Biggest obstacles for Saints
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints are clawing their way back in desperation to make the playoffs. It feels like COVID, the Ukraine War, and Will Smith’s slap happened around the last time that the Saints reached the post-season. With that said, I’m simply going to untwine the three biggest obstacles for them.
- Injuries
Unfortunately, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed have injury issues. Olave missed nine games last season, while Shaheed missed 11 games last season! It showed that the once rookie Spencer Rattler couldn’t save the Saints without his top two wideouts. This is another reason that the Saints should be aggressive to reel in Amari Cooper. Furthermore, Erik McCoy, who is one of the top centers in the NFL, missed 10 games! Thankfully, Alvin Kamara wasn’t MIA.
- Cornerback play
I don’t love that the Saints traded away Marshon Lattimore last season and then proceeded to not re-sign Paulson Adebo. They have Alontae Taylor and CB Kool-Aid McKinstry on the outside. Kool-Aid is somewhat unproven as he garnered an 66.1 PFF grade. Taylor is also “more comfortable with the slot” than the outside. At nickel back, they have Ugo Amadi. He had a PFF grade of 55.2. The Saints may routinely need their pass rush to bail out their talent in the back-end.
- Middle linebacker
I’m concerned about the Saints situation at inside linebacker. They carry Demario Davis, but he’s taken a dip lately. He recorded a 73.1 PFF grade last season, which was 37th among LBs. Pete Werner also drew a 69 PFF grade, which was 62nd among LBs. I’d love to see Brandon Taley bring over Denzel Perryman from LAC.
The Saints offense is quite young, while their defense is very old. I’d love to see more magic unfold from their defense, so the defense doesn’t fall off a cliff when a few of their old, reliable faces retire.
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