Atlanta Falcons former rival traded to Philly in surprise deal

When the Atlanta Falcons kick off week one against the Saints a number of familiar faces won’t be standing on the sidelines for both sides including the recent New Orleans trade that sends Chauncy Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles. Many fans will remember Gardner-Johnson as the Saints player who punched and kicked the Atlanta logo and was a constant thorn in former Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan’s side. He made life hard in the secondary and not one Atlanta fans is sad to see Chauncey leave the division.

What makes a great trade for Atlanta even better is how terrible the return was to New Orleans for such a high-impact player. The Saints received a 5th and 6th round pick in exchange for a 7th and the defensive back.  A team that had been making moves to win this season suddenly parted ways with one of their better defensive pieces for what equates to receiving two lottery tickets in late-round draft picks.

The Saints clearly lost this deal and anytime the Saints lose Atlanta is happy. Not having Gardner-Johnson to help slow down Patterson, London, and Pitts in week one is a huge development that gives the Falcons a slight boost ahead of the week one matchup.

While the Saints’ defense is still a solid unit on paper the Falcons have the offensive skill players to match up and make life difficult for New Orleans.  Gardner-Johnson will be a player that perfectly fits with an Eagles team that looks poised to take a huge leap forward this season. The only question for that roster is how far can quarterback Jalen Hurts take them?

The Saints losing Gardner-Johnson isn’t impactful enough to take them out of wildcard consideration but it is a step back for a defense that is going to have to carry Jameis Winston this season.