How did the Saints get here? Look to 2017 off season (1 Viewer)

[ChaChingBaby]

http://www.footballperspective.com/how-did-the-saints-get-here-look-to-the-2017-offseason/

he 2017 Draft replenished the Saints roster. New Orleans roster drafted CB Marshon Lattimore with the 11th overall pick, OT Ryan Ramczyk with the 32nd pick, S Marcus Williams with the 42nd pick, Alvin Kamara with the 67th pick. Those four players have been incredible additions for the team: Kamara and Ramczyk are two of the four Saints with 15+ points of AV in 2018, while the two defensive backs each started 16 games. In addition, LB Alex Anzalone — taken with the 76th pick — started 7 games this year.

In the 2017 offseason, the Saints also signed ex-Lions guard Larry Warford, ex-Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein, and ex-Cardinals pass rusher Alex Okafor. Those three players were all regular starters on the 2018 Saints. In fact, 7 of the 16 Saints players with 6+ points of AV this year were added in 2017. The Saints, in some ways like the Patriots, are here because of their famous quarterback/head coach combo. Sean Payton and Drew Brees both came to New Orleans in 2006, but the Saints had just completed back-to-back-to-back 7-9 seasons at the end of the 2016 season. From 2014 to 2016, New Orleans had been outscored by 76 points. As good as Brees and Payton are, they wouldn’t be here today without what happened in the spring of 2017.

The graph below shows the AV on the 2018 Saints from players drafted by New Orleans (in gold) and drafted or otherwise acquired by New Orleans (in black) from each year since 2006.

Last year, New Orleans nearly made it this far on the backs of those seven players, Brees and Payton, too. It’s been a remarkable two-year run for the Saints, and a reminder that in one offseason, any team can turn it around (and that goes double if you have a Hall of Fame quarterback).

If no one knows what AV is, that is Approximate Value, which is Pro Football Reference's way of rating players for the year.

 

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The '06 draft set the table for what would be '09...……….and the '08 offseason (drafting Ellis, Porter and Nicks.....trading for Shockey and Vilma) put us that much closer.

While 2017 was a legendary draft...…..we certainly can't discount the 2016 one, either.

 

[ChaChingBaby]

The '06 draft set the table for what would be '09...……….and the '08 offseason (drafting Ellis, Porter and Nicks.....trading for Shockey and Vilma) put us that much closer.

While 2017 was a legendary draft...…..we certainly can't discount the 2016 one, either.

This article and chart is strictly going by AV from how Pro Football Reference adds it up, that's why 2006 ends up looking like a non-factor there. If it were based on anything else, I believe 2006 would have to be discussed more fully as it was indeed a strong off season.

AV for 2018 was recently released and the players who had the highest output outside of Brees were mostly drafted in the last 3 years. Michael Thomas led the team with 18 AV, tied with Brees. I believe this is the highest AV that PFR has ever given a Saints wide receiver.

 

[VPCajun]

And speaking of Ramczyk:

https://www.nola.com/saints/2019/01/in-an-emotional-game-saints-ryan-ramczyk-is-a-constant.html