Saints Need an Offensive Weapon (6 Viewers)

[Hank]

It's worth noting a guy like Tre is a 5th year senior. Two more seasons than a guy like Tet. 5th year seniors are reg flags in general.

He's a starter in the NFL--draft him

 

[Snakehead]

The top 10 offenses in yardage in the NFL with the exception of Cincinnati are excellent at running the ball and not being able to run is a big reason why they're having issues.

You call it a luxury but I'd say it's a necessity. As we're sorting this mess out the one thing we need to be able to do is run the ball. It's the best thing you can do for a defense and the best thing you can do for a young QB.

Obviously the line is a massive part of that but our starting line with the exception of one guard spot is under a multi year contract so our options are limited. We need to shore that guard spot up with an actual starter and draft depth.

People are totally missing the mark on discounting Jeanty at 10. Jeanty is a player you build around. He would be RB1 from day 1 allowing AK to move to a secondary role which would help his durability and explosiveness through the season. KM would be the guy who spells AJ between the tackles. We have Fuaga, Penning and McCoy. Ruiz could be beat out by a rookie giving us legit depth at C/OG. If we ended up with 2 OG starters out of this draft, guys that need to be an athletic 320+, we'll have a rushing attack. Holker is our best blocking TE. We need to get a legit blocking TE in FA, trade, draft or through UDFA. There are guys onnthe draft that are 6'5" - 6'7" 260lbs plus who would help the rushing attack. Get some WRs who are like Detroit's WR group or SF and we'd be set. We need a playmaker, but some physical guys with grit will help and then we add a playmaker X. Shaheed can be the small playmaker.

Everything above is doable in the draft and would be great for a team rebuilding. If Carr is the bridge, he can handle that offense and once it's in place whoever we draft in the future of Rattler isn’t teh guy can take it over.

 

[longtime lurker]

Jeanty with a big game tonight in prime time.

 

[Saintcd]

People are totally missing the mark on discounting Jeanty at 10. Jeanty is a player you build around. He would be RB1 from day 1 allowing AK to move to a secondary role which would help his durability and explosiveness through the season. KM would be the guy who spells AJ between the tackles. We have Fuaga, Penning and McCoy. Ruiz could be beat out by a rookie giving us legit depth at C/OG. If we ended up with 2 OG starters out of this draft, guys that need to be an athletic 320+, we'll have a rushing attack. Holker is our best blocking TE. We need to get a legit blocking TE in FA, trade, draft or through UDFA. There are guys onnthe draft that are 6'5" - 6'7" 260lbs plus who would help the rushing attack. Get some WRs who are like Detroit's WR group or SF and we'd be set. We need a playmaker, but some physical guys with grit will help and then we add a playmaker X. Shaheed can be the small playmaker.

Everything above is doable in the draft and would be great for a team rebuilding. If Carr is the bridge, he can handle that offense and once it's in place whoever we draft in the future of Rattler isn’t teh guy can take it over.

I’m good with Jeanty and moving to more of a run first. Easier to build than having to load up an entire receiving corps and like you said free Kamara, he could utilized like bush/sproles and what kamara is perfect for. Also extending his career by not running him up the gut. It could also take some pressure off the QB.

 

[FlySaint]

How about Jalen Milroe as our next Taysom/Gadget guy? Could he be had for a mid round pick? He won’t be a starting QB in the NFL because he doesn’t see the field and make decisions at the level needed. But he’s a heck of an athlete.

 

[St4ever]

They need a super awesome running back

 

[Snakehead]

How about Jalen Milroe as our next Taysom/Gadget guy? Could he be had for a mid round pick? He won’t be a starting QB in the NFL because he doesn’t see the field and make decisions at the level needed. But he’s a heck of an athlete.

I'd rather Savion Williams who has been used as an offensive weapon. He's also played QB before and can throw 80 yards. He's 6'5" 225lbs.

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

I’m good with Jeanty and moving to more of a run first. Easier to build than having to load up an entire receiving corps and like you said free Kamara, he could utilized like bush/sproles and what kamara is perfect for. Also extending his career by not running him up the gut. It could also take some pressure off the QB.

AK is one of the highest paid RBs.

Reducing him to a bush/sproles role is just terrible asset management.

 

[Pkessling]

They need a super awesome running back

Because the OL is so good at run blocking.

 

[Pkessling]

I’m good with Jeanty and moving to more of a run first. Easier to build than having to load up an entire receiving corps and like you said free Kamara, he could utilized like bush/sproles and what kamara is perfect for. Also extending his career by not running him up the gut. It could also take some pressure off the QB.

I’m good with Jeanty and moving to more of a run first. Easier to build than having to load up an entire receiving corps and like you said free Kamara, he could utilized like bush/sproles and what kamara is perfect for. Also extending his career by not running him up the gut. It could also take some pressure off the QB.

Especially with how good our OLine is at run blocking.

 

[kennydfresh]

Saints need

Offensive guards
Receivers
DE
DT
LB
S
QB

In no particular order

1 OG, Cesar Ruiz just signed a contract extension he is not going anywhere. So I would draft 1 OG (2nd/3rd rd) to start and then draft a swing tackle for depth.

 

[longtime lurker]

Got the Jeanty bowl game on….going to spend the whole game imagining him in the B&G.

 

[duckjr78]

IMHO, alot of the old maxims about football still ring true. Play defense, stop the run, don’t turn the ball over, etc. Those are all still good things to do, if you can. But with all of the rule changes and a much better understanding of the math behind what produces wins, there is a new dynamic that rules the NFL.

You have to have a dude on your team at a premium position who is just flat-out better than the guy he’s lining up against on the other teams, and it is best if he can be better than that other guy on 3rd & 4th downs.

The only exceptions to this rule are 1. The teams that get extremely lucky with a rookie QB and are able to build a team loaded with talent around him (Seahawks 15 years ago, 49’ers recently) and 2. Teams with a generational QB. (Brady, Brees, Manning; Mahommes, Allen, Jackson, Burrows). That’s it. Everyone else has to have a “That Dude” to compete.

The list of what positions That Dude can play is short:

D-lineman who can draw holding penalties and affect the QB’s platform with pressure.
CB who can break up passes without drawing penalties, or virtually shut down one side of the field or one #1 WR.
Pass catcher (WR or TE) who can beat his man 1-on-1 or draw PI penalties because he is so hard to cover otherwise.

Again, aside from generational QB, that’s the whole list. And the Saints don’t have a single one of any of these…..

But it hasn’t been for lack of trying. They’ve taken some shots at mid-round QB’s. They’ve loaded up the CB room with talent (and this is where they are the closest to having that guy - IF someone takes the next step). And they’ve absolutely burned through 1st and 2nd round picks trying to get DE’s and DT’s who can be that pressure player. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t happened.

I agree 100% with the OP. The Saints need to leave this draft with either a pass catcher on offense (WR or TE) who can just flat out beat the guy covering him or a pressure player on the Dline. My preference would be the pass catcher who can be that 3rd down safety blanket for whoever the QB is in 2026. And spend the 1st round pick so they have 5 years of control on the first contract to allow the head coach, offensive coordinator, and QB situations to have time to get settled in. Note, you can still trade back, accumulate picks, AND use that 1st round pick on your guy. History is loaded with guys who were game-wreckers picked between 10-25 or so.

Please, for the love of all things football, let’s hope the Saints leave this year’s draft with one of these players.

 

[WhoDat?DrewDat]

Sure the age difference is worth noting. All things equal between 2 prospects, you'd likely want the younger one. However in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't mean much and isn't something I would describe as a red flag. With the recent changes to Transfer Eligibility, NIL, and even the COVID impacted seasons, whatever anomalies there may have been in the past with some 5th year senior's likely won't apply the same way anymore.

I can't imagine the Bengals are upset about Burrow being a 5th year senior, the Commanders probably aren't upset about Daniels being a 5th year senior, or Broncos likely aren't upset about Nix being a 5th year senior. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples, but those 3 just immediately popped into my head. Or if we need a recent WR example, Ricky Pearsall was taken in the 1st round this past year. His season was railroaded a bit after getting shot right before the season, but he certainly looked good last night with 8 catches, 141 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Or even a guy like Jayden Reed 2 years ago is an even better comparison as he went a similar route that Harris did transferring from a small school after playing well and finding his way at a bigger school in his final seasons.

Edit- After looking a bit more- Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, Terry Mclauren are some great examples of recent 5th year seniors that have become top tier WR's in the league. Could even consider our very own Michael Thomas to be pretty much a 5th year senior as he spent a year at Fork Union Military Academy after high school then went on to play 4 seasons at Ohio State.

For a guy like Tre Harris. He did well in his final season at LA Tech. Then transferred to Ole Miss and had a very good year last year for them and was excellent this past season. This isn't a guy that just randomly started playing well in his final season. He's been playing well the past 3 seasons. More importantly he possesses all the tools you'd want from a top tier NFL WR.

Red flags are not deal breakers.

And of course you can find examples of them working out just like I can find plenty of 5th year seniors not working out.