Article My three breakout players for the Saints on defense in 2020. One honorable mention (1 Viewer)

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All of these guys has already had their "breakout" moment. Marcus Williams will be a much better player with Jenkins in his ear.

I can't wait to see what happens when the game slows down for CGJ but he broke out last season as well.

I'd like to see more interceptions from Lattimore but those are hard to come by when you're as good as he is.

As far as Anzalone...............he just needs to do everything in his power to stay healthy. He makes the defense better when he's on the field.
 
renegadewa said:
All of these guys has already had their "breakout" moment. Marcus Williams will be a much better player with Jenkins in his ear.

I can't wait to see what happens when the game slows down for CGJ but he broke out last season as well.

I'd like to see more interceptions from Lattimore but those are hard to come by when you're as good as he is.

As far as Anzalone...............he just needs to do everything in his power to stay healthy. He makes the defense better when he's on the field.
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I agree with this. We either already know what he have in these four players, or at least have seen enough to have a good idea.

But I can understand why the OP chose these guys. I think anyone would have a hard time finding 4 Saints that fit the description better.
The team is too talented, too deep, too experienced, and full of players that have already proven themselves.

So that leaves you with rookies and last year's depth players to chose from... or players who have been out with injury OR maybe haven't completely peaked yet?
DerrickB went with the later and I can understand why. With our team being absolutely loaded everywhere, it's hard to peg which fringe players will even make the team.

If I had to pick 4 breakouts, I would go with:

Carl Granderson: He flashed last season in limited reps. Has the speed off the snap and natural bend. He could be our #3 edge defender as a pass rush specialist.
and he gets to come in fresh after tackles have been fighting with Cam and Davenport all day.

TreQuan Smith: This won't be a popular choice with Saints fans, but I see Smith making at least a small leap this year. I think he'll break out as a viable offensive weapon, but not a stat monster. Too many mouths to feed for him to have much if any fantasy value. But if he is good for a few catches per game with a TD here and there while sharing the field with AK, MT, ES, and JC... what more could you really ask for. His opportunities will likely be few, so he's going to have to make the most of them. And I think he will. (note: he'll be going against CB3's, safeties, and possibly LBs this year instead of teams' CB1's and CB2's.)

Erik McCoy: Physically he performed very well last season. I've heard that he had some issues setting protections though. As a RG, he won't have those duties, and he'll simply have to pin his ears back and do his job. I think he has the tools to do that at a very high level. If he does, we'll have the best (and youngest) right side OL in the league.

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson: He made a lot of plays and turned a lot of heads last season with what started out as limited snaps. But his usage grew as the season went on. The more he was used, the more he performed. THAT is exactly what you want to see from a 1st round blue-chip, but a 4th rounder? THAT is extremely impressive and encouraging. No player on our defense has received anywhere near as much "gush" from our coaching staff. From what I gather, Chauncey will almost be a position-less player this season. With Dennis Allen lining him up all over the place, you just know they will be designing and scheming ways to use him to attack, which will give him a LOT of opportunities to shine.
 
dutar76 said:
I agree with this. We either already know what he have in these four players, or at least have seen enough to have a good idea.

But I can understand why the OP chose these guys. I think anyone would have a hard time finding 4 Saints that fit the description better.
The team is too talented, too deep, too experienced, and full of players that have already proven themselves.

So that leaves you with rookies and last year's depth players to chose from... or players who have been out with injury OR maybe haven't completely peaked yet?
DerrickB went with the later and I can understand why. With our team being absolutely loaded everywhere, it's hard to peg which fringe players will even make the team.

If I had to pick 4 breakouts, I would go with:

Carl Granderson: He flashed last season in limited reps. Has the speed off the snap and natural bend. He could be our #3 edge defender as a pass rush specialist.
and he gets to come in fresh after tackles have been fighting with Cam and Davenport all day.

TreQuan Smith: This won't be a popular choice with Saints fans, but I see Smith making at least a small leap this year. I think he'll break out as a viable offensive weapon, but not a stat monster. Too many mouths to feed for him to have much if any fantasy value. But if he is good for a few catches per game with a TD here and there while sharing the field with AK, MT, ES, and JC... what more could you really ask for. His opportunities will likely be few, so he's going to have to make the most of them. And I think he will. (note: he'll be going against CB3's, safeties, and possibly LBs this year instead of teams' CB1's and CB2's.)

Erik McCoy: Physically he performed very well last season. I've heard that he had some issues setting protections though. As a RG, he won't have those duties, and he'll simply have to pin his ears back and do his job. I think he has the tools to do that at a very high level. If he does, we'll have the best (and youngest) right side OL in the league.

Chauncey Gardner-Johnson: He made a lot of plays and turned a lot of heads last season with what started out as limited snaps. But his usage grew as the season went on. The more he was used, the more he performed. THAT is exactly what you want to see from a 1st round blue-chip, but a 4th rounder? THAT is extremely impressive and encouraging. No player on our defense has received anywhere near as much "gush" from our coaching staff. From what I gather, Chauncey will almost be a position-less player this season. With Dennis Allen lining him up all over the place, you just know they will be designing and scheming ways to use him to attack, which will give him a LOT of opportunities to shine.
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I agree with everyone you listed but my addition on the list would be Trey Hendrickson. He's shown flashes of what he can be but he has problems with staying on the field. It seems like every few plays he's in a game he comes out with some sort of little "owie" and has to leave the field.

There's a lot of fans in love with Hendrickson for whatever reason..........................I don't get it. To me he's a situational spot player at best. Very inconsistent.
 
I submit David Onyemata as a breakout candidate. He has the ability to tally double-digit sacks, and he’s already a very good run defender. He possesses high-end power, and being as raw as he was coming into the league... this year could be the year it all starts to click.
I think he plays well enough to make anything the Saints get from Rankins lagniappe, and lays the stage for Rankins to walk as a free agent next offseason.
 
renegadewa said:
I agree with everyone you listed but my addition on the list would be Trey Hendrickson. He's shown flashes of what he can be but he has problems with staying on the field. It seems like every few plays he's in a game he comes out with some sort of little "owie" and has to leave the field.

There's a lot of fans in love with Hendrickson for whatever reason..........................I don't get it. To me he's a situational spot player at best. Very inconsistent.
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The problem with Hendrickson is setting the edge. He can put pressure on the QB, but has trouble holding his own against the run.
 
Reggie09MVP said:
Anzalone is not better in coverage than Demario, in any situation, bar maybe playing madden.
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From a purely athletic standpoint, he can be. Hell, athletically Anzalone has the potential to be a perennial All-Pro, but athleticism means nothing if you can't stay healthy enough to use it. Even then, it's not really fair to compare a LB'er who's been playing 8 seasons to another who's only played three (and only one full season).
 
the-commish said:
The problem with Hendrickson is setting the edge. He can put pressure on the QB, but has trouble holding his own against the run.
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You are correct on that. It's what makes me say that he is a situational or spot player at best.

He's far from being the complete package.
 
BelowZero said:
From a purely athletic standpoint, he can be. Hell, athletically Anzalone has the potential to be a perennial All-Pro, but athleticism means nothing if you can't stay healthy enough to use it. Even then, it's not really fair to compare a LB'er who's been playing 8 seasons to another who's only played three (and only one full season).
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Im not so sure he is more athletic. Certainly doesn’t translate to the field. Demario was literally one of the finest coverage backers in the league last year. He is a great player in space. The article compares the two men. I just strongly disagree with their comparison.
 
renegadewa said:
I agree with everyone you listed but my addition on the list would be Trey Hendrickson. He's shown flashes of what he can be but he has problems with staying on the field. It seems like every few plays he's in a game he comes out with some sort of little "owie" and has to leave the field.

There's a lot of fans in love with Hendrickson for whatever reason..........................I don't get it. To me he's a situational spot player at best. Very inconsistent.
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I would be very surprised if T-Rex "broke out". At this point, he pretty much is what he is. A solid and versatile back-up DE that can slide inside on occasion.

The whole team can't be all pros, you need guys like Trey on the roster.
 
It feels like all the defensive players have already broken out. The only problem this defense has is staying healthy. So maybe they’ll breakout on the health side this season.
 

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