The New Orleans Saints are about to take on one of the biggest cap challenges in history which means letting go of a few crucial veterans alongside Drew Brees‘s retirement.
For the 2020 season, they had one of the most complete rosters in the NFL, but nothing is perfect, especially in the NFL.
Not only do they have cap issues but also a draft pick shortage.
They only possess their first, second, and fourth-round picks this year.
The good news is that they should receive a couple of compensatory third-rounders because of the departure of Teddy Bridgewater and an important front office executive was hired by Atlanta to be their general manager.
With that in mind finding young talent in this year’s draft will be that much more important than in a normal year, and even though Mickey Loomis has been arguably the best drafter this decade, it will be tough.
Wide Receiver
The Saints were poised to have a solid receiver duo with Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders this year, but Thomas’s season was riddled with injury and quarterback inconsistency, while Sanders had an average year.
Hopefully, with a much more normal season, Thomas will be able to return to his normal form, but Sanders’s cap hit will be 10.5 million which is just way too much considering the Saints cap situation.
If Sanders does in fact leave, after Michael Thomas, their receiving options will be extremely limited
The Saints have the 28th overall pick; without a doubt the the top three receiver prospects will be gone: Ja’Marr Chase (LSU), Devonta Smith (Alabama), and Jaylen Waddle (Alabama).
If they choose to use that first-rounder on a receiver they can look into taking Rondale Moore (Purdue), Rashod Bateman (Minnesota), and Amon Ra St. Brown (USC).
FOUR TDS IN THE FIRST QUARTER 🤯
USC WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is special
(via @CFBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/HTOtP3cHPB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2020
The idea that makes more sense to me would be to use their second or one of their thirds on a guy like Tamarrion Terry who would be a speedy complement to their elite possession receiver Michael Thomas.
Cornerback
Janoris Jenkins is slated for a 14.5 million dollar cap hit and the Saints can save half of that money by letting him go, which I assume they are going to do.
He is an average cornerback at best, but if they do let him go then they would have a glaring hole at the cornerback two spot.
Even if they do keep him for 2021, I highly doubt they would re-sign him after that, so drafting a corner this year would be agreat option.
Chauncey Gardner-Johsnon and Patrick Robinson are both decent corners to have for depth, but having either of them as your number two corner is scary, not to mention Lattimore is inconsistent himself.
Finding a guy to replace Jenkins should definitely be priority, especially for the cheap price of a rookie contract.
There is a chance that only two or three corners will be taken before New Orleans 28th overall pick, but I am not so sure they should use that pick on Shaun Wade or Tyson Campbell; Jaycee Horn could hold some value in that pick if he is available, but I would look to those later picks they have.
There should be guys like Josh Jobe (Alabama) and Thomas Graham (Oregon) available; both of them can most likely play on the outside and have played well against elite competition.
Like I mentioned earlier, perferably New Orleans drafts an outside corner, but if they love Asante Samuel Jr. (Florida State), he should be a quality slot defender.
Edge Defender
I know what you are thinking, the Saints have one of the best pass rush duos in the entire league and you are right to think that, but with Trey Hendrickson hitting free agency this year it may be unrealistic for him and Cam Jordan to stay together.
In 2017 the Saints had an astounding draft class.
They took Ryan Ramczyk, Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams, Alvin Kamara, and Trey Hendrickson all in the same year which is great, but also scary considering all but one are yet to sign long-term deals; Kamara is the only one with an extension already negotiated.
I believe Hendrickson will be the odd man out, but not because he is the least talented player out of all of them.
Ramczyk and Lattimore are just too valuable to not re-sign and if Williams left, there would be no one to replace him in center field.
As for Anzalone, I believe he is not the player Hendrickson is but the Saints linebacker depth is worse than their pass rush depth, and Anzalone should be much cheaper than Trey Hendrickson.
Joseph Ossai (Texas) and Azeez Ojulari (Georgia) are both solid candidates for the Saints first round pick: Again, two guys that played really well against high level competition, and are both very versatile.
LB Joseph Ossai becomes 61st consensus All-American in Texas program history.https://t.co/66Amudd5bP pic.twitter.com/UZwy8r8i63
— 247Sports (@247Sports) January 8, 2021
As for their second round pick, Quincy Roche (Miami) was a very productive pass rusher throughout his college career.
He is a bit undersized but is a speedy player off the edge which should translate to NFL production on passing downs.
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