Wide receiver is by far the teams biggest question mark for fans going into training camp. Greg Jennings visited before the draft but wound up signing with the Dolphins. The team didn’t draft one either, passing on Devante Parker to select Andrus Peat. While there is room for concern, the worry surrounding the position is perhaps overblown, and here’s why.
- Teams usually only have 4 receivers active on game day.
Some fans can lose sleep over who will fill the 5th wide receiver spot, but that receiver usually isn’t active on game days unless he happens to be a return specialist. Even the 4th wide receiver receives minimal snaps and even less targets. Last year the top 3 wide receivers in receptions were Colston (59), Cooks (53) and Stills (63). The next closet receiver was Toon with 17 receptions. Cooks would have been even more productive if not for the thumb injury that ended his season. Of course the team traded away their top receiving target in Jimmy Graham for center Max Unger, which brings me to my next point.
- The team won’t be passing as much.
They might not be running as much as the Seahawks or the Niners, but the commitment to running the ball is real. There was commitment last year, but it wasn’t always working because of deficiencies in the interior line. That looks to be remedied with the addition of Unger. The offensive line played it’s best games last year when Tim Lelito started at center, and Unger is head and shoulders better than Lelito, who will move back to his more natural position at left guard. This should have a stabling effect down the line. The team invested heavily in their backfield this off-season by signing Mark Ingram and snatching up the versatile C.J. Spiller. There’s also going to be a battle at the right tackle position, and whoever loses out will be too valuable just to sit on the bench. We should see a lot of heavy sets with an extra lineman.
- The ball will be spread around more.
Anyone who’s watched the Saints since 2011 knows that the offense was increasingly running through Jimmy Graham. At times it was unstoppable, but some teams had the players to rough Jimmy off the line and down the field, and the offense would often sputter. This was especially problematic last year because the team no longer had Darren Sproles. Sproles was Drew’s safety valve who was a mismatch coming out of the backfield. He was moved around pre-snap to give Brees information about what coverage their opponent was in. C.J. Spiller fills that role perfectly and could even surpass Sproles. That combined with increased targets to Ben Watson and Josh Hill should go a good ways in replacing the production of Jimmy Graham. I don’t expect the offense to be as prolific in years past but that’s not due to a lack of ability. I think Payton wants to help his defense out and have more methodical drives; to play complimentary football. Running the football and being unpredictable with targets will help them to achieve just that.
- The team has faith in the guys they have.
Coach Payton has been uncharacteristically candid this off-season. The man says nothing without thinking about it exhaustively. He could be speaking to his team thru the media, sending them messages good and bad. In the flurry of trades, Payton made the statement that the team doesn’t trade away a player unless they have someone to replace them, or else you’re just getting worse and not better as a team. While they did explore bringing in other players and added veteran Josh Morgan, the team did not go to any great lengths to bolster the position in the draft or free agency. They had the opportunity, which tells me they have confidence in what they have in house.
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