What positions still need to be helped? (1 Viewer)

[los226]

LB is still a big cloud of mystery to me. We have a bunch of backups (Klein, Anthony, Robertson, Teo) competing for starting spots with our highest potential players being injury prone (Ellerbe and Anzalone). And Bighill from the CFL doesn't make the picture look any better.

 

[Tacoes]

This guy is going to be excited to know there was a day 2 and 3 of the draft.

 

[Hopeless]

I stopped reading at TE

Surprised you got that far. I didnt get past the WR part.

I believe we still have many roles to fill like WR, TE, LB, DE, and S

WR: Snead #2 wideout isn't going to cut it. Ginn has rock hands! Someone needs to step up! I do like Jake Lampman though he got injured end of year
TE: Coby Fleener doesn't have that good of hands
LB: Don't want to rely on Monte Teo
DE: picked up late round draft picks
S: suprised we never drafted a safety. Wasn't impressed with Bells coverage although he did play physical

What positions do you think need to be helped and how?

So are you suggesting that Snead / Ginn wont cut it as WR #2 on this team but Lampman will?

Didnt read anything after that.

 

[bobad]

We've addressed our needs the best we can. If we step up in player quality in the positions you list, our cap will be destroyed. Every team has the same problem. They have to settle for relatively untested youngsters and journeyman vets at some positions. The only way a team can have prime players at most positions without destroying the cap is to get very lucky in the draft.

I'm optimistic. Willie Snead is a great player, wouldn't trade him for any other possession receiver. Our LB's should be much better this year. Fleener was coming on late in the season. Our edge rushing will depend on health and how the rest of the D line and LB's perform.

 

[dutar76]

Our WR's corps look like this:

Thomas - He's our go-to possession guy that proved himself AS A ROOKIE..

Snead - As consistent as any WR we've ever had in New Orleans.

Ginn - Fast and Wiley. A joker WR that can return kicks and pull safeties with him 50 yards down the field. Catches good enough to make defenses pay if they don't give him his due attention.

Coleman - A strong case can be made that he is the best vet minimum #4 WR in the league. He's also our best run blocking WR. He'll never be a superstar, but he's the kind of cheap talent that teams have to fill out their roster with and he's proven to be there when his number is called.

Dural, Williams-Lambert, Tommy Lee Lewis, and Fuller - there's talent in this group. One of those "best man win" scenarios. One of these guys will make the team.

 

[dutar76]

Here's a look at our TEs:

Fleener - Not Jimmy Graham, but should have Benjamin Watson-like #s this year. His targets will go up simply from Cooks departure and the familiarity he'll have gained in a full season in our offense. Not superstar material, I don't believe, but I think he'll surprise some people this season.

Hill - Good blocking TE who has proven trustworthy as a receiver when his #s been called. Spent most of last year out with injury. His absence was felt.

Hooman - Good blocking TE who has proven trustworthy as a receiver when his #s been called. Spent most of last year out with injury. His absence was felt.

Phillips - He filled in admirably last season. Think he sticks on the roster.

In a nutshell... We're loaded at TE. We don't have any Gronks, Grahams, Reeds, etc... But we have good solid players and now that we have them all back, I think we get to use Fleener for what he was signed for. Last year we basicallly had Fleener and Phillips... That is all.

 

[AgnesT]

WR- maybe. maybe the Saints could use another one
TE- Saints have enough they could give one or 2 away
LB- Saints have enough of those they could give one or two away and they drafted one.
DE- drafted two and there are many others on the roster
Safety- Saints drafted Marcus Williams in the 2nd round.

What else ya got?

 

[dutar76]

Last year, pretty much all we had at LB was Robertson, Stupar, and Ellerbe *for 1/2 a season Robertson and Stupar were signed for depth and speacial teams.

This is how we look at LB this season:

Klein - showed he is NFL starting LB quality last season when Keuchly went down. We signed him to be our starting MLB. If somebody beats him out for that job, it'll be on their merit, not his lacking.

Teo - he was the starting MLB on a very good Charger's defense. Mike Nolan hand picked him to join our team this offseason. There's a reason for that. Not sure where he plays, but he has expirience at all LB spots. Signing him means we have starting caliber depth. say that 3 times slowly and let it sink in

Ellerbe - yeah yeah yeah... always injured. Well... he sure played well when he got healthy. Pencil him in at WLB and make somebody beat him out for that job. BTW... He's not injured right now and it's the offseason... so that's a good start.

Anzalone - Ellerbe insurance with the potential to take the starting job. He can cover TEs, RBs, and is a heat seeking missile when told to blitz. He can set an edge AND he can rush the passer. Comes with some injury concern, but not as bad as some try and make it out to be. Be broke an arm bone last year... No lower body injuries to speak of.

Robertson - Played very well as our starting WLB for the start of last season. Played very well as our starting MLB for the second half of last season. He's our 4th or 5th option at LB. Another proven starter for depth. see the pattern yet?

Stupar - Special teams ace that payed SAM for us last year. He did well in that role, its just that we didn't really use a SAM much. He has the ability and the brain to play every LB position. Although if he moves into a starter role, then that means he either had unbelievable growth as a player, or we had several key injuries... several.

Anthony / Bighill - There's a sliver of hope for both of these guys. Nobody has the inside scoop or enough information to say much about Bighill, probablly a special teamer. Anthony has the body to be an elite LB, just lacks instincts or so we've read. Mike Nolan gets one offseason to bring him around. But I think the biggest thing is simply going to be Anthony's familiarity with the defense beings it's his 3rd season. Still holding out some hope.

So there's our LBs. Dome Patrol? LOL, no probably not. But we have 3rd stringers with quality snaps as a starter in the NFL. We might not have a superstar on the roster (although a healthy Ellerbe could be... and I think Klein might have sneaky star-caliber potential). Regardless, even if we don't have a star, and even if we have a few players miss time here... we have quadruple the depth we had last season at the LB position. We are greatly improved.

 

[dutar76]

At DE opposite Cam Jordan:

Okafor - was a beast when healthy 2 years ago. A beast that stood out on a very good Arizona defense. Everything I've read says he's 100% healthy right now. This is his chance to really prove himself. Most on SR have him as a situational pass rusher. That's well and good, but I think he may surprise with some 1st and 2nd down potential. He's our upgrade to Paul Kruger.

Kikaha - How soon we all forget. Before he went down with injury last preseason... We were all extremely excited to see the year-2 version of this havoc wreaker. 4 sacks and 4 forced fumbles as a rookie... would've had more, but injuries forced DA to move him to SAM. He's not a SAM... he's our true situational pass rusher with the tenacity to play on 1st and 2nd down. Hopefully he returns 100% from the knee.

Hendrickson - Bugs bunny playing baseball... that's what I see when watching his film. He has the potential to win the starting job opposite Cam. I really like what he brings to the team. I'm not expecting him to step in as a starter week-1, but I think we'll see him on the field a whole lot this season. Might be a little projection on my part, but I want to believe that even as a rookie, he's an upgrade from Kruger and Edibali.

Muhammad - I think this guy could turn out to be more than just depth. I also think he might end up being our SAM LB (when we use one) in a year or two. He's a developmental player (sorta like Onyemata last season). So I won't project too much with him yet. But I love the size, athleticism, and just watching his drill videos... This dude is intense.

Gwacham - We cut Edibali and kept Gwacham. That says something to me. Last year he showed up a different size... was excited to see where it went before injury took him out in camp. He was our developmental edge rusher 2 years ago (like Muhammad this season)... There was some reason for excitement with him. This year, we'll see where he's at.

Jordan, Fairley, Rankins, Davidson, Onyemata are the core of a very good D-line. All we need is for one or more of the guys listed above to come in and play good, and we're all set. With the injured starters returning in our backfield, and the players we've added via the draft and Bush in FA... Our D-line's job is going to be much easier. Add to that, we have the corners to hold while we send LBs in to blitz... We're going to be a much better Defense in 2017 than we've been in a long time. Pressures, sacks, and turnovers should all improve. The biggest key though... we have back-ups with quality starting experience.

 

[dutar76]

At safety, we have:

Vaccaro - the heart and soul of our defense. Good in coverage, good in the box, good as a blitzer. He's our leader and he's in a contract year. You really can't ask for a better hybrid safety.

Bell - Showed up as a rookie last season. Had some rookie moments, but was also playing on a pretty sad defense. He's no longer a rookie and the defense should be improved around him. He's our SS but can play nickel corner and I think he can play some FS to boot. Versatile.

Williams - Drafted to be our centerfielder. Ball hawk in the mold of Sharper. There will be some rookie moments of course, but he's got the tools to start week one and be an improvement to Byrd.

Bush - A quality starting NFL safety. Can play pretty much any safety spot. If anybody misses time, I don't think we lose much starting Bush. He's all around safety insurance, and it wouldn't surprise me if he's a starter week-1.

Overall, with improved LBs, CBs, and D-line, our safeties should get to be safeties. That says a lot. We could use another depth piece, but as it stands, we could absorb an injury or 2 and still survive.

 

[dutar76]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it needed hijacking.

 

[Nightshade]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but it needed hijacking.

Great write ups and this thread needed hijacking and then taken under a bridge and shot.

A couple of guys you left out that is worth being included,

Jake Lampman WR sub 4.5 speed, an incredible blocker and as strong as most linebackers. Lampman, Lewis and Fuller are your best prospects for the 5th and 6th WR spots, which most years under Payton we have kept 6

Travis Feeney LB signed off the Steelers PS at the end of the season he has sideline to sideline speed and is good in coverage. He needs to bulk up and get stronger this off-season. He looks to be strictly a WILL so it will be tougher for him to make the team, but still worth keeping am eye on.

 

[Meachemdat]

Great write ups and this thread needed hijacking AMD then taken under a bridge and shot.

A couple of guys you left out that is worth being included,

Jake Lampman WR sub 4.5 speed, an incredible blocker AMD as strong as most linebackers. Lampman, Lewis and Fuller are your best prospects for the 5th and 6th WR spots, which most years under Payton we have kept 6

Travis Feeney LB signed off the Steelers PS at the end of the season he has sideline to sideline speed and is good in coverage. He needs to bulk up and get stronger this off-season. He looks to be strictly a WILL so it will be tougher for him to make the team, but still worth keeping am eye on.

If Lewis can get better at catching (he really blew some opportunities last season) I think he easily wins the last WR position only to be a back up to Ginn. His ability to be a returner also helps him here.

It was fun watching him run reverses and screens when he got the opportunity last season.

 

[sammymvpknight]

Fleener is awful. He's been awful, he is awful, and he will forever be awful. If toilet paper defecated...it'd wipe its toilet paper butt with Colby Fleener. To say that we are set at the position is a joke.

I'd also feel a little bit better if we had better depth on the interior OL. Armstead unfortunately is injury prone, and Strief is reaching the end of the line. We drafted Ramczyk which is excellent, but if Armsteas or any of our interior OL gets hurt, we are left with Kelemete, who I believe is a borderline NFL roster guy, starting.

I also think that we could get one more guy with speed at WR. I'm just not a believer in Ginn. He has mediocre hands, and his game is completely based on speed...but now the guy is 32 years old. His speed will begin to drop off any day now. I hope that TommyLee Lewis can take a step forward because he's the best guy on the team to take Ginns place if he flames out.

But overall...I think our depth is much better this year, particularly on defense than prior years.

 

[Nightshade]

If Lewis can get better at catching (he really blew some opportunities last season) I think he easily wins the last WR position only to be a back up to Ginn. His ability to be a returner also helps him here.

It was fun watching him run reverses and screens when he got the opportunity last season.

It looked at times with Lewis that he quadrille adjusting coming from a small school. The game should slow down for him and if it does he will be the 5th WR.

I want to see Lampman as a gunner to see what he can do there.