty sweet trades.”

Loomis has already proven adept at hoodwinking the Eagles. In the 2006 draft, the Saints traded down 9 spots in the 4th round (from pick 99 to pick 108), acquired Hollis Thomas from Philly, and still drafted Jahri Evans with the Eagles’ pick. That trade is Vick-for-Tomlinson-esque – well maybe not quite that extreme, but impressive nonetheless. The newest target for highway robbery is Lito Sheppard, a 27 year-old former Pro-Bowl cornerback, who became expendable to the Eagles when they signed Asante Samuel to a 6 year, $57 million contract. Sheppard has fallen from grace because he is somewhat injury prone and is not content with his current contract. Certainly, his injury history and his contract are two issues the Saints would have to deal with; but in actuality, given the current composition of our team, we have very little choice in the matter.

As of now, our team has nothing even closely resembling a true number-one corner. Before his injury, Mike McKenzie was that number-one guy and was, other than Colston, the only player on our roster who deserved to make the Pro Bowl. We realized just how valuable McKenzie was after he went down in the Eagles game. No longer could the safeties help out only on Jason David’s side. They were forced to – hold onto your seat now – man the entire field. Imagine that. And then we really saw how pathetically inept our secondary is. I watched Donovan McNabb dissect our defense as if he were Joe Montana on “The Drive.” In week 16, when we were still in playoff contention, this was undoubtedly a low point of the season.

I still have high hopes for McKenzie’s successful return, but he tore his ACL in the second-to-last game of the season. At what point of this season, if any, will he be healthy enough to run with Steve Smith? I am not willing to stake my season on the recovery of McKenzie’s 31-year old knee. And I know for a certainty that no other corner on our team can play nearly as well as Mike did last year – when we still had serious problems in the secondary. So, you say, why not draft a corner? Admittedly, there are some intriguing cornerback prospects out there, but no rookie corner can enter this league and thrive when placed on an island all game in Gary Gibbs’ defense. It simply does not happen.

The solution? Trade for Lito Sheppard. We missed out on a number-one corner in free agency when we lost the Asante Samuel sweepstakes. The only other guy out there who is somewhat available (and I don’t even want to consider Pac Man) and who can match up with a number-one receiver is Lito Sheppard. I initially said that we can probably acquire Sheppard by flip-flopping 2nd round picks with the Eagles and giving up a 4th rounder. I think that is still a possibility, but only if the Eagles are as eager to move him as the Raiders were eager to move Randy Moss last year. Given the tandem that Samuel and Sheppard would make, I doubt that they are.

On the other hand, I do think that the Saints are, or at least should be, desperate to land Sheppard, as he would immediately upgrade the Saints secondary and provide a presence as a number-one corner that the Saints cannot fill through any other means. With two interception returns of over 100 yards each and 17 career interceptions, Sheppard also brings some big play ability that our defense sorely lacks. Although he is injury prone, he is still young at 27 and might still have some of his best years ahead of him. Remember, McKenzie was also 27 when we traded for him, and he has worked out very well for us.

Trading for Sheppard also means that we will not have to rush McKenzie back before he is 100%. When Mike does return near the middle to the end of the season, we will have two fringe Pro-Bowlers in our secondary to lead our defense into the playoffs and to (finally!) shut down the big play on both sides of the field.

So, Mickey, if you have to completely give up that second round pick (or throw in one of our many wide receivers, ahem, Devery) to get a guy we desperately need, the Black and Gold faithful would not fault you. With the additions of Ellis, Sheppard, and Vilma, I may just go ahead and book that flight to Tampa for late January.