Triplett: Can Saints find 'must-have' edge rusher in thinned-out market? (1 Viewer)

[Andrus]

Mike Triplett | ESPN Staff Writer

The New Orleans Saints’ No. 1 need is so obvious, but everyone else in the NFL seems to be thinking the same thing.

Coach Sean Payton acknowledged that an edge-rushing defensive end is a “must” for the Saints this year. The problem is that almost all of the top candidates to fill that “must” have been taken off the market.

Potential free agents Jason Pierre-Paul, Melvin Ingram and Chandler Jones all got locked up by franchise tags last week, even though it cost their teams between $14.5 and $16.9 million apiece. And the Carolina Panthers locked up young pass rusher Mario Addison with a new three-year contract worth $7.5 million per year.

So where does that leave the Saints? Either they’ll have to potentially overpay for a pass rusher in the second tier -- like the New England Patriots’ Jabaal Sheard -- or they’ll have to count on this year’s draft class. It’s supposedly a deep class for pass rushers, but the Saints hate to be forced into reaching to fill specific needs come draft time...

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