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I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see how our team stacked up at each spot compared to other teams and see where the major holes are, at least in my humble opinion.
So, here is a list of "Positional Importance" from NFL.com. Now, while I don't personally agree with "exactly" where each spot is, it does match up Fairley (lol) well with the contract #'s and with what we see play out each year as to which teams win/lose. I also added in "Run Stopping DE" about where I thought it should go, mainly because I wanted to write the word "Elite" next to Cam Jordan's name, so, yeah.
Basic Ranking Levels
Elite: self explanatory
Good: A position of strength
Serviceable: Middling compared to the rest of the NFL, nothing special
Hole: Bottom half of the league, needs addressing asap
QB - Brees/McCown: Elite. Brees is still very much an Elite player. McCown is capable of keeping you in a playoff race over a 3 game stretch.
Pass Rusher - Kikaha/Kruger/Tapp/Gwachum: Massive Hole. This is the single largest issue on the entire team, IMHO. It directly correlates with the team's inability to consistently win in the 4th quarter of games, when 3rd & 4th down become so critical.
LT - Armstead/Peat: Elite. The Saints are the only team in the NFL who have 2 guys both capable of playing LT at an elite level.
#1 CB - Breaux: Good. The physical tools are there to be elite and he has shut down some elite #1 WR's, but we need to see a full season. Considering the 3rd year is usually a "light bulb" year for many players, I expect to see Breaux make the move to Elite.
WR #1 - Thomas: Good. I fully expect 90/1,200/12 next year. Not quite elite, but very, very, very good.
3tech - Rankins/Fairely: Good. Another position of serious strength, elite if Fairley gets resigned.
RB - Ingram/Hightower/Lasco/Cadet/Kuhn - Just servicable here. Ingram can be "the guy," Hightower is a good #3, Lasco has massive upside, and Kuhn is really nice to have. But there isn't a stud here, in any capacity. Someone in the backfield has to be able to beat a LB one-on-one for a critical 3rd down conversion in 4th quarters and none of these guys can do that.
Run Stopping DE: Jordan: Elite.
Pass Rusher #2 - Jordan: Good. While not quite capable of being a dominant 1-on-1 pass rusher by himself, he is a fabulous complimentary rusher and has the requisite athletic ability to chase down QB's as they flush and step up.
MLB - Robinson/Anthony: Servicable.
TE - Fleener/Hill/Hooman: Servicable.
FS - Byrd/Bell: Good with the added advantage of having two of them. Very strong position.
WLB - Ellerbe: Could be good, but due to injuries, if I said anything above Servicable, I'd be fooling myself.
RT - Strief: Good. Production says Elite, but due to age, I'll stick with Good. I'd love to see a mid round pick get spent on a player to groom for after Zach, but depth is the concern here, not Zach's ability to still produce at RT.
#2 CB - Williams/Moore: Servicable.
RG - Evans: Hole.
WR #2 - Cooks/Snead: Elite. I don't care what the talking heads say, there isn't another team that can trot out two guys that are tougher matchups as their #2/#3 WR's.
OC - Unger: I'll say Good, but the offense's production when he's in vs. out say Elite.
SS - Vaccaro: Good, but only because his production *seems inconsistent. How much of that is that he is asked to do so much to cover up for others?
SLB - Stupar/Anthony: Hole.
LG - Peat/Kelemete: Good. Peat has more talent than he may get to use while at LG, but that talent plus Senio's versatility make this a good position.
NT - Davison: Good position here, and a steal in the 5th to boot!
K - Lutz: Might just be Good! For now, Serviceable and that's a change in the right direction.
P - Morestead: Elite, he's a stud
Return Man - This is a Hole. Byrd doesn't fumble and Lewis has shown some shake, but that's really it.
Issues:
Pass Rusher - Huge, giant, massive, gaping hole. They tried to double up on Kikaha & Tull, but neither has panned out. Kikaha still may, but I don't think you can trust such an important aspect of the game to him. His future production at this point has to be considered lagniappe.
RB - Ingram (#1), Hightower (backup), Lasco (young guy with massive potential), and Kuhn (savvy FB vet) all fill their respective roles well enough. But there simply isn't a guy to lean on during 2 min or 4 min drills who can flat out win a 1-on-1 for you to get that extra yard that is so often the difference between winning and losing a close game between good teams. You can possibly kill 2 birds here by getting a guy with some return ability.
MLB - Robinson has filled in admirably here, but it's still an area of need. I'll get to this position a little later on.
TE - Fleener should improve in year #2. Hooman is very versatile, and Hill fills the backup to Fleener spot nicely. Most of us want a more dominant #1 TE, but with Thomas's looks sure to increase AND the probably addition of a better pass catching RB next year, the #1 TE's targets will more than likely go down in 2017, so is there really that much value in trying to hit a home run at this spot? Personally, I don't think so.
WLB - Ellerbe is a Good player, but so often injured. Again, I'll get to this position a little later on.
#2 CB - I believe that with DA's scheme, the importance of this position is muted a bit, as long as the player has a very good grasp of the scheme and responsibilities. A med/high end vet here would pay large dividends because it allows for man coverage if you need it, or DA has the option to put Breaux on a team's #2 while using the #2 CB and a LB/S to bracket the #1 WR.
RG - I love Jahri, and I'm very happy with how he played this year, all things considered. But over half of the snaps the offense takes, the RG has to go against the other team's 3tech, who is usually a very, very good player. Jahri simply doesn't have the body anymore to do what he used to be the best in the game at.
SLB - Seeing at trend at LB? We suck hard at the 2nd level of defense. Here' the thing. Ellerbe offers really good ability, but no reliability. Robertson is versatile and reliable, but not much of a game changer. Anthony has ability, but needs to make a mental jump. Stupar and the rest are all JAG's. At minimum, you have to add a "Good" level player somewhere at LB. You also must have at least a "Serviceable" level player as your backup for Ellerbe. So you need a minimum of 4 LB's and right now there are 2. Does Anthony make the jump, they sure need him to.
What does SaintsReport think about our positional needs as it relates to positional importance?
So, here is a list of "Positional Importance" from NFL.com. Now, while I don't personally agree with "exactly" where each spot is, it does match up Fairley (lol) well with the contract #'s and with what we see play out each year as to which teams win/lose. I also added in "Run Stopping DE" about where I thought it should go, mainly because I wanted to write the word "Elite" next to Cam Jordan's name, so, yeah.
Basic Ranking Levels
Elite: self explanatory
Good: A position of strength
Serviceable: Middling compared to the rest of the NFL, nothing special
Hole: Bottom half of the league, needs addressing asap
QB - Brees/McCown: Elite. Brees is still very much an Elite player. McCown is capable of keeping you in a playoff race over a 3 game stretch.
Pass Rusher - Kikaha/Kruger/Tapp/Gwachum: Massive Hole. This is the single largest issue on the entire team, IMHO. It directly correlates with the team's inability to consistently win in the 4th quarter of games, when 3rd & 4th down become so critical.
LT - Armstead/Peat: Elite. The Saints are the only team in the NFL who have 2 guys both capable of playing LT at an elite level.
#1 CB - Breaux: Good. The physical tools are there to be elite and he has shut down some elite #1 WR's, but we need to see a full season. Considering the 3rd year is usually a "light bulb" year for many players, I expect to see Breaux make the move to Elite.
WR #1 - Thomas: Good. I fully expect 90/1,200/12 next year. Not quite elite, but very, very, very good.
3tech - Rankins/Fairely: Good. Another position of serious strength, elite if Fairley gets resigned.
RB - Ingram/Hightower/Lasco/Cadet/Kuhn - Just servicable here. Ingram can be "the guy," Hightower is a good #3, Lasco has massive upside, and Kuhn is really nice to have. But there isn't a stud here, in any capacity. Someone in the backfield has to be able to beat a LB one-on-one for a critical 3rd down conversion in 4th quarters and none of these guys can do that.
Run Stopping DE: Jordan: Elite.
Pass Rusher #2 - Jordan: Good. While not quite capable of being a dominant 1-on-1 pass rusher by himself, he is a fabulous complimentary rusher and has the requisite athletic ability to chase down QB's as they flush and step up.
MLB - Robinson/Anthony: Servicable.
TE - Fleener/Hill/Hooman: Servicable.
FS - Byrd/Bell: Good with the added advantage of having two of them. Very strong position.
WLB - Ellerbe: Could be good, but due to injuries, if I said anything above Servicable, I'd be fooling myself.
RT - Strief: Good. Production says Elite, but due to age, I'll stick with Good. I'd love to see a mid round pick get spent on a player to groom for after Zach, but depth is the concern here, not Zach's ability to still produce at RT.
#2 CB - Williams/Moore: Servicable.
RG - Evans: Hole.
WR #2 - Cooks/Snead: Elite. I don't care what the talking heads say, there isn't another team that can trot out two guys that are tougher matchups as their #2/#3 WR's.
OC - Unger: I'll say Good, but the offense's production when he's in vs. out say Elite.
SS - Vaccaro: Good, but only because his production *seems inconsistent. How much of that is that he is asked to do so much to cover up for others?
SLB - Stupar/Anthony: Hole.
LG - Peat/Kelemete: Good. Peat has more talent than he may get to use while at LG, but that talent plus Senio's versatility make this a good position.
NT - Davison: Good position here, and a steal in the 5th to boot!
K - Lutz: Might just be Good! For now, Serviceable and that's a change in the right direction.
P - Morestead: Elite, he's a stud
Return Man - This is a Hole. Byrd doesn't fumble and Lewis has shown some shake, but that's really it.
Issues:
Pass Rusher - Huge, giant, massive, gaping hole. They tried to double up on Kikaha & Tull, but neither has panned out. Kikaha still may, but I don't think you can trust such an important aspect of the game to him. His future production at this point has to be considered lagniappe.
RB - Ingram (#1), Hightower (backup), Lasco (young guy with massive potential), and Kuhn (savvy FB vet) all fill their respective roles well enough. But there simply isn't a guy to lean on during 2 min or 4 min drills who can flat out win a 1-on-1 for you to get that extra yard that is so often the difference between winning and losing a close game between good teams. You can possibly kill 2 birds here by getting a guy with some return ability.
MLB - Robinson has filled in admirably here, but it's still an area of need. I'll get to this position a little later on.
TE - Fleener should improve in year #2. Hooman is very versatile, and Hill fills the backup to Fleener spot nicely. Most of us want a more dominant #1 TE, but with Thomas's looks sure to increase AND the probably addition of a better pass catching RB next year, the #1 TE's targets will more than likely go down in 2017, so is there really that much value in trying to hit a home run at this spot? Personally, I don't think so.
WLB - Ellerbe is a Good player, but so often injured. Again, I'll get to this position a little later on.
#2 CB - I believe that with DA's scheme, the importance of this position is muted a bit, as long as the player has a very good grasp of the scheme and responsibilities. A med/high end vet here would pay large dividends because it allows for man coverage if you need it, or DA has the option to put Breaux on a team's #2 while using the #2 CB and a LB/S to bracket the #1 WR.
RG - I love Jahri, and I'm very happy with how he played this year, all things considered. But over half of the snaps the offense takes, the RG has to go against the other team's 3tech, who is usually a very, very good player. Jahri simply doesn't have the body anymore to do what he used to be the best in the game at.
SLB - Seeing at trend at LB? We suck hard at the 2nd level of defense. Here' the thing. Ellerbe offers really good ability, but no reliability. Robertson is versatile and reliable, but not much of a game changer. Anthony has ability, but needs to make a mental jump. Stupar and the rest are all JAG's. At minimum, you have to add a "Good" level player somewhere at LB. You also must have at least a "Serviceable" level player as your backup for Ellerbe. So you need a minimum of 4 LB's and right now there are 2. Does Anthony make the jump, they sure need him to.
What does SaintsReport think about our positional needs as it relates to positional importance?
