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Key gains, losses for Saints in 2018
Posted on 6/1/18 at 2:05 pm
Posted on 6/1/18 at 2:05 pm
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The New Orleans Saints were among the more actives teams in the National Football League this offseason, orchestrating a few moves onto and off of their roster as they prepare to mount another run at an NFC South title and postseason berth after a successful showing last season.
The team expressed interest in a number of the more prominent players who entered the free agency market, including Ndamukong Suh and Muhammad Wilkerson, veterans who would visit the Saints headquarters and practice facility before ultimately deciding to sign with the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
But the Saints were able to attract a few notable other players to their team, and they came away with a promising draft class, as well.
Head coach Sean Payton said he and his assistants came into the offseason looking to make certain additions at three positions, in particular: the wide receiver, the edge rusher, and the tight end position. When all was said and done after free agency and the draft, Payton and the Saints came away with new faces at all three.
Here is our list of the most impactful gains and losses for the Saints in the offseason.
GAIN: CAMERON MEREDITH, WR
Meredith was lured away from the Chicago Bears this offseason when the Saints signed the slot receiver away from them on an offer sheet that was eventually not matched, allowing him to come to New Orleans instead. Though he sat out the 2017 season with a knee injury suffered in the exhibition campaign, Meredith emerged as perhaps the most productive slot presence the year before, finishing well above average among his peers in terms of catch rate and yards after the catch from the inside of the line.
LOSS: MARK INGRAM, RB
Of course, the Saints have not lost Mark Ingram forever, but the starting running back is so important to the Saints chances on offense that even his four game absence to begin the season, imposed by the NFL after they suspended him for violating their performance enhancing drugs policy, could have a damaging effect on those hopes. Ingram ranked fifth among backs in total yardage last year and, with Alvin Kamara, combined for the most rushing touchdowns in football. His absence to start things off is a bad development.
GAIN: MARCUS DAVENPORT, DE
The Saints paid a heavy price to get a chance at drafting Davenport this year, swapping two first round picks and a fifth rounder in a deal with the Green Bay Packers in order to move up from 27th overall to 14 and get the former San Antonio edge rusher. But in so doing, Sean Payton filled out one of the three most important positions on his checklist, and provided the Saints with another athletic, quality pass rusher. How much he will be used is an open question, with Alex Okafor manning the right side, the position coaches say Davenport will play, but he figures to get a prominent role right away.
LOSS: COBY FLEENER, TE
Fleener had always seemed to struggle getting consistent, quality production for the Saints in the passing game, and was never considered much of an extra blocker. Last season, he had just 22 catches overall before his year ended prematurely following a concussion in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in November. Reports emerged that Fleener is still dealing with the effects of that injury, and after the Saints made another move here, his days with the team appeared to be over when the offseason began.
GAIN: BENJAMIN WATSON, TE
With Fleener out of the picture, the Saints needed a fix at the tight end spot right away, and they would not wait until the draft to find it. Instead, the team brought in a familiar face during the free agency period. From 2013 to 2015, Benjamin Watson caught 113 passes for 1,187 yards and scored 10 touchdowns for New Orleans, production they hope he can repeat despite being the second oldest player (37) on the team.
LOSS: SENIO KELEMETE, OL
Kelemete may not be a household name around the NFL, but he was very well liked among Saints coaches. Despite having one of the best offensive lines in the game, allowing just 20 sacks overall, the second fewest among all teams, they were also among the most injured, with every starter dealing with some issue. Kelemete entered the rotation and supplied major help as a backup guard all during the season. This offseason, he left for the Houston Texans, depriving the Saints that help, but they acquired some more options, including former Saint Jermon Bushrod.
GAIN: KURT COLEMAN, S
The safety position is among the most talented for the Saints, who arguably field the best secondary in football, but with the high volume of three safety sets the team likes to employ against an ever greater pass-oriented league, they wanted another solid, proven option to stick in the backfield. Coleman was that option, with the experience to play both deep against the long ball, and nearer the line of scrimmage in close quarters from the slot. The Saints plan on using him in all portions of the field.
LOSS: ZACH STRIEF, OT
Strief came into the NFL through the Saints back in 2006, and ever since then established himself as one of their best linemen and players overall, setting a gold standard for how to play the right tackle position in the black and gold. He was set to be a contributor once again last season, but a pair of knee injuries early on ended that plan. This offseason, Strief announced that he retired from the game for good after 12 years. Luckily for the Saints, their first round draft pick from earlier in the year came through just at the right time. With Strief out of the picture, Ryan Ramczyk hopes to replace him for the next 12 years.
The New Orleans Saints were among the more actives teams in the National Football League this offseason, orchestrating a few moves onto and off of their roster as they prepare to mount another run at an NFC South title and postseason berth after a successful showing last season.
The team expressed interest in a number of the more prominent players who entered the free agency market, including Ndamukong Suh and Muhammad Wilkerson, veterans who would visit the Saints headquarters and practice facility before ultimately deciding to sign with the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
But the Saints were able to attract a few notable other players to their team, and they came away with a promising draft class, as well.
Head coach Sean Payton said he and his assistants came into the offseason looking to make certain additions at three positions, in particular: the wide receiver, the edge rusher, and the tight end position. When all was said and done after free agency and the draft, Payton and the Saints came away with new faces at all three.
Here is our list of the most impactful gains and losses for the Saints in the offseason.
GAIN: CAMERON MEREDITH, WR
Meredith was lured away from the Chicago Bears this offseason when the Saints signed the slot receiver away from them on an offer sheet that was eventually not matched, allowing him to come to New Orleans instead. Though he sat out the 2017 season with a knee injury suffered in the exhibition campaign, Meredith emerged as perhaps the most productive slot presence the year before, finishing well above average among his peers in terms of catch rate and yards after the catch from the inside of the line.
LOSS: MARK INGRAM, RB
Of course, the Saints have not lost Mark Ingram forever, but the starting running back is so important to the Saints chances on offense that even his four game absence to begin the season, imposed by the NFL after they suspended him for violating their performance enhancing drugs policy, could have a damaging effect on those hopes. Ingram ranked fifth among backs in total yardage last year and, with Alvin Kamara, combined for the most rushing touchdowns in football. His absence to start things off is a bad development.
GAIN: MARCUS DAVENPORT, DE
The Saints paid a heavy price to get a chance at drafting Davenport this year, swapping two first round picks and a fifth rounder in a deal with the Green Bay Packers in order to move up from 27th overall to 14 and get the former San Antonio edge rusher. But in so doing, Sean Payton filled out one of the three most important positions on his checklist, and provided the Saints with another athletic, quality pass rusher. How much he will be used is an open question, with Alex Okafor manning the right side, the position coaches say Davenport will play, but he figures to get a prominent role right away.
LOSS: COBY FLEENER, TE
Fleener had always seemed to struggle getting consistent, quality production for the Saints in the passing game, and was never considered much of an extra blocker. Last season, he had just 22 catches overall before his year ended prematurely following a concussion in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in November. Reports emerged that Fleener is still dealing with the effects of that injury, and after the Saints made another move here, his days with the team appeared to be over when the offseason began.
GAIN: BENJAMIN WATSON, TE
With Fleener out of the picture, the Saints needed a fix at the tight end spot right away, and they would not wait until the draft to find it. Instead, the team brought in a familiar face during the free agency period. From 2013 to 2015, Benjamin Watson caught 113 passes for 1,187 yards and scored 10 touchdowns for New Orleans, production they hope he can repeat despite being the second oldest player (37) on the team.
LOSS: SENIO KELEMETE, OL
Kelemete may not be a household name around the NFL, but he was very well liked among Saints coaches. Despite having one of the best offensive lines in the game, allowing just 20 sacks overall, the second fewest among all teams, they were also among the most injured, with every starter dealing with some issue. Kelemete entered the rotation and supplied major help as a backup guard all during the season. This offseason, he left for the Houston Texans, depriving the Saints that help, but they acquired some more options, including former Saint Jermon Bushrod.
GAIN: KURT COLEMAN, S
The safety position is among the most talented for the Saints, who arguably field the best secondary in football, but with the high volume of three safety sets the team likes to employ against an ever greater pass-oriented league, they wanted another solid, proven option to stick in the backfield. Coleman was that option, with the experience to play both deep against the long ball, and nearer the line of scrimmage in close quarters from the slot. The Saints plan on using him in all portions of the field.
LOSS: ZACH STRIEF, OT
Strief came into the NFL through the Saints back in 2006, and ever since then established himself as one of their best linemen and players overall, setting a gold standard for how to play the right tackle position in the black and gold. He was set to be a contributor once again last season, but a pair of knee injuries early on ended that plan. This offseason, Strief announced that he retired from the game for good after 12 years. Luckily for the Saints, their first round draft pick from earlier in the year came through just at the right time. With Strief out of the picture, Ryan Ramczyk hopes to replace him for the next 12 years.
Posted on 6/1/18 at 2:35 pm to GMoney2600
Gain: What seems like the 48 guys on Defende that went on IR last season
Posted on 6/1/18 at 2:43 pm to PhillyTiger90
I feel like 30 of the 48 were linebackers
Posted on 6/1/18 at 3:00 pm to GMoney2600
How is Demario Davis not on this list for
Posted on 6/1/18 at 3:30 pm to PenguinPubes
And why is fleener not a gain?
Posted on 6/1/18 at 4:03 pm to PenguinPubes
quote:
How is Demario Davis not on this list for
I didn't even notice that at first. I agree, that is pretty odd. He could easily end up being our biggest gain of the off-season.
Posted on 6/1/18 at 4:31 pm to PenguinPubes
Or Patrick Robinson, who just debuted in PFF's top 10 List of slot CBs in the NFL
quote:
Patrick Robinson, New Orleans Saints
After a terrific season for the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, Robinson returns to his initial NFL team to bolster a defense that improved from 30th in our rating system in 2016 to seventh a season ago. With Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley already solid players on the outside, Robinson should be able to stay inside and play the role that saw him allow only a 65.2 passer rating on 55 slot targets in Philly. That will be a substantial upgrade over Kenny Vaccaro (96.2), Vonn Bell (122.9) and P.J. Williams (98.6), who all struggled in that role during the course of the Saints’ improvement defensively in 2017.
Posted on 6/2/18 at 3:35 pm to PenguinPubes
That's a really poorly written list. Including Ingram is just dumb, Fleener is in no way a "key" loss and not including Demario Davis makes me wonder if they bothered to do any research at all.
Posted on 6/3/18 at 12:03 pm to PenguinPubes
quote:
How is Demario Davis not on this list for
i mean, overall, our LB's were pretty solid last season, so it's not THAT big of a gain... he's a good player, and he's an upgrade, but it's not like he's filling a huge hole on our defense...
and we also didn't "lose" any player at that spot to compare his "gain" to...
Posted on 6/5/18 at 8:28 pm to chRxis
quote:
Reports emerged that Fleener is still dealing with the effects of that injury
I feel bad for Fleener:
a. Concussions are one of the worst injuries
b. He’s still suffering setbacks? that’s horrible it’s been several months.
c. Dude got hit with a cheap shot that caused the injury
d. Saints medical staff forgot concussion protocol and he re-entered the game
Posted on 6/6/18 at 7:23 am to chRxis
Our linebackers were solid last year
Demario Davis had 135 tackles and 5 sacks
Vonn bell had the most tackles last year with 80.
AND davis would’ve been second on the team in sacks
Explain to me how this is not “THAT big of a gain”
Demario Davis had 135 tackles and 5 sacks
Vonn bell had the most tackles last year with 80.
AND davis would’ve been second on the team in sacks
Explain to me how this is not “THAT big of a gain”
This post was edited on 6/6/18 at 8:38 am
Posted on 6/6/18 at 8:11 am to GMoney2600
quote:
The safety position is among the most talented for the Saints, who arguably field the best secondary in football
Posted on 6/6/18 at 8:39 am to WhoGeaux
All we need now is a solid bounty hunter system
Posted on 6/6/18 at 12:00 pm to GMoney2600
Nice job on the copy and paste, that was some work.
This article has a bunch of holes in it though.
This article has a bunch of holes in it though.
Posted on 6/7/18 at 7:30 am to GMoney2600
don't see fleener as a loss
Posted on 6/11/18 at 10:17 am to MorbidTheClown
My buddies who are Bears fans are big on Meredith. Say he could be huge.............................if healthy
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