Fox Sports broke the news earlier today, and WWL’s Juan Kincaid confirmed it this afternoon, that the Saints have traded their 2009 picks in the 2nd and 5th rounds of the draft to the New York Giants for tight end Jeremy Shockey. The disgruntled TE became expendable for the Giants when their 2007 5th round pick, Kevin Boss, emerged after Shockey broke his leg in December. Shockey was put off when the team didn’t allow him on their sideline during their Super Bowl win in February, and had made it clear that he wanted a trade to New Orleans, where he could be reunited with former offensive coordinator Sean Payton, who coached with the Giants in Shockey’s 2002 rookie season.

Our early take on this trade? It makes the Saints offense, already one of the best in the league, even better by adding a tight end who can both consistently catch the ball and efficently block for the run–qualities the Saints did have already, albeit in different players (Eric Johnson has the potential to be a game-breaking pass catcher, Billy Miller has flashed receiving ability in big spots and Mark Campbell is the run-blocker the Saints sorely missed after he was hurt in ‘07). The Saints now have a starting-quality tight end that can play all four downs instead of substituting TEs in and perhaps giving away the next play. We haven’t had a TE this dynamic since Wesley Walls.

Now, the question is, “How many Shockey jerseys will be in the Superdome on opening day?”