Saints Need an Offensive Weapon

IMHO, alot of the old maxims about football still ring true. Play defense, stop the run, don’t turn the ball over, etc. Those are all still good things to do, if you can. But with all of the rule changes and a much better understanding of the math behind what produces wins, there is a new dynamic that rules the NFL.

You have to have a dude on your team at a premium position who is just flat-out better than the guy he’s lining up against on the other teams, and it is best if he can be better than that other guy on 3rd & 4th downs.

The only exceptions to this rule are 1. The teams that get extremely lucky with a rookie QB and are able to build a team loaded with talent around him (Seahawks 15 years ago, 49’ers recently) and 2. Teams with a generational QB. (Brady, Brees, Manning; Mahommes, Allen, Jackson, Burrows). That’s it. Everyone else has to have a “That Dude” to compete.

The list of what positions That Dude can play is short:

D-lineman who can draw holding penalties and affect the QB’s platform with pressure.
CB who can break up passes without drawing penalties, or virtually shut down one side of the field or one #1 WR.
Pass catcher (WR or TE) who can beat his man 1-on-1 or draw PI penalties because he is so hard to cover otherwise.

Again, aside from generational QB, that’s the whole list. And the Saints don’t have a single one of any of these…..

But it hasn’t been for lack of trying. They’ve taken some shots at mid-round QB’s. They’ve loaded up the CB room with talent (and this is where they are the closest to having that guy - IF someone takes the next step). And they’ve absolutely burned through 1st and 2nd round picks trying to get DE’s and DT’s who can be that pressure player. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t happened.

I agree 100% with the OP. The Saints need to leave this draft with either a pass catcher on offense (WR or TE) who can just flat out beat the guy covering him or a pressure player on the Dline. My preference would be the pass catcher who can be that 3rd down safety blanket for whoever the QB is in 2026. And spend the 1st round pick so they have 5 years of control on the first contract to allow the head coach, offensive coordinator, and QB situations to have time to get settled in. Note, you can still trade back, accumulate picks, AND use that 1st round pick on your guy. History is loaded with guys who were game-wreckers picked between 10-25 or so.

Please, for the love of all things football, let’s hope the Saints leave this year’s draft with one of these players.