The Saints have released a statement about today’s trade:
The New Orleans Saints announced today that they have acquired CB Eli Apple from the New York Giants in exchange for a 2019 fourth round draft choice and a seventh round draft choice in 2020, pending the completion of Apple’s physical. The announcement was made by Saints’ Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
Apple, 6-1, 203 pounds, is a three-year NFL veteran who was originally selected in the first round (tenth overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State by the Giants.
Since entering the NFL in 2016, Apple has appeared in 30 regular season games with 23 starts recording 120 tackles (102 solo), one interception, 20 passes defensed, one forced fumble and five fumble recoveries, as well as two stops and one fumble recovery on special teams.
As a rookie in 2016, Apple played a key role as the Giants returned to the postseason for the first time since 2011, playing in 14 games with 11 starts and posting 49 tackles (41 solo), seven passes defensed, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one interception. In 2018, Apple has started all five games he’s played in, recording 22 tackles (20 solo), five passes defensed and making a fumble recovery this past Monday night at Atlanta.
The Voorhees, N.J. native came to the Giants after playing in 28 games with 27 starts for the Buckeyes from 2014-15. He finished his college career with 86 tackles (56 solo), including 7.5 stops for losses, picked off four passes and added 22 passes defensed. In 2015, he was named second-team All-Big Ten by the league’s coaches after he started all 13 games and had 33 tackles (23 solo), including two for losses, one pick and nine passes defensed. In Ohio State’s national championship season in 2014, Apple was a freshman All-American as he played in 15 games with 14 starts and finished with 53 stops, including 5.5 for loss, three interceptions, including one in the College Football Playoff national championship game vs. Oregon and 13 passes defensed. At Ohio State, Apple was a college teammate of Saints S Vonn Bell, CB Marshon Lattimore and WR Michael Thomas.
Here’s the original story:
The New Orleans Saints are making an upgrade to their defensive backfield.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Saints are acquiring New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple via trade. According to Schefter, the Saints will send a 2019 4th-round draft pick and a 2020 7th-round draft pick to the Giants in exchange for Apple.
Giants trading Eli Apple to the Saints, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 23, 2018
Saints traded a 4th-round pick in 2019 and a 7th in 2020 for former Giants’ CB Eli Apple, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 23, 2018
Apple, who was drafted 10th overall out of Ohio State by the Giants in 2016, has one interception, two forced fumbles, 20 deflections, and 123 total tackles in his career. The trade puts Apple in the same backfield as his former college teammates Marshon Lattimore and Vonn Bell. All three were on the roster during Ohio State’s 2014 national championship season.
