Saints Need an Offensive Weapon (1 Viewer)

[JackDiesel]

Using the top 10 offenses as an example is silly because they have weapons outside of their run game, we do not.

Our WR/TE group wouldn't make the roster of these teams. We have absolutely nobody who is a threat to make a play.

Defenses are just selling out against the run against us because *checks notes* Kevin Austin, Deonte Pettis, and JJ are our receiving threats.

AK is our only positive weapon on offense and is paid to be a bell cow back. Drafting another RB would be god awful asset management.

You want to talk about silly? You're checking your notes off of our end of year depleted WR group and acting like that's what we'll have next year.

Meanwhile I see Shaheed, MVS and if they'd dial Olave's role back to a #2 WR that might save him. All that's left is a possession WR/TE that can make contested catches.

You focus on the run, force the defense to bring down a safety and it's open season for our receivers deep. AK is no bell cow RB and we're going to be relying on that position more than any other one. Our early season success was around running the ball, that's how you protect the QB and the defense. So not only is it an extremely important part of the team but there's a good chance that the RB available will be the most talented player available.

 

[Rouxble]

You want to talk about silly? You're checking your notes off of our end of year depleted WR group and acting like that's what we'll have next year.

Meanwhile I see Shaheed, MVS and if they'd dial Olave's role back to a #2 WR that might save him. All that's left is a possession WR/TE that can make contested catches.

You focus on the run, force the defense to bring down a safety and it's open season for our receivers deep. AK is no bell cow RB and we're going to be relying on that position more than any other one. Our early season success was around running the ball, that's how you protect the QB and the defense. So not only is it an extremely important part of the team but there's a good chance that the RB available will be the most talented player available.

A lot of our early season success was based around playing two terrible run defenses. Carolina's run defense ranks 32nd by DVOA, and Dallas ranks 29th. That means pretty much every team in every situation is running all over them. Even on traditional stats, Carolina is giving up 5.1 yards per carry this season (32nd), while Dallas is giving up 4.8 (29th). We slot in at 30th with 31st with 4.9/attempt, which wasn't a problem for us in our first couple of games because the the game script didn't give our opponents much opportunity to run (Dallas also was still trotting Elliott out there to get three yards and a cloud of turf pellets).

While McCoy going down had an impact on our week 3 loss, playing against the #1 ranked run defense that week meant we weren't going to just pile up yards and TD's at will. In our next four games after the Eagles, we played three more games against top 10 run defenses. It was a perfect storm of having our best IOL injured against some of the best rush defenses in the league, which led to a quick loss of our identity.

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

You want to talk about silly? You're checking your notes off of our end of year depleted WR group and acting like that's what we'll have next year.

Who else am I missing? Olave with 5 concussions? Rasheed with back to back season ending injuries?

 

[tyler735]

I definitely agree that we need some more talent on offense. We have some dynamic options at WR in Shaheed and Olave (when healthy). I do think Olave probably won't be with the Saints long term given the concussion risk, but we will at least have him to start next year. I think one of our biggest issues is we don't have a physical receiving threat that can consistently keep the chains moving for us. Much like guys like Michael Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston did for us in years past.

The good news is we have all of our draft picks this year and I think there are 4 players in this draft that could immediately step in and help us next year that could fill the role of being a bigger physical receiving threat. If we land 1 of these guys I'd be very happy (if we were able to land 2 of them, I'd be absolutely thrilled).

Tetairoa McMillan- At 6'5" he obviously would be an imposing WR. He moves well for being so tall. He's probably the least likely to be available when we pick in the 1st round, so I won't spend too much time on this one, but crazier things have happened.

Tre Harris- Listed at 6'3" 210lbs. He's a guy that is ranked all over the place right now. However, I expect his rankings to climb in the coming months leading up to the draft. The tape doesn't lie. He has arguably the best hands in this draft class, has the size of a "prototype" number 1 WR. Has the athleticism to win at all levels of the field, and is excellent in contested catch/jump ball situations. Also is a threat to make plays after the catch. Had he not hurt his groin and missed 4 games, there's a good chance he would be at or near the top of the receiving yards leader in the nation. He's still second in the SEC in receiving yards despite the missed games. Won't be surprised if he's the best WR from this draft class when all is said and done.

Harold Fannin- After watching Juwan Johnson drop a number of passes the past few weeks, drafting a guy like Fannin has become a much bigger priority to me. Fannin just had the greatest season in college history for a TE. He led the nation in receiving yards (WR's included) and broke the TE record for most catches and receiving yards in a season. He's not a big imposing TE at 6'4" 235lbs (will be curious to see if he's 240+ at the combine though). However, I have little concern about that as I was a huge fan of Bowers last year and had him as my number 1 target for the Saints to draft. From a size standpoint he and Bowers aren't far off. Not saying Fannin is that caliber of player, but I do think Fannin could be a Trey Mcbride type playmaker in the NFL. I'd run up to the podium if he's still on the board in the 2nd round. He may not be a huge asset as a run blocker in the NFL (although PFF actually has him graded really high in that aspect despite his size), but his ability as a receiver could be game changing for us. He's excellent making plays with the ball in his hands, and has shown the versatility to line up in different spots for Bowling Green. Most importantly though, he has great hands. I'd argue it's between Fannin and Tre Harris for best hands in this draft class.

Tyler Warren- Another guy that could step right in and be an impact player for us at TE. He possesses more "prototypical" size at TE than Fannin, but as I mentioned before that doesn't really mean much to me. Sure it would be nice to have him probably be more effective as a run blocker, but he's also not the receiving threat that Fannin is either. I do expect Warren to get drafted in the first round given his combo of size and athleticism while also being a very good receiving threat in his own right. He also possesses some versatility to line up in different spots. I'd be happy if we drafted him, but pick 10 does seem a little rich to draft Warren. A trade down and grabbing Warren would probably be the best case scenario if we were to grab Warren in the 1st round.

A couple other intriguing options if we don't draft a WR would be making a run for either Tee Higgins or Garrett Wilson. Obviously Tee Higgins fits the bill of being a bigger receiving threat, but I'd also love to have Garrett Wilson (was so bummed he went 1 pick ahead of us when we drafted Olave). Wilson is only 6', but he is so athletic and good at high pointing the football in contested catch situations that I'd gladly take him. He's made it clear he doesn't want to play with Rodgers again next year and we have a history of trying to bring in players from Ohio State, so trading for him wouldn't be the worst thing either as he still has several years of great football ahead of him.

 

[St. Widge]

The top 10 offenses in yardage in the NFL with the exception of Cincinnati are excellent at running the ball and not being able to run is a big reason why they're having issues.

You call it a luxury but I'd say it's a necessity. As we're sorting this mess out the one thing we need to be able to do is run the ball. It's the best thing you can do for a defense and the best thing you can do for a young QB.

Obviously the line is a massive part of that but our starting line with the exception of one guard spot is under a multi year contract so our options are limited. We need to shore that guard spot up with an actual starter and draft depth.

I agree with all this, but no Guard is going to worth the #10 pick. Maybe an OT will be. So if the OL issue is at Guard, and I think it mostly is, you can likely fix the Guard position with 2nd, 3rd, or 4th round picks.

Unfortunately, I don't think there will be any playmakers or DL that meet the value at #10 and it's likely what they should do at #10 is take Will Johnson, the Safety from Georgia, or possibly Jeanty if he is there. Either that or trade down and take someone like Harris, Burden, Warren, or Loveland.

 

[Saintcd]

You want to talk about silly? You're checking your notes off of our end of year depleted WR group and acting like that's what we'll have next year.

Meanwhile I see Shaheed, MVS and if they'd dial Olave's role back to a #2 WR that might save him. All that's left is a possession WR/TE that can make contested catches.

You focus on the run, force the defense to bring down a safety and it's open season for our receivers deep. AK is no bell cow RB and we're going to be relying on that position more than any other one. Our early season success was around running the ball, that's how you protect the QB and the defense. So not only is it an extremely important part of the team but there's a good chance that the RB available will be the most talented player available.

You’re really good with mvs, shaheed and shaking brain syndrome olave? The first 2 aren’t getting above #3 on any other team. Olave was never a true #1 wr and with his numerous concussions, he’s at best a part time #2 wr depending on health. He actually should retire for his own health. We need to draft a #1, sign a #2 in free agency and add a receiving TE through the draft or free agency to even catch up with most any other teams receiving corps.

 

[madsaint1967]

Tet or Jeanty at 10 or move down and get Loveland or Warren at 17-20 and Higgins from Iowa State in 2nd. We need firepower. Watching Detroit last night was fun, reminded me of SP Saints, no defense but a lot of offense.

 

[Snakehead]

Not if you don’t have a bell cow of a RB or a WR that can’t get separation and that can actually catch. Olave is probably done and isn’t a #1. Shaheed is a good #3 if he can stay healthy. After that the rest of the wr and te are mediocre at best.

So yeah, let’s go all in and add another 1st round olineman to an already crappy majority 1st round online.

The WR room needs an overhaul. If Olave is not done, he should be traded to a finesse team for whatever they can get in return. Shaheed is a WR3/4 or used as an offensive weapon, he doesn't hold up to the wear and tear had is injury prone. I'd keep Means, KAJr, Shaheed as a weapon and bring in some bigger/physical WRs to include a legit Big X. I wouldn't mind keeping MVS as a Big Z, but we are seeing why other teams have moved on from him. He had a run of catching the ball, but he has an issue catching the ball. Using him for anything other than a Big Z to stretch the field is a no-go which leaves him as a one-trick pony and that's why teams move on when his one trick is 50/50 whether or not he's gonna catch it.

 

[Snakehead]

A couple trades back and the entire offense can be overhauled. It just takes commitment to do it. Jeanty Bell-Cow RB. Savion Williams Big Z and offensive weapon, could be a Big X with route development. Tre Harris Big X playmaker. Tate = RG moving Ruiz to the bench to backup OG/C. Noel, sturdy slot guy. Connerly, OT let the OTs battle it out and maybe Fuaga moves to RT or LG or he stays at LT and anchors it for a decade plus. Kandra RG or LG, the point is adding big young talented offensive lineman. Stustman, sideline to sideline LB. Ferguson, could ascend to TE1. Alexander, NT allows Bresee to attack and play to his strengths. Nwankpa and Wright, two big safeties, we have to stop being bullied.

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

Tre Harris- Listed at 6'3" 210lbs. He's a guy that is ranked all over the place right now. However, I expect his rankings to climb in the coming months leading up to the draft. The tape doesn't lie. He has arguably the best hands in this draft class, has the size of a "prototype" number 1 WR. Has the athleticism to win at all levels of the field, and is excellent in contested catch/jump ball situations. Also is a threat to make plays after the catch. Had he not hurt his groin and missed 4 games, there's a good chance he would be at or near the top of the receiving yards leader in the nation. He's still second in the SEC in receiving yards despite the missed games. Won't be surprised if he's the best WR from this draft class when all is said and done.

It's worth noting a guy like Tre is a 5th year senior. Two more seasons than a guy like Tet. 5th year seniors are reg flags in general.

 

[tyler735]

It's worth noting a guy like Tre is a 5th year senior. Two more seasons than a guy like Tet. 5th year seniors are reg flags in general.

Sure the age difference is worth noting. All things equal between 2 prospects, you'd likely want the younger one. However in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't mean much and isn't something I would describe as a red flag. With the recent changes to Transfer Eligibility, NIL, and even the COVID impacted seasons, whatever anomalies there may have been in the past with some 5th year senior's likely won't apply the same way anymore.

I can't imagine the Bengals are upset about Burrow being a 5th year senior, the Commanders probably aren't upset about Daniels being a 5th year senior, or Broncos likely aren't upset about Nix being a 5th year senior. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples, but those 3 just immediately popped into my head. Or if we need a recent WR example, Ricky Pearsall was taken in the 1st round this past year. His season was railroaded a bit after getting shot right before the season, but he certainly looked good last night with 8 catches, 141 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Or even a guy like Jayden Reed 2 years ago is an even better comparison as he went a similar route that Harris did transferring from a small school after playing well and finding his way at a bigger school in his final seasons.

Edit- After looking a bit more- Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Terry Mclauren are some great examples of recent 5th year seniors that have become top tier WR's in the league. Could even consider our very own Michael Thomas to be pretty much a 5th year senior as he spent a year at Fork Union Military Academy after high school then went on to play 4 seasons at Ohio State.

For a guy like Tre Harris. He did well in his final season at LA Tech. Then transferred to Ole Miss and had a very good year last year for them and was excellent this past season. This isn't a guy that just randomly started playing well in his final season. He's been playing well the past 3 seasons. More importantly he possesses all the tools you'd want from a top tier NFL WR.

 

[sainthood]

It would be unwise to evaluate the offensive draft needs based on the last part of the season. In 2024 from the point in which Erik McCoy got hurt against the Eagles, the offense went into a streak of healthish skill position players but no interior offensive line with rookie tackles to later in the year no starting quarterback and no starting skill position players (Kamara, Hill, Olave, and or Shaheed) but most of the interior offensive line was back. The team lacks depth across the board but there is an offense somewhere in there. The defense on the other hand is just old and been a litany of bad decisions to not keep the right young players.

This draft has to focus on where the age is on this team and that age has to find its way off the roster in 2025 and begin to heal the salary cap ramifications.
The Saints traded away our best defensive player. The Lattimore trade reminds me of the Willie Roaf trade. We trade our best player on the team at his low point of injury.
It was dumb then and dumb now IMO but maybe it was mandatory because the cap is the worst in the league.
We have Taylor and Mckinstry and maybe can resign Adebo at what was the deepest spot on the roster at corner.

Upfront Cam is a hall of famer but needs to go to the booth for the cap number he is holding. To me we need a defensive edge rusher as the number one pick.
Next age is Tyrann. This team needs two safeties. We let Chauncey Gardner Johnson and Marcus Williams out the building. Marcus Maye was a disaster. If Tyrann was evaluated with no name on the back of his jersey and not from NOLA his on the field performance does not validate his cap number.
At linebacker Demario has lost a step but is the heart of the team and I can see another year but we need another linebacker particularly if Willie Gay is a free agent.

This defense needs speed at edge and safety big time. We have to eat the cap hit on Ramcyzk. We are not going to be good in 2025. We can hope for a mediocre team that competes in a bad division, but we are in a multiple year rebuild.
I think we should try to re-sign MVS if he is open to staying but those couple of games of long TDs may have priced him out of New Orleans. Olave and Shaheed are starting caliber WRs. They just have to stay on the field. We have never seen a three wide receiver set of Olave, Shaheed, and MVS but that is light years above the undrafted free agent parade that we have seen the last part of the 2024 season at receiver.

I also would predict the Saints keeping Kubiak at OC and signing a defensive head coach and replacing the entire defensive staff. That screams draft a build around player on defense with your first rounder.

 

[tyler735]

I definitely agree that we need some more talent on offense. We have some dynamic options at WR in Shaheed and Olave (when healthy). I do think Olave probably won't be with the Saints long term given the concussion risk, but we will at least have him to start next year. I think one of our biggest issues is we don't have a physical receiving threat that can consistently keep the chains moving for us. Much like guys like Michael Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston did for us in years past.

The good news is we have all of our draft picks this year and I think there are 4 players in this draft that could immediately step in and help us next year that could fill the role of being a bigger physical receiving threat. If we land 1 of these guys I'd be very happy (if we were able to land 2 of them, I'd be absolutely thrilled).

Tetairoa McMillan- At 6'5" he obviously would be an imposing WR. He moves well for being so tall. He's probably the least likely to be available when we pick in the 1st round, so I won't spend too much time on this one, but crazier things have happened.

Tre Harris- Listed at 6'3" 210lbs. He's a guy that is ranked all over the place right now. However, I expect his rankings to climb in the coming months leading up to the draft. The tape doesn't lie. He has arguably the best hands in this draft class, has the size of a "prototype" number 1 WR. Has the athleticism to win at all levels of the field, and is excellent in contested catch/jump ball situations. Also is a threat to make plays after the catch. Had he not hurt his groin and missed 4 games, there's a good chance he would be at or near the top of the receiving yards leader in the nation. He's still second in the SEC in receiving yards despite the missed games. Won't be surprised if he's the best WR from this draft class when all is said and done.

Harold Fannin- After watching Juwan Johnson drop a number of passes the past few weeks, drafting a guy like Fannin has become a much bigger priority to me. Fannin just had the greatest season in college history for a TE. He led the nation in receiving yards (WR's included) and broke the TE record for most catches and receiving yards in a season. He's not a big imposing TE at 6'4" 235lbs (will be curious to see if he's 240+ at the combine though). However, I have little concern about that as I was a huge fan of Bowers last year and had him as my number 1 target for the Saints to draft. From a size standpoint he and Bowers aren't far off. Not saying Fannin is that caliber of player, but I do think Fannin could be a Trey Mcbride type playmaker in the NFL. I'd run up to the podium if he's still on the board in the 2nd round. He may not be a huge asset as a run blocker in the NFL (although PFF actually has him graded really high in that aspect despite his size), but his ability as a receiver could be game changing for us. He's excellent making plays with the ball in his hands, and has shown the versatility to line up in different spots for Bowling Green. Most importantly though, he has great hands. I'd argue it's between Fannin and Tre Harris for best hands in this draft class.

Tyler Warren- Another guy that could step right in and be an impact player for us at TE. He possesses more "prototypical" size at TE than Fannin, but as I mentioned before that doesn't really mean much to me. Sure it would be nice to have him probably be more effective as a run blocker, but he's also not the receiving threat that Fannin is either. I do expect Warren to get drafted in the first round given his combo of size and athleticism while also being a very good receiving threat in his own right. He also possesses some versatility to line up in different spots. I'd be happy if we drafted him, but pick 10 does seem a little rich to draft Warren. A trade down and grabbing Warren would probably be the best case scenario if we were to grab Warren in the 1st round.

A couple other intriguing options if we don't draft a WR would be making a run for either Tee Higgins or Garrett Wilson. Obviously Tee Higgins fits the bill of being a bigger receiving threat, but I'd also love to have Garrett Wilson (was so bummed he went 1 pick ahead of us when we drafted Olave). Wilson is only 6', but he is so athletic and good at high pointing the football in contested catch situations that I'd gladly take him. He's made it clear he doesn't want to play with Rodgers again next year and we have a history of trying to bring in players from Ohio State, so trading for him wouldn't be the worst thing either as he still has several years of great football ahead of him.

Well I just looked at Tankathon's updated draft order. I retract my previous statement that Tetairoa McMillan is likely to be picked before we pick. It's possible he does, but I don't think it's likely that he does unless a team ahead of us trades back, or a team behind us trades up. We are currently picking #10 overall and could potentially move up a couple spots depending how this weekends games go. With the current draft order, here's who's ahead of us:

Patriots- Most likely going to be Travis Hunter or another position (OL for Maye?)
Titans- QB seems most likely and probably too high to pick Tetairoa
Browns- QB seems most likely and probably too high to pick Tetairoa
Giants- Nabers
Jacksonville- Brian Thomas
Panthers- Just used a high draft pick on Legette and bigger needs elsewhere
Jets- Devante Adams/Garrett Wilson
Raiders- Bowers/Meyers bigger needs elsewhere. They still could potentially go Tetairoa, but it would also be kind of surprising.
Bears- DJ Moore, Odunze, Allen
Saints- Tetairoa McMillan

This would obviously be an awesome outcome for us on draft day to get that true top talent at WR. Wouldn't be too mad if we lose this weekend and the Raiders win as I'm pretty sure we jump ahead of them in the draft in that outcome.

 

[Hank]

The top 10 offenses in yardage in the NFL with the exception of Cincinnati are excellent at running the ball and not being able to run is a big reason why they're having issues.

You call it a luxury but I'd say it's a necessity. As we're sorting this mess out the one thing we need to be able to do is run the ball. It's the best thing you can do for a defense and the best thing you can do for a young QB.

Obviously the line is a massive part of that but our starting line with the exception of one guard spot is under a multi year contract so our options are limited. We need to shore that guard spot up with an actual starter and draft depth.

Good take