New Orleans acquired offensive tackle Sam Walton from the New…
New Orleans acquired offensive tackle Sam Walton from the New York Jets on May 4, 1970 for a future draft choice. Contemporary Associated Press reporting confirms the Saints surrendered one draft choice, while the surviving transaction ledger does not identify its round or selection. Walton was waived before the regular season and never appeared in a Saints game.
New Orleans Saints Received
- player Sam Walton
New York Jets Received
- pick future draft choice (round, selection and conveyance not identified)
Trade Analysis
The May 1970 Sam Walton transaction is real, but the legacy TradeVerdicts row overstated the compensation by listing two versions of what was one draft asset. Pro Sports Transactions records the May 4 deal as New Orleans acquiring Walton from the Jets for a draft pick whose round and selection are unknown. A contemporary Associated Press report published by the Daily Iowan two days later independently says the Saints traded away a draft choice to secure Walton from New York. Those sources support a single future draft asset, not two separate picks. Walton had meaningful prior value. New York selected him in the third round of the 1968 draft, and Pro Football Reference records him starting all 14 regular-season games at right tackle during the Jets' Super Bowl III season. He appeared in six games and started five more in 1969. New Orleans therefore acquired a tackle with championship-season starting experience, not merely a camp prospect. The Saints never received regular-season production from the move. Pro Sports Transactions records Walton being waived before the 1970 season, and his NFL career log contains no New Orleans regular-season appearance. He returned to the league with Houston in 1971, starting 13 games for the Oilers, which shows that his career continued even though the Saints did not retain him. The Jets' realized return cannot be graded precisely because the public transaction ledger does not identify the draft round, selection or downstream player. Later biographical accounts describe the draft consideration as contingent on Walton making the Saints, which raises an additional uncertainty about whether the choice was ultimately conveyed after his release. TradeVerdicts therefore does not invent a selection or credit New York with a specific draftee. With zero Saints regular-season games and an unresolved Jets draft outcome, the source-safe treatment is an Even Trade with C grades. Confidence is medium: the player movement and one-pick structure are well documented, while the final draft disposition remains unresolved.