The Adam Trautman trade on draft day might have come as a surprise to many, but not the Saints TE himself.
Unhappy with his role in the offense, he had asked for the trade, according to a report from 9News.com in Denver.
“I feel like I was placed somewhat in a box,’’ Trautman said in the report. “They put a limit on what I could contribute and I felt like I could contribute a lot more. I was primarily used as a blocker. I thought I could do more and I didn’t want to get to the end of my career and think I could have done it, caught the ball a little more."
It's not an unfair assessment of the situation from Trautman, who was drafted in the third round in 2020 but never had a role that matched that draft status as he entered the final year of his rookie deal. Trautman appeared in 15 games during his rookie season, but was only used sparingly as a pass-catcher behind Jared Cook in the lead TE role. He caught 15 of his 16 targets for 171 yards and a touchdown.
His usage expanded in 2021 even with multiple games lost due to injuries, catching 27 passes on 43 targets for 263 yards and 2 TDs. Those targets also included four drops.
That was the final season for Sean Payton with the Saints, and it also saw the conversion of Juwan Johnson from WR to TE. Johnson's usage only increased in 2022, and that appeared to limit Trautman's opportunities in the passing game. Primarily used as a blocker, he saw only 22 targets over 15 games, catching 18 of them for 207 yards and a touchdown. The Saints signed the UDFA Johnson to a 2-year, $12 million extension early in the offseason.
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“Whatever the case was, the [Saints] just didn’t let me do it," Trautman said of being involved more as a pass-catcher. "I want a chance to prove I can do it because I believe I can and I have in the past."
Ultimately the Saints decided to ship Trautman to the Denver Broncos along with the No. 257 overall selection in the 2023 draft in exchange for the No. 195 pick. Trautman now joins a TE room in Denver headlined by second-year pro Greg Dulcich, though it's unknown how dedicated Payton will be to his predecessor's depth chart at the position. Former Saint Chris Manhertz and Albert Okwuegbunam are the others at the position. Trautman also joins former teammates Marquez Callaway, Jordan Jackson, Michael Burton, Tony Jones Jr. and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, all of whom have joined Denver this offseason. He'll also rejoin Declan Doyle, who was hired away from the Saints this offseason and will serve as the TE coach on Payton's staff.
The trade marks a fitting bookend for Trautman's departure, considering he was drafted out of Dayton with a pick acquired by trading the remainder of that year's picks (130, 169, 203 and 244).
The Saints used that 6th round selection to bring in A.T. Perry, a highly productive receiver out of Wake Forest who stands at 6-3 and adds a much-needed bit of size to the WR room.
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"I think we feel good about where we're at at [the TE] position," head coach Dennis Allen said after the draft. "There was a player on the board in A.T. Perry that we'd been kind of paying attention to and kind of kept falling to us, and there was a point in the draft where we felt like we wanted to go up and try to acquire the player. And sometimes when you're moving up to get a guy, you've got to give something up."
The trade reunites Trautman with Payton, who was also traded to Denver this offseason, but does leave the Saints thin at TE behind Johnson after not adding to the position during a TE heavy draft. Taysom Hill, Lucas Krull, Miller Forristall and UDFA Joel Wilson are the only others listed on the current roster.
One wild card could be Foster Moreau, who appeared nearing a deal with the Saints until his physical with the team uncovered a cancer diagnosis. The New Orleans native and former LSU standout has stepped away from the NFL as he battles the disease, but is hopeful to return down the road. It's likely he or another veteran name is brought in at some point to bolster that unit.
"We're still going to evaluate the tight end position," Allen said, "and so, obviously [Moreau is] a guy that's out there and available in terms of a veteran tight end. ... We'll evaluate where we're at on the roster and see what we need to do."
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Click here for the full report from 9News.