Shockey Traded to Saints

It seems that the value for a a 4+ Pro Bowl veteran is a 2nd round pick and a late round pick, as the Saints gave up a 2 and a 5 for Jeremy Shockey (Jason Taylor went for a 2nd and a 6th).

What kind of an impact will Shockey have on the Saints offense? Let's look at his numbers from the last 3 years:

Year	Catches	Yards	TDs
2005	65	891	7
2006	66	623	7
2007	57	619	3

"But William," you ask, "what about Shockey's 70+ catch years?" Actually, there was only one, his rookie year, 2002, when he had 74. Other than that, he has been a very consistent 65 catch a year guy.

Now, let's look at what Drew Brees has done with his tight ends:

Year	Team	Catches	Yards	TDs
2004	SD	91	1044	15
2005	SD	100	1139	11
2006	NO	44	394	1
2007	NO	76	710	4

The first two years were with Antonio Gates as the primary tight end, 2006 was with Mark Campbell as the primary tight end, and 2007 was with Eric Johnson as the primary tight end. Now, Shockey is no Antonio Gates, but he is much better than Cambell or Johnson, so I would expect the tight ends on the Saints to catch 85-90 balls this year. If you figure that Johnson and Billy Miller will combine for 20-25 catches, then Shockey should get about... 65 catches. Let the guys that think he will suddenly become an 80 catch tight end take him.