On 1970-10-10, Los Angeles Rams received 1971 seventeenth…
On 1970-10-10, Los Angeles Rams received 1971 seventeenth round pick (#418-Randy Vataha), while New Orleans Saints received Elijah Pitts. The final verdict is New Orleans Saints Win, with Los Angeles Rams graded C+ and New Orleans Saints graded B. The hindsight view follows the documented consideration and later traceable value without treating every named pick outcome as if it had been directly exchanged on trade day. Both sides have identifiable consideration, allowing the hindsight grade to focus on what those assets actually became.
Los Angeles Rams Received
- pick 1971 seventeenth round pick (#418-Randy Vataha)
New Orleans Saints Received
- player Elijah Pitts
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
On 1970-10-10, Los Angeles Rams received 1971 seventeenth round pick (#418-Randy Vataha), while New Orleans Saints received Elijah Pitts. That documented package is the starting point for the hindsight judgment. When a draft choice later became a named player, the later identity is useful context, but it is still treated as the outcome of the acquired pick rather than as a player who was directly exchanged on trade day.
Los Angeles Rams Return
Los Angeles Rams's return was 1971 seventeenth round pick (#418-Randy Vataha). The side is graded C+. The grade reflects the value that can actually be traced to the acquired consideration, not the apparent size of the package when the transaction occurred. The identified consideration provides a concrete basis for comparing this side with the return received by the other club.
New Orleans Saints Return
New Orleans Saints's return was Elijah Pitts. The side is graded B. The same standard applies here: a recognizable player, a later draft name, or an extra line item matters only when it produced supportable value for the acquiring club. That keeps the comparison consistent across eras and prevents hindsight from giving either side credit for value it never actually received.
Value in Hindsight
The documented outcomes create enough separation to support New Orleans Saints Win, but the grade spread remains proportional to the scale of the exchange rather than overstating a minor transaction. Because the consideration is identifiable on both sides, the comparison can stay centered on the later value attached to those specific assets. The purpose of the grade is to distinguish real football value without pretending that thin historical detail is more precise than it is. For older and lower-stakes trades especially, modest grades can still represent a useful transaction when neither return became a major franchise-changing asset.
Final Verdict
The final call is New Orleans Saints Win. Los Angeles Rams receives C+, and New Orleans Saints receives B. The judgment follows the documented package, traceable downstream outcomes, and the certainty of each piece of consideration. Where the historical trail stops, the analysis stops with it rather than filling the gap with an unsupported assumption.