While there seem to be a lot of ‘holes’ on the Saints team right now I honestly think they need somewhere between 3-5 solid new additions in the offseason to really be able to make some noise next year. To me, the real question isn’t how many players they need, it’s what players (and positions) should be the highest priority and where should we get them. Some positions are better taken from free agency while others you can just take the best guy you can find. Before the team makes a decision on where it wants to go with a particular position though, they have to figure out exactly what kind of players they are looking for to fill their holes. Let us take a look at the general ‘blueprint’ for the kind of player I think the Saints are going to want at each position.
OFFENSIVE LINE:
The offensive line was definitely a weakness last year. Some of it comes down to injuries, some to age, and maybe some of it had to do with playing some very good interior defensive lineman. Whatever the reasons were it is clear that this is a position that the Saints need to improve at. In my opinion one of the Saints guards is going to (and needs to be) released to give the team cap relief as well as to bring in a younger player with a higher ceiling. I am personally of the theory that the Saints will NOT go offensive line early in the draft unless the value at the pick is too extreme to ignore. I think it’s much more likely they plug either Lelito or Kelemete into the guard position and go get a Center in FA. It is also entirely possible that they are as high on Kelemete as me and Andrew seem to be and decide to make a run at a FA center (Hudson could be a great pickup) and decide to have Lelito as a swingman to backup both positions (my preferred option). If they go that route it is almost a certainty that they will try to get a Tackle at some point in the mid to late rounds of the Draft, and preferably someone who can play both sides and can replace Harris as the backup.
DEFENSIVE LINE:
The Saints poor play in this area last season exacerbated all of their other defensive issues in my opinion and it is a must fix. The upcoming Draft has a few good defensive lineman that very well may be available to the Saints in the first couple of rounds, and if they can find a guy who is able to get consistent ‘push’ against the pocket without being a liability against the run… get him. Ideally they will pick-up a mid-level FA to fill this hole as well so that they don’t have to pin all of their defensive hopes on a rookie. Suh would obviously be the ideal player here, but they have no financial shot of affording him. There are some other D-line guys who may be available in FA who the Saints could take a swing at though and with the rotation they currently have in place, one more quality player (preferably a consistent one) could help push this unit to the top.
WIDE RECEIVER:
There is almost zero chance the Saints go after anyone in FA at this position and it is highly unlikely they go after it in the draft either. However, we all know how much Sean loves his toys and if there is a player who possesses size, speed, and great hands there is a chance they go after him. Colston isn’t getting younger and even if he restructures and comes back the Saints will need someone who can play the middle of the field. That is why I won’t entirely rule this position out.
TIGHT END:
This one I will rule out for FA. There isn’t a FA tight end this year who is a better fit for the team than Hill already is, and we already have our high priced star in Jimmy. If a quality player was available in say the 4th round I could see Sean taking a flyer on him if many of our other needs have already been filled, but barring that… no chance.
CORNER:
The Saints haven’t had a ton of luck drafting corners and have seemed to prefer bringing in young mid-level free agents who will fit their price range but still be competent (Keenan and Jabari for example). I highly doubt the Saints go Corner in the first round, and it would also be unlikely to me in the Second unless there was a steal there. However, I would actually be very surprised if the Saints don’t at least bring in a few Corners with good size and cover skills to at least try and sign them. Corner is one of the positions with a pretty big learning curve and the Saints seem to prefer guys who have already proven they can play. With that in mind keep a close eye on the FA Corner market come March.
SAFETY:
Were good guys… and yea that’s really all i have to say on it. We have plenty of safeties and plenty who can play. No need to reach here.
QUARTERBACK:
The best QB available in FA is Hoyer, and I’m pretty sure Canfield was better than him… so we aren’t even going to consider that. There are however a few guys in this draft who if they are available at the right spot I would definitely consider if I were SP. To me there are two types of quarterbacks we will look at; guys who play like Drew (great technique and highly accurate and intelligent) and guys ‘with all the tools’ (Newton or Kaepernick type who have potential but are very raw). I will look closer into them later once I have educated myself on their games, but to me the two names to watch are Hundley and Petty in the draft. If either guy is available at the right spot I wouldn’t be surprised if SP pulls the trigger on them. Barring that scenario though I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays with Griffin.
RUNNINGBACK:
Adrian Peterson isn’t walking through that door and taking 4 mil a year…so you can say goodbye to any dreams of a free agent running back signing. On the other hand if Ingram walks (I think he will get a better offer), then expect the Saints to look for a back in the middle rounds. This is actually a decent year for backs and there are a couple guys that if they are there in the 2nd round…we should take them. It is more likely however that we get our guy in the later rounds or as an UDFA as usual.
LINEBACKER:
The Saints NEED at least two of these guys and it doens’t matter where they get them from. They need a true OLB who can rush the passer, but can also play the position (that means the linebacker part of it which Gallete definitely cannot). They also need a playmaking athletic inside linebacker who can fly around and create havoc for opposing offenses. A player like that would allow Lofton to do what he does best and would create some matchup problems for the opponents. The good thing for the Saints is there are probably a dozen guys who at least could meet that criteria who will be there within the first two rounds. There are a couple decent options in free agency as well, but personally I would much prefer to bring in a couple of highly athletic linebackers and for us to have them to develop and through their primes. There are only 2 linebackers who might be available that I might say i actually would prefer to get (both were Cowboys last year), and with such slim pickings at the position I believe the Draft will be the way to go. It doesn’t really matter WHERE we get them though…just so long as we get some guys who can actually make a difference.
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