Packers: Draft pick from Saints will be no higher than 30th overall

The New Orleans Saints’ victory in the divisional round is bad news for the Green Bay Packers’ draft position.

With the Saints’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s divisional round contest, the Green Bay Packers will now pick later in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Green Bay’s 6-9-1 record ensures it will own the 12th overall pick this April, but the team will also receive New Orleans’ first-round selection following a draft-day trade in last year’s draft.

The Saints will host the NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.

The teams that lose on Championship Weekend will pick 29th and 30th in the first round. The team with the better record picks later. In this case, it’ll be the Saints. New Orleans’ 13-3 regular season record is a league-high, which means the pick sent to Green Bay can be no higher than 30th overall.

Of course, the worst-case scenario is that the Saints go all the way and win the Super Bowl, which would mean the Packers pick 32nd. But as it’s a bonus first-rounder, it’s not a huge problem. It’s still a first-round pick and Green Bay will already be picking inside the top-12.

What this additional first-rounder gives general manager Brian Gutekunst is flexibility. He could look to trade both first-round picks in order to move up, or do the opposite and trade out of the first round to add more picks in the middle rounds.

And if Gutekunst doesn’t make a trade, that’s fine too. The Packers will pick twice in the opening round.

While it would’ve been great if the Saints had missed the playoffs and sent the Packers a high draft pick, that was never the expectation.

The 30th overall pick is the best we can hope for now. For that reason, cheer on the LA Rams next Sunday.