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Grading the Chauncey Garder-Johnson trade

jakrajalAugust 31, 20221 Mins read159

Breaking down the Chauncey Gardner-Johnson trade

By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints shockingly (to say the least) traded the versatile and ultra-competitive safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and a seventh-round pick in 2023 to the Philadelphia Eagles for their 2023 fifth-round pick and the worse of their sixth-round pick in 2024. CGJ was undoubtedly a menace for Who Dat Nation last season by registering 3 interceptions, 7 pass deflections, 2 sacks, and 4 tackles for loss in 2021. I’m quite confident that his most impressive moment in a Black and Gold uniform was his interception against Tom Brady in Week 15 last season. With that said, I’m going to simply unveil the grades for each team after the trade.

Eagles new DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson might be built for Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/1XAqRRgmP1
— Barstool Philly (@BarstoolPhilly) August 31, 2022

Saints grade: C-

I wish Ricky Gervais could roast Mickey Loomis and the Saints for at least 10 minutes after that decision. The Saints are competing for the Super Bowl in 2022 and they shipped away one of their top DBs – who was having a potent off-season. I understand that they brought in Tyrann Mathieu and even Marcus Maye, who was the NY Jets most valuable player in 2020. However, CGJ could excel from many spots and he could potentially be a star long-term at the safety spot – as he is five years younger than Maye. If the Saints wanted to move on from him, I would rather have seen them do so at or near the trade deadline.

New chapter in my life #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/oC3rydwfh8
— C.J. Gardner-Johnson (@CGJXXIII) August 31, 2022

Eagles grade: B+

I’m sure that Eagles fans want Howie Roseman on the cover of Time Magazine in 2023 after the Eagles off-season. Philly acquired the gifted wideout A.J. Brown, made a bold and witty trade in the draft for Jordan Davis, made a sneaky late-signing in James Bradberry, and then found a way to reel in CGJ. I love the direction of the Eagles defense with Fletcher Cox, Davis, a healthy Brandon Graham, the new edge rusher Haason Reddick, the top-tier CB Darius Slay, and of course: CGJ. The Eagles aren’t planning to just win the NFC East in 2022 – as they clearly have their sights set on winning Super Bowl 57.

Let’s not forget that the Saints and Eagles will square off on January 1st of 2023, too.