Offense 

This Saints team has changed quite a bit from last season with everything from surprise retirements, a new coaching staff, interesting draft picks, and well to be honest quite a bit of dysfunction throughout the past season and offseason. 

I think the main talking point has to be the QB position and what they’ve lost with Derek Carr retiring and the new addition of Tyler Shough (Louisville) in the 2nd Round. While Carr was far from perfect last year and certainly wasn’t going to be a long term answer here he did provide them with a certain base level of play, when he was on the field that is, that they just don’t have in room anymore. I like Shough and I thought he was one of the more ready to play guys coming out this past draft but throwing a guy right into the fire with a middling at best roster in my eyes is certainly not ideal. Shough has a fire to him and pairing him with new HC Kellen Moore will certainly help him find success earlier than I think some expect but I don’t know that this roster is ready to support a young QB which may lead to Shough taking more hits to his already beat up body (suffered a broken collarbone twice 21’-22’ and a broken fibula 23’). I like the pick and I think he could be at least a bridge type QB moving forward for them but having no real option aside from him to start (Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener backups) is worrisome to me.

To be honest as I look over this roster on the offensive side of the ball the only unit I feel that has a chance at being above league average is this OL group and even they have a huge question mark that makes me hesitant to even say that. The Kelvin Banks Jr (Texas) pick was one that I loved from this draft and although I thought he projected better as a G at the NFL level having Banks Jr and Taliese Fuaga as your starting Ts looks to be one of the more promising T duos in the league moving forward. With that pick and shifting of the line comes with a question though and that question revolves around Trevor Penning and his projection at G. Penning was dreadful at LT his first two years in the league for the Saints but last year he seemed to find his footing at RT and while he’s wasn’t a pro bowler nor did he live up to that 1st Round price tag they spent on him 3 years ago he was solid for them and certainly better than he was in his first couple seasons on the left side of the line. As he makes this move to G I’m hesitant to say it’ll be a positive one just from the simple standpoint of the amount of movement he’s had positionally throughout his young career. I would have personally let him settle in at RT and play Banks Jr as a G but I understand that Penning may not be long in New Orleans so why mess with Banks’ positioning through his first couple years as well. With that all being said you have another question mark at G in my opinion with Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz overall is fine at G and has his flashes of being something really special for this team but the lack of consistency in his game, especially in pass protection, is worrisome and gives me pause to this starting five really having something special despite having a rock at C in Erik McCoy and two promising young Ts to go along with him. I like the group and they surprisingly for a Saints team even have some depth that I like with Will Clapp, Dillon Radunz, Landon Young, and Nick Saldiveri who may not be great depth but comparatively to the last few seasons and the rest of this roster it’s certainly serviceable. Overall it’s a solid unit but the two G spots worry me and if even one of them is consistently struggling this whole line will have issues.

As far as the “weapons” of this offense go there’s some bright spots but overall it’s lacking quality talent to fill out the gaps in it. Chris Olave is absolutely a number one WR in the league and deserves to be so on this team but he struggles with injuries and when he’s not out there this passing game looks well… bleak. While guys like Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson, and Foster Moreau are solid players they aren’t guys that give you a real option to replace what Olave does for you which once again highlights the lack of depth this team has had across the board for years now and adding Brandin Cooks at 31 years old doesn’t change that for me either. Cooks while he’s been phenomenal throughout his career and deserves his respect he looked like he struggled with knee injuries last season and even when he was out there didn’t look the same as he once did for the Cowboys. The same can be said for the RB position as well. Alvin Kamara is absolutely awesome but has struggled with injuries and when he’s not apart of this offense Kendre Miller and Clyde Edwards-Helaire are not guys that are going to step up and take his place nor do I think the rookie Devin Neal (Kansas) is going to either, as much as I liked him coming out of the draft. This team, while not as much as last year, is very dependent on the health of their top guys and even when they’re out there isn’t a spectacular group to support their rookie QB. 

Defense 

This Saints defense is very interesting as they’ve kept vets like Cam Jordan, Demario Davis, and Tyrann Mathieu around while also adding a number of players through the draft like Jonas Sanker (Virginia), Quincy Riley (Louisville), Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma), Fadil Diggs (Syracuse), and Vernon Broughton (Texas). Adding youth and in turn to a defense that desperately needed was the best thing that this team did all offseason in my opinion. While this team does need some high end talent to really make this defense something special the lack of depth and solid players behind their front line starters has wrecked their seasons year after year for awhile now and while adding/keeping guys like Davon Godchaux, Justin Reid, and Chase Young were also important moves having a draft full of middle/late round picks that look to be adequate to solid players was just as important in my opinion. With that being said there’s still holes along the defense and it’ll be up to some of these young guys to step up and fill those roles seamlessly. 

Starting along this front seven, which should be the stronger group of their defense, it will be interesting to see if any of these younger players can finally take the next step under new coaching with DC Brandon Staley. Guys like Carl Granderson, Bryan Breese, Isaiah Foskey, and Pete Werner have all had solid careers so far, some being better than others but none of them have stepped into being that true game changer for this team. Breese in my opinion has the best chance at that from what I’ve seen on film but I wouldn’t be surprised if Pete Werner put it all together opposite of the ageless wonder Demario Davis either. This team actually has depth up front for a change and while that’s great they need someone to step into a more dominant role game to game as vets like Cam Jordan and Demario Davis begin to age out. If it’s not one of those guys I just don’t see their rookies (Diggs, Broughton, and Stutsman) having that big of impact as I view them more as solid depth pieces and possible starters down the road. 

As for the secondary losing Paulson Adebo to the Giants certainly hurt as they are now looking at starting Isaac Yiadom opposite of Kool-Aid McKinstry who has questions of his to answer this coming year. McKinstry is a talented CB that they took in last years draft and someone that think has a chance at being a really nice piece for them but as of now that’s a wait and see as he showed flashes in his rookie season but not spectacular play where I can lock him in as a solid starter out there. My biggest problem is outside of Quincy Riley, who I view as more of a slot defender, they don’t have any competition for Yiadom who is a serviceable depth piece but not someone I trust being a starter going into the year. While Riley can play outside and I think he’s got a shot to earn that spot on this roster I’d prefer him to be a developmental piece for them but due to the state of this roster that may not be possible. Not to mention they have Alontae Taylor in the slot already who struggled in coverage throughout last season but really became a big physical player that was really effective in the run and blitz game out of the slot for them. It’s a fine CB room but unless they get someone to really take that next step along the DL I could see this group getting picked on by passing games. The one plus is they have a really solid S room behind these guys that should allow them to limit big plays and also help the run  quite a bit considering how well Justin Reid and Tyrann Mathieu have played in that regard throughout their respective careers. The depth here is also great with Jonas Sanker who should be able to drop into the box and play around the LOS for them immediately and a solid backup/depth option in Jordan Howden who may not be anything special but is serviceable out there.

Overview 

• This Saints team while being in overall better shape than last season just lacks any type of high level talent or game changers along the roster. You pair that with the fact they’re starting a rookie QB and have a first time HC in Kellen. Ore at the helm and I just don’t see a world where they’re all that competitive next season. Their defense looks really solid vs the run but I see areas you can attack in the secondary not to mention they lack any type of high end pass rusher and their offense has some potential for explosive plays lacks depth and overall talent that will in turn limit what they’re able to due on a week to week basis. I don’t believe they’ll be flat out bad and I do like their chances at being more competitive game to game than last season but there’s a lot of unknowns amongst not only the roster but the coaching staff as well which concerns me for what they’ll be able to accomplish in year one with this regime. This organization is clearly in rebuild mode and it’ll most likely be a year or two before they’re back fighting for this division and that’s if everything were to go right for them.