Saints sign CB/S Lonnie Johnson Jr. to a one year deal (1yr/$1.09M) (1 Viewer)

[saint_drago]

Looks like the other teams after him were the 49ers and Seahawks. Excited about this one.

Oh if the 49ers were after him then you know he's the real deal. Lol I'm way more pumped about this signing than I should be. I literally just found out who the guy is this morning but after several minutes researching him (a.k.a reading comments in this thread and watching Youtube) I'm convinced that he's a great scheme fit and a fantastic pick up. I don't know the contract details yet but we probably got a bargain.

 

[Joodas Avila]

We may not have a critical need to, but I do think we should absolutely be drafting a safety at some point. Mathieu and Maye are aging. PJ Williams is a free agent. We don't know what we have with Monday and he's coming off of a serious injury. Lonnie gives us depth and versatility for sure, but I do think we need some youth for development.

Totally agree. Because of the value, I can honestly see our 1st RD pick being Bama S/DB Brian Branch. He didn’t test the beat at the combine & may slide, but his onfield film is ELITE! Not just elite, but elite at multiple positions. Dude can play boundary CB, SLOT, Strong, split & single high S. I mean damn…in my eyes, he’s the most versatile DB, if not player in the draft at his position. From tackling, to IQ, to coverage, pretty much everything across the board, Branch already does at a pro level. I mean, those traits are literally a tailor made fit for us & DA’s defense.

 

[madsaint1967]

Totally agree. Because of the value, I can honestly see our 1st RD pick being Bama S/DB Brian Branch. He didn’t test the beat at the combine & may slide, but his onfield film is ELITE! Not just elite, but elite at multiple positions. Dude can play boundary CB, SLOT, Strong, split & single high S. I mean damn…in my eyes, he’s the most versatile DB, if not player in the draft at his position. From tackling, to IQ, to coverage, pretty much everything across the board, Branch already does at a pro level. I mean, those traits are literally a tailor made fit for us & DA’s defense.

I want Branch because he can tackle, dude can wrap up.

 

[Joodas Avila]

I want Branch because he can tackle, dude can wrap up.

Yup, he’s a very reliable tackler for sure. On top of that, he’s a heat seeking missile of a blitzed too.

 

[BRSaint225]

I want Branch because he can tackle, dude can wrap up.

Marcus Williams scrolling the thread on his burner phone:

 

[duckjr78]

NFL offenses are now using principles like NBA offenses. They are going to move and switch until they have their best player on your worst and then just eat you alive.
It would seem to me that the best way to handle this is to get one highly skilled boundary CB who can follow a specific receiver and then basically have everyone else in your secondary be something of a swiss army knife. That way, depending on your #1 CB's skills and the other team's main receiving weapon's skills, you can play mix & matchup to try and force the offense to beat you with all of their skill players as opposed to just getting destroyed by one.

I just don't see today's NFL having much need for someone like (one of my all time favorites) Roman Harper. He would just get abused to no end by a play designer like a Payton or Reid. Same would go for a Ronnie Lott, most likely. I like the idea of Taylor, Maye, & Johnson all roaming around with Lattimore either on the other team's #1 or #2.

 

[madsaint1967]

Marcus Williams scrolling the thread on his burner phone:

As much love as Williams got on this forum, he couldn't wrap up if his life depended on it. Worst tackling safety I ever saw. Saw him get pushed for 20 yards like a ragdoll, and stick his shoulder into guys that just bounced off. Didn't like the guy since the Minnesota debacle.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

Bargain deal for very quality depth at multiple DB positions. Plus veteran min. salaries doesn’t count against compensatory picks.

 

[Rouxble]

Bargain deal for very quality depth at multiple DB positions. Plus veteran min. salaries doesn’t count against compensatory picks.

He may be another minimum contract guy that doesn't make the cut, assuming we carry ten DB's again. These seven are probably safe:

Lattimore
Adebo
Taylor
Roby
Maye
Mathieu
JT Gray

These guys are competing for the last three spots, not including any draft picks or UDFA's:

Abram
Johnson
Umadi
Monday
Yiadom
V Gray
Pride Jr.
Williams (if re-signed)

Since he's a vested veteran his contract would be guaranteed if he is on the roster on week one, that hurts him more than it helps him.

 

[SonOfNOLA]

He may be another minimum contract guy that doesn't make the cut, assuming we carry ten DB's again. These seven are probably safe:

Lattimore
Adebo
Taylor
Roby
Maye
Mathieu
JT Gray

These guys are competing for the last three spots, not including any draft picks or UDFA's:

Abram
Johnson
Umadi
Monday
Yiadom
V Gray
Pride Jr.
Williams (if re-signed)

Since he's a vested veteran his contract would be guaranteed if he is on the roster on week one, that hurts him more than it helps him.

Johnson, Abram, and a 2nd-4th round DB draft pick are stronger choices from the rest listed below.

Lonnie takes over PJ’s CB/FS role as the 5th corner. Abram offers more as a hybrid LB/box SS with a lot of game film than others. The rest are former PS and futures deal for camp.

Some surprises could happen so anything’s possible with Monday coming back from preseason IR as an undrafted rookie but I’m not expecting more than PS. I think another DB could make it for dual backend depth/ST unit though between Monday, Amadi and Yiadom.