My Opinion (Full Offseason Move Summary) (1 Viewer)

[whodat4life84]

Y! SPORTS - Breakdown of our offseason cap situation and expected moves

Mickey Loomis will restructure a large majority of contracts this offseason, everyone expects that. Below are some of the moves I'm expecting him to make.

Let walk---
Sedrick Ellis - no loss here besides WASTING a 1st round pick on a slob
Roman Harper - will miss him but he's too much of a vulnerability in the passing game
Will Smith - cap hit is HUGE. He and our front office both know he's a goner, but I will miss him, he was a solid player for us and has great character


Restructured contracts---
Drew Brees
Jahari Evans
Jabari Greer
David Hawthorne
Jon Vilma - MAJOR reduction in pay, will serve more as a leader of the defense, he's just not a game-changer anymore as much as I love the guy
Jimmy Graham - I'm willing to bet ML will make a gamble and wait until next offseason to try to get him taken care of.


Assuming these things come to fruition, we will be able to sign three stellar free agents and address holes remaining in the draft. I have included what Bushrod is expected to earn, and it's accounted for. He and ML will work out a cap friendly contract. So, who do we pursuit in free agency? Going after the big name is easy and a move everyone would love, but let's stay focused on value. Certain positions need to be steered clear of in FA, like OT. They're WAY overpaid, especially left tackles when going into FA. This is why you never see SP making a move to draft a LT in the 1st round (or any early round). Why waste a pick if there's a high chance he will move on after his rookie contract is completed? Anyways, what you want to do is address positions where you get major talent for the cheapest amount in free agency. The others you draft.

Free agency moves (targets)---

1) Ed Reed (FS) - $6.5 mil/yr for 2 years; ML will make this cap friendly by making a substantial portion bonus, probably a cap hit of around 4 mil/yr. MJ will be moved back over to CB.
2) Victor Butler (OLB) - cheap, played under Rob Ryan before

2013 NFL Draft
***One of our RBs will be traded, most likely for a 4th rounder. Someone will be willing to give that up for Chris Ivory, he could easily be a #1 back in some offenses.

1st round - Matt Elam (SS) - Florida (trade back that gets a 2nd rounder)
2nd round - Brandon Williams (NT) - Missouri Southern
3rd round - Brandon Jenkins (OLB) - Florida St.
4th round - Jordan Reed (TE) - Florida
4th round - Chris Faulk (OT) - LSU (may consider a trade up into the 3rd round to grab Faulk)
5th round - Lavar Edwards (DE) - LSU
6th round - Corey Fuller (WR) - VA Tech
7th round - Lerentee McCray (OLB) - Florida

1st round - Matt Elam - pair this guy up with Ed Reed and you have yourself a great safety combo. Elam is a hard-hitting, fast, play-making strong safety prospect. We should be able to trade back to the end of the first round to grab him and pick up an additional second rounder in addition. I think our CBs are decent and when we add MJ to that mix, we will be in decent shape. We just need a different scheme (simple, basic) for them to thrive.

Ultimate Matt Elam Highlights | HD - YouTube

2nd - Brandon Williams - will drop due to being a small school talent, but don't take that lightly. Williams is a very dominant NT and will be a run-stopping force up the middle. Good value with this pick, and he's also a critical piece we need to be added to our new 3-4 defense.

3rd - Brandon Jenkins - FSU DE Brandon Jenkins Career Highlights - YouTube

Brandon Williams DT, Missouri Southern State University(DEF) vs Lincoln University - YouTube

4th round - Jordan Reed - Jordan Reed vs Texas A&M 2012 - YouTube

4th round - Chris Faulk - we all have seen him play. Might have to move up into the third to get him, but he would provide great depth at LT and we may even be able to let Bushrod walk if we can get him. Although he's a bit raw (NFL-wise), he was expected to go first round not so long ago before his injury. This link was him playing Florida in 2011. LSU offense vs. Florida defense 2011 - YouTube

5th round - Lavar Edwards - Lavar Edwards - DE - LSU - YouTube

6th round - Corey Fuller - Miraculous Catch By Virginia Tech's Corey Fuller - ACC Must See Moment - YouTube DPOG - Week 6 - Corey Fuller 8 Points - YouTube

7th round - Lerentee McCray - Lerentee McCray vs Texas A&M (2012) - YouTube


***So if this were to be our offseason, this would be the depth chart***

OFFENSE

QB - Drew Brees, Chase Daniel
RB - Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Mark Ingram, Travaris Cadet
FB - Jed Collins
TE - Jimmy Graham, Jordan Reed, Michael Higgins
WR - Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Joseph Morgan, Nick Toon, Corey Fuller
LT - Jermon Bushrod (?) Chris Faulk, Charles Brown
LG - Ben Grubbs, Eric Olsen
C - Brian de la Puente
RG - Jahari Evans, Eric Olsen
RT - Chris Faulk, Zack Strief


DEFENSE

LDE - Cam Jordan, Tyrunn Walker
NT - Brodrick Bunkley, Brandon Williams
RDE - Akiem Hicks, Lavar Edwards
LOLB - Victor Butler, Martez Wilson
LILB - David Hawthorne, Jon Vilma, Jon Casillas
RILB - Curtis Lofton, Ramon Humber
ROLB - Brandon Jenkins, Junior Galette (?), Lerentee McCray
CB - Malcolm Jenkins, Jabari Greer, Patrick Robinson, Elbert Mack, Corey White
SS - Matt Elam, Rafael Bush, IAQ
FS - Ed Reed, IAQ


SPECIAL TEAMS
LS - Justin Drescher
P - Thomas Morstead
K - Garrett Hartly, possibly add a FA if Hartley struggles

 

[whodat4life84]

Things I LIKE about the above mock:
-OT is addressed
-Safety (combo) will go from weakest in NFL to top 5 I'd bet
-TE is PHENOMENAL---DB would be drooling if he got Jordan Reed in addition to have JG and Sproles
-Our running game would thrive even more with the addition of Faulk on the O-line

Things I don't like so much
-WR is sort of weak still, but DB makes anyone look good, maybe we can add some talent there next year when our defense is more stable; he likes to use TEs more anyway and now he would have two great ones.
-CB could stand upgrading, maybe we go with Trufant in the first and keep Harper, it remains to be seen. I'd rather the proposed above though. We need a big, tall boundary corner for sure. Most of our CBs are undersized for the 3-4.

 

[Superfan]

I think if our FA looks like that we probably get a OT in the first. Also if we cut Harper don't we lose out on a lot of $$$$. we will take a major hit. I thought someone says he will count 7 million if we cut him.

 

[Ross]

Where is the second 4th round pick coming from?

 

[AgnesT]

Where is the second 4th round pick coming from?

Where is the second rounder coming from?

 

[Saints 4 life]

Where is the second rounder coming from?

He states,

We should be able to trade back to the end of the first round to grab him and pick up an additional second rounder in addition.

That sounds like we're getting a second rd pick to go along with the one we would supposedly have, though. Right?

 

[tommy582000]

Where's Vilma? You have him restructuring but you don't have him on the depth chart.

 

[treeduck]

Where is the second 4th round pick coming from?

He's suggesting we trade down from 15 to 27 or 28 or lower, where Elam will still be available and we pick up a 2nd and a 4th.

 

[SaintsJunkie]

I like it, Matt Elam could play slot CB, SS, FS so he fits lots of needs

 

[meily]

I dont think we will be signing both Reed and Spencer and if we sign Spencer I dont think it will be to play DE in a 3-4...if we draft NT Williams then I think that means Hicks will be the DE opposite Jordan....not to sure Ivory is the one to go either.

 

[whodat4life84]

He states,


That sounds like we're getting a second rd pick to go along with the one we would supposedly have, though. Right?

Exactly!

 

[CanadaSaint2006]

Good work. I'm focused on the restructuring and FA parts and not so focused on the draft yet though.

 

[whodatdb]

Spencer is not worth 8.5m. Greene is a very bad fit in a 3-4. Jordan Reed is a bit of a reach but the rest is pretty good.

 

[whodat4life84]

Hey guys...in regards to Vilma-I'd most likely put him over at LILB and have he and Hawthorne rotating. With Hawthorne getting a majority of the snaps so Vilma stays as fresh as possible. I worked hard on all this and made the numbers work for us, so I'm sure ML can put some genius together to make it work even better. It will take a lot of restructuring to make our main two FAs (Reed and Spencer) work, but I will post my calculations later...I'm in Malibu, CA with my wife on a mini vacation. Hope everyone is well.

 

[whodat4life84]

I also think Chamberlain is releasable to save even more cap space. He didn't produce on the scale he was paid last season.