Biggest Needs Post Draft (1 Viewer)

[HogsNSaints]

In before WR post.

Well it’s a need so I’d think it would warrant a post.

 

[tjharris]

A 3rd OT is our biggest need. Maybe he's on the roster and us fans don't realize it yet.
DT/DE depth is always something you want. I'd love to have 4 guys, who can get to the QB, to rotate in when the starters get winded but that luxury is usually reserved for college teams.

 

[TribuneUK]

Well it’s a need so I’d think it would warrant a post.

Perspective is everything. We all have differing opinions, some are mutable and open to discussion, others less so.

I know that on this forum at any given time, for all the years I have visited it, there will be several concurrent threads at any given moment of the following varieties:

We need a WR
We need more deep threats at WR
We need a slot WR
We need a possession WR
We should trade for (this) receiver
(This) Saints WR needs to be upgraded
(This) Saints WR dropped a pass last night, he would be gone
We didn't win last night, clearly it's because we need another WR
Hey, maybe we should trade for this untradable WR
... And so on.

These are often seasonal, e.g. at mini camp time, every WR is a beast and we are going to be 'unstoppable' (ugh). Then after the first preseason loss, our WR suck and urgent action is again needed.

Free agency and draft period is like a hyperactive microcosm of WR posting frenzy:

We should sign (this) FA WR
Why haven't we signed this WR yet?
Why haven't we traded for this WR yet?
We should draft this WR
No, we should draft this WR
We should draft several WR from the following list
We should draft this WR in round 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 - and each time 'I can't believe he hasn't been drafted yet'
Why didn't we draft this WR?
We should have drafted this WR instead of that guy
We should sign these UDFA WRs
And...
Why didn't we sign these UDFA WRs

Eventually we then cycle back to the bounteous optimism stage, where every WR is going to break the rookie record for catches, touchdowns and yards.

Yes, I love it all. With a passion

 

[HogsNSaints]

Perspective is everything. We all have differing opinions, some are mutable and open to discussion, others less so.

I know that on this forum at any given time, for all the years I have visited it, there will be several concurrent threads at any given moment of the following varieties:

We need a WR
We need more deep threats at WR
We need a slot WR
We need a possession WR
We should trade for (this) receiver
(This) Saints WR needs to be upgraded
(This) Saints WR dropped a pass last night, he would be gone
We didn't win last night, clearly it's because we need another WR
Hey, maybe we should trade for this untradable WR
... And so on.

These are often seasonal, e.g. at mini camp time, every WR is a beast and we are going to be 'unstoppable' (ugh). Then after the first preseason loss, our WR suck and urgent action is again needed.

Free agency and draft period is like a hyperactive microcosm of WR posting frenzy:

We should sign (this) FA WR
Why haven't we signed this WR yet?
Why haven't we traded for this WR yet?
We should draft this WR
No, we should draft this WR
We should draft several WR from the following list
We should draft this WR in round 1/2/3/4/5/6/7 - and each time 'I can't believe he hasn't been drafted yet'
Why didn't we draft this WR?
We should have drafted this WR instead of that guy
We should sign these UDFA WRs
And...
Why didn't we sign these UDFA WRs

Eventually we then cycle back to the bounteous optimism stage, where every WR is going to break the rookie record for catches, touchdowns and yards.

Yes, I love it all. With a passion

Well why don’t you take every individual season as it’s own season and stop bringing up what people said in past years to justify a right now opinion?

You won’t find any posts from my account 2015-2018 where I’m discussing WR as a glaring need for this team. But for the 2019 season, the Saints weakest position on either side of the ball is at WR. Drew Brees completed 364 passes for 3,992 yards last season. Tre’Quan was the second most productive WR with 27 catches for 427 yards..

If you’re okay with your #2 WR owning a 7% share of completions and 10% share of yardage, I disagree with your assessment of “need”.

 

[dutar76]

Well why don’t you take every individual season as it’s own season and stop bringing up what people said in past years to justify a right now opinion?

You won’t find any posts from my account 2015-2018 where I’m discussing WR as a glaring need for this team. But for the 2019 season, the Saints weakest position on either side of the ball is at WR. Drew Brees completed 364 passes for 3,992 yards last season. Tre’Quan was the second most productive WR with 27 catches for 427 yards..

If you’re okay with your #2 WR owning a 7% share of completions and 10% share of yardage, I disagree with your assessment of “need”.

To be fair, Kamara was our #2 WR last season and will be again this season unless Cook blows up. Part of it is the offense we run and the way we deploy our weapons. It would take a heck of a receiver to supplant AK in or receiving pecking order. A healthy Ginn might have gave him a run for his money.

That being said, well have MT again taking the lion share, Kamara and Cook getting most of the remaining looks, and maybe a third of the targets being split between the rest of the receivers on the roster. Add to that, the fact that we have a run/pass balance that we've rarely had since Sean Payton took over. Theres not going to be 5000+ receiving yards to divvy up.

 

[TribuneUK]

Well why don’t you take every individual season as it’s own season and stop bringing up what people said in past years to justify a right now opinion?

You won’t find any posts from my account 2015-2018 where I’m discussing WR as a glaring need for this team. But for the 2019 season, the Saints weakest position on either side of the ball is at WR. Drew Brees completed 364 passes for 3,992 yards last season. Tre’Quan was the second most productive WR with 27 catches for 427 yards..

If you’re okay with your #2 WR owning a 7% share of completions and 10% share of yardage, I disagree with your assessment of “need”.

Because my overriding point is that, regardless of the situation, various people are endlessly saying 'we needs moar WR'. We could have Art Monk and co. and it would still be so.

I recognise that you personally aren't always posting about this. I miss your extensive treatises on which Arkansas RB is better than the rest of the NFL at the position.

I think Dutar has it, people obsess about WR personnel, but it's the system that creates the success for this team. You've got to have some personnel to make it work of course, but that doesn't mean it has to be 'the #2 WR' doing the bulk of it.

 

[HogsNSaints]

To be fair, Kamara was our #2 WR last season and will be again this season unless Cook blows up. Part of it is the offense we run and the way we deploy our weapons. It would take a heck of a receiver to supplant AK in or receiving pecking order. A healthy Ginn might have gave him a run for his money.

That being said, well have MT again taking the lion share, Kamara and Cook getting most of the remaining looks, and maybe a third of the targets being split between the rest of the receivers on the roster. Add to that, the fact that we have a run/pass balance that we've rarely had since Sean Payton took over. Theres not going to be 5000+ receiving yards to divvy up.

Yes, Kamara is an elite pass catching back and can handle an insane workload, but it’s not ideal to ask Thomas and Kamara to carry the volume that they were asked in 2018. That’s my point. If we want those two fresh when playoff time rolls around, they don’t need to be asked to carry such a crazy percentage of the load for 16 regular season games.

Many games down the stretch, the offense went stagnant. Yes, it was in large part due to injuries on the offensive line. But it should not be ignored that whenever Thomas got blanket coverage late in the season, no other WRs on the roster were capable of stepping up. Yes, Tre’Quan and Kirkwood are young and can improve. But Smith was drafted to get vertical, and I’m iffy on Kirkwood. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but as of now I’m most concerned about the WR position over all else.

 

[HogsNSaints]

I miss your extensive treatises on which Arkansas RB is better than the rest of the NFL at the position.

Find these posts and send them. They’ve never happened. I once compared Leonard Fournette to Darren McFadden and caught flack for it. The point I made was that both were freaks that won with size, speed and lacked vision. It was my way of knocking LF not pandering for McFadden. And look now 2 seasons in. Fournette has a 3.7 yard per carry career average.

 

[TribuneUK]

Find these posts and send them. They’ve never happened. I once compared Leonard Fournette to Darren McFadden and caught flack for it. The point I made was that both were freaks that won with size, speed and lacked vision. It was my way of knocking LF not pandering for McFadden. And look now 2 seasons in. Fournette has a 3.7 yard per carry career average.

Touchy subject for everyone involved, huh? ?

 

[HogsNSaints]

Touchy subject for everyone involved, huh? ?

I mean you can’t just make things up that people say. The only RB Arkansas has had in the last decade that I’ve claimed was NFL roster worthy was Alex Collins.

 

[TribuneUK]

I mean you can’t just make things up that people say. The only RB Arkansas has had in the last decade that I’ve claimed was NFL roster worthy was Alex Collins.

I remember a lot of posts about McFadden, but I think it was well before Fournette. No attempt to make it up here, what I remember best is how contested your views were at the time.

I must have missed the Collins stuff, was it a similar ride?

 

[HogsNSaints]

I remember a lot of posts about McFadden, but I think it was well before Fournette. No attempt to make it up here, what I remember best is how contested your views were at the time.

I must have missed the Collins stuff, was it a similar ride?

I was not around these parts until it was obvious that McFadden was a bust in the NFL. I’m certain that I never made ridiculous statements about him in the NFL. I did say McFadden was a better college RB than Fournette, which is not at all a stretch and is moreso an opinion shared by most in the college football world. I mostly used McFadden as a cautionary tale for the people that thought LF was an other-worldly talent.

As for Collins, I mostly thought he was a significantly better NFL fit than Jonathan Williams, who was drafted earlier. I honestly don’t know where this opinion on my Razorback fanhood comes from. I can be brutally honest on the program and it’s history.

 

[saintlad]

In free agency we addressed several areas of need.
RB2 - Latavious Murray
TE1 - Jared Cook
IOL - Nick Easton
NT - Malcolm Brown
3T / Base DE - Mario Edwards
PR - Marcus Sherels

In the draft we took care of a few other positions (and added competition at a few others)
IOL - Erik McCoy
S/SCB/DB - Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
S (competition) - Sequan Hampton
TE depth/develpmental (competition) - Alize Mack
OLB depth (competition) - Kaden Ellis

We've also brought in some intriguing UDFA's that are sure to make for some great camp battles.

Now that that's all over, I feel like we've addressed almost everything. That being said, there are two positions I feel we are thin at. Both are positions that have proven to be critical in recent years as far as depth is concerned.

OT - We have Ram and Armstead who are both top notch. For now, we still have Peat who can slide out if needed... but he hasn't proven that he can make it through a season healthy, even at his starting guard spot. That leaves us with Michael Ola and a few unproven guys and UDFA's that none of us are very familiar with. Ola won a spot on our roster last year before going down with an injury. At 31 years old, he's a typical journeyman who never really wow'd, but can be considered decent depth. I feel like we really need another player here that inspires a little more confidence than Ola. (maybe I just worry too much)

DE - This is a deadhorse I know... We have Jordan and Davenport for starters. Many teams would envy that alone. However, behind those two guys, we only have a guy who is more of an interior lineman (Mario Edwards), and a 3rd year player who spent most of last year as a weekly inactive or "a healthy scratch" (Trey Hendrickson). We picked up a couple UDFAs with some upside, but nobody that really moves the needle at first glance. If Cam and Dav stay healthy for the entire season, then there's absolutely no worries here. I feel fine with the depth we have as "spell" guys. But if we were forced to use any of these depth guys as starters for any length of time, I wouldn't feel so confident. That being said, I'd really like to see one or more "proven" players brought in to compete for that DE3/DE4 depth role. Even if they end up being the weekly inactive this season, I'd still feel better knowing that we have something to fall back on if needed.

Across the board, I think we have everything else covered. It's a long way to week one, plenty of time to shore up these last few remaining areas.

I am beating a dead horse here, but the biggest need for the Saints is

more capable honest people than these guys !!!

 

[TribuneUK]

I was not around these parts until it was obvious that McFadden was a bust in the NFL. I’m certain that I never made ridiculous statements about him in the NFL. I did say McFadden was a better college RB than Fournette, which is not at all a stretch and is moreso an opinion shared by most in the college football world. I mostly used McFadden as a cautionary tale for the people that thought LF was an other-worldly talent.

As for Collins, I mostly thought he was a significantly better NFL fit than Jonathan Williams, who was drafted earlier. I honestly don’t know where this opinion on my Razorback fanhood comes from. I can be brutally honest on the program and it’s history.

Hmmmm, clearly my memory is even more cloudy than I thought and I'm conflating Darren McFadden with an even older heated debate about Arkansas backs, which it sounds like were from somebody else. It dates back to Peyton Hillis and the other two Razor backs all drafted at the same time. Was one also called McFadden?

If none of that was you, obviously I apologise for the reference ?

 

[Slaw]

Yes, Kamara is an elite pass catching back and can handle an insane workload, but it’s not ideal to ask Thomas and Kamara to carry the volume that they were asked in 2018. That’s my point. If we want those two fresh when playoff time rolls around, they don’t need to be asked to carry such a crazy percentage of the load for 16 regular season games.

Many games down the stretch, the offense went stagnant. Yes, it was in large part due to injuries on the offensive line. But it should not be ignored that whenever Thomas got blanket coverage late in the season, no other WRs on the roster were capable of stepping up. Yes, Tre’Quan and Kirkwood are young and can improve. But Smith was drafted to get vertical, and I’m iffy on Kirkwood. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but as of now I’m most concerned about the WR position over all else.

The addition of Jared Cook gives the Saints a "big 3" vs the "big 2" they had last year of Thomas and Kamara. I think this will allow the team to keep Thomas and Kamara's usage where they want it. Any improvement from Meredith, Smith, or Kirkwood will only add to that.

Keep in mind, Devery Henderson never got a lot of targets as the #2 WR. We had Colston, Graham, and Sproles as the primary targets are one point. This group of Thomas, Cook, Kamara should be even better.

We had Lance Moore, but he was never a star player and it's not hard to imagine one of the current receivers being able to provide the that level of production.