FA Free Agency is About to Start (2 Viewers)

Sorry it took so long to get back. O-Line is an area where we need to upgrade. Peat may leave in free agency, Hurst is a weak link at Guard and we don't know if Ram can make it through another season. Here's some FA O-Lineman that the Saints might take a look at and what it would cost

Jonah Williams- RT, Bengals (6'5"/312#) (Age- 26)
Calculated Market Value- 4-Year $43.4M Annual Salary- $10,859,511. Base Calculated Value- 5-Year $78.3M Annual Salary- $15.7M.

Yosh Nijman- OT, Packers (6'7"/315#) (Age- 27)
Current Deal- 1-Year $4.3M Deal expires next week.

Oli Udoh- OT, Vikings (6'6"/330#) (Age- 27)
Current Deal- 1-Year $2.4M Deal expires next week. Another O-Lineman that could come cheap.

Isaiah Wynn- OT, Dolphins (6'2"/310#) (Age- 28)
Current Deal- 1-Year Deal $2.4M Deal expires next week.

Jremaine Eluemunor- RT, Raiders (6'4"/330#) (Age- 30)
Current Deal- 1-Year Deal $3.0M Deal expires next week.

Matt Pryor- T/G, 49'ers (6'7"/332#) (Age- 30)
Current Deal- 1-Year 1.13M Deal expires next week.

These are just a few of the OT's that will hit the FA market next week. Jonah Williams is the prized OT in that group. This is a position the Saints need to upgrade at backup for in case Ram doesn't make it through the season. I'll be back with a list of Guards a little later.
I don’t see why people are so high on Jonah Williams. He has been the weak link on a horrible O-line for years in Cindy. Maybe he’s played better since they moved him from LT to RT he still isn’t very good.He was tied for 8th with 8 sacks allowed last year, 1st with 12 sacks in 22, and 6th with 8 sacks in 21.
 
I don’t see why people are so high on Jonah Williams. He has been the weak link on a horrible O-line for years in Cindy. Maybe he’s played better since they moved him from LT to RT he still isn’t very good.He was tied for 8th with 8 sacks allowed last year, 1st with 12 sacks in 22, and 6th with 8 sacks in 21.
I'm not high on Jonah Williams. I put his name in there because he was the highest rated OT in free agency and what it would cost to sign him if a team wanted to sign him. There may be better options and cheaper options in free agency. I also listed a few others that could be good depth.
 
Lesson from all that — our o-line has regressed mightily the past three seasons and continues to be the top area of need on the team.
That, plus letting Murray walk killed our run game. We are still looking for the type of production him and younger MI gave us. Murray came in last season for 1 game, averaged 5.2 yards a carry and got a TD and then went to Denver..lol. And that was the moment that I pinpointed our issue the past few seasons. The O-line has been trash but Murray was so good for us when MI left.
 
That, plus letting Murray walk killed our run game. We are still looking for the type of production him and younger MI gave us. Murray came in last season for 1 game, averaged 5.2 yards a carry and got a TD and then went to Denver..lol. And that was the moment that I pinpointed our issue the past few seasons. The O-line has been trash but Murray was so good for us when MI left.

Guy has had one of the strangest careers I have ever seen. Produced everywhere he’s gone, never given the opportunity to be featured.

Dude always looked like a star anytime he got fed the rock.

Size, speed, vision, tackle breaking ability, consistent 4+ yards per carry, but no one would ever let him be “the guy.”

3A99448E-2F7C-4A71-A3A9-DDA913817193.jpeg
 
Guy has had one of the strangest careers I have ever seen. Produced everywhere he’s gone, never given the opportunity to be featured.

Dude always looked like a star anytime he got fed the rock.

Size, speed, vision, tackle breaking ability, consistent 4+ yards per carry, but no one would ever let him be “the guy.”

3A99448E-2F7C-4A71-A3A9-DDA913817193.jpeg
Man, you said a word here..lol. And it so crazy because he can do it all. One of the bigger backs in the league but he moved like the best of them. Quick, strong, agile, and was good in the pass game too. He always found himself on these "RB by committee" teams but it just felt that as a Saint, I really can't remember him being a guy known for negative yards. It's like he always got something..lol
 
Man, you said a word here..lol. And it so crazy because he can do it all. One of the bigger backs in the league but he moved like the best of them. Quick, strong, agile, and was good in the pass game too. He always found himself on these "RB by committee" teams but it just felt that as a Saint, I really can't remember him being a guy known for negative yards. It's like he always got something..lol

ALWAYS.

Also had a unique ability to be able to always get “tackled forward,” using his length for an extra yard or two at the end of every carry.
 
ALWAYS.

Also had a unique ability to be able to always get “tackled forward,” using his length for an extra yard or two at the end of every carry.
And having someone like that takes so much off AK, because they really have to second guess what we are going to do with him in the game. His best games normally come when someone other than him is having a good game running the ball. It used to be a regular thing but we let Murray walk for whoever we had in 2021, then we had end of the road MI last season, and then this past sesaon...yeah. Thinking about it, 2022 started the "We need Taysom to win" because our RB room was dilapidated and most of the games we won with Dalton was tied to the run game.
 
I think at the time of Williams’ signing, the Saints had a vision for Williams to replicate some of his Lions rushing success and provide great depth. But the OC didn’t commit to running the ball with our RBs early on by scheming creative run designs and good run blocking. Taysom was the default short yardage/GL rusher partially because the RBs didn’t seem prioritized in the offense. His rushing style is limited but he’s great when run blocking is up to par. I think Williams will bounce back nicely with a run-oriented OC like Kubiak who has consistent success with RBs running the ball.

I hope we target Frank Gore Jr. and Isaac Guerendo in the later rounds as well. Guerendo had the fastest RB 40 time (4.33) and 4th best cone drill at the combine. He could add that speed element that we’ve been missing amongst our RBs for about a decade. Guerendo had a great combine but didn’t get a ton of carries at Louisville. He could still be under the radar enough to be available in the 5th rd.

Guerendo started his college career at Wisconsin and was considered a track guy. To even be in the Wisconsin backfield says something. It's like the 3rd string TE on Iowa who is probably an NFL starter. Guerendo with AK and Miller is nice. Once AK is done, a combo of Miller/Guerendo is nice and capable of homeruns evet carry. Jaylin Wright out of Tennessee as well fits into the category like Guerendo.
 
Guerendo started his college career at Wisconsin and was considered a track guy. To even be in the Wisconsin backfield says something. It's like the 3rd string TE on Iowa who is probably an NFL starter. Guerendo with AK and Miller is nice. Once AK is done, a combo of Miller/Guerendo is nice and capable of homeruns evet carry. Jaylin Wright out of Tennessee as well fits into the category like Guerendo.
Braelon Allen- RB, Wisconsin (6'2"/245#) He is a Murray clone. He's got strong passing game skills, he can turn upfield quickly in the screen game. Shows a good feel for setting up wheel routes. He shows good initial burst and runs with violence through traffic and finishes runs well.
 
Braelon Allen- RB, Wisconsin (6'2"/245#) He is a Murray clone. He's got strong passing game skills, he can turn upfield quickly in the screen game. Shows a good feel for setting up wheel routes. He shows good initial burst and runs with violence through traffic and finishes runs well.

I'm just curious what this KK offense will be. We have an idea, but we really need to see how the off season plays out.
 
I'm just curious what this KK offense will be. We have an idea, but we really need to see how the off season plays out.
I read somewhere a few weeks ago that Kubiak would probably run a Wide Zone and use a power run scheme. Don't know if that's going to be right once the offseason kicks off. I guess it depends on if we can get the right players to fit the scheme.
 
I read somewhere a few weeks ago that Kubiak would probably run a Wide Zone and use a power run scheme. Don't know if that's going to be right once the offseason kicks off. I guess it depends on if we can get the right players to fit the scheme.

Based on PFF grades for Zone vs Gap, this is a list of the bigger/power RBs. The ones with power/speed combo would probably be most ideal. I only included guys who had a zone grade over 80.

Jonathan Brooks
Gap: 84.5
Zone: 90

Jaylen Wright
Gap: 85.0
Zone: 88.8

Audric Estime
Gap: 90.6
Zone: 90.6

Isaac Guerendo
Gap: 84.2
Zone: 86.9

Kimani Vidal
Gap: 91.8
Zone: 86.0

Cody Shrader
Gap: 83.2
Zone: 84.6

Isaiah Davis
Gap: 94.5
Zone: 91.1
 
Lots of defensive hitting the FA guess Kubiak has to be foaming at the mouth for the draft... hoping DA/Loomis grab some depth or starters through FA and let Kubiak run wild in the draft?
 
The Guard position is another position on the O-Line the Saints could upgrade, especially the LG position. Hurst is not the answer there and we don't know if Saldiveri can do it either. So here are some Free agent Guards that might be able to help.

Robert Hunt- RG, Dolphins (6'6"/330#) (Age- 27)
Calculated Market Value- 4-Year $47,391,852 Avg. Annual Salary- $11.8M Base Calculated Value- 2-Year $24.1M Avg. Annual Salary- $12,047,500.

Hunt is the highest rated Guard in free agency. Here are some veterans that will become free agents.

Dalton Risner- G, Vikings (6'5"/315#) (Age- 28)
Current Deal- 1-Year $3M Deal Expires next week. Was on the Saints offseason roster and PS last season. Could come cheap and be a backup.

Nick Allegretti- G, Chiefs (6'4"/315#) (Age-27)
Current Deal- 1-Year $2,582,500 Deal expires next week. Another player the Saints could take a look at.

Dan Feeny- G, Bears (6'4"/315#) (Age- 30)
Current Deal- 1Year $3.25M Deal Expires next week. At his age, he could be had for cheap. Could be a reliable backup.

Evan Brown- G, Seahawks (6'3"/320#) (Age- 27)
Current Deal- 1-Year $2.25M Deal Expires next week. Still relatively young, could be signed to a decent contract.

Billy Price- G/C, Free Agent, Was on Saints offseason roster and PS in 2023. Was a 1st round pick of the Bengals in 2018.

I don't know if any of them fit into Kubiaks new scheme, but I just threw these guys out there to show y'all what is on the free agent market. There are a lot of big names out there that I didn't put on here due to most of them are over 30 years old and we need to get younger on the O-Line.
 
I know I will catch some heat for this, but Williams is probably my least favorite player on the team right now. I just don't see anything in him. Lacks burst, lacks long range speed, lacks vision, goes down easily...just everything you don't want in a running back.

Hopefully with the new running game and run blocking scheme, he can improve, but what we saw last year from him was just downright pathetic.

williams030624.png

...one of the worst stat lines I have ever seen from a NFL running back, and we basically had to cheat for him to get the one TD.
I don't think he's as bad as last yr but I don't think he's as good as his last yr in Det. And if we have to pay in 3.2 mil anyway we'll probably keep him and see
 

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