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New Orleans Saints: Greg Jennings interest the wrong direction?

By Kevin Parvizi

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The New Orleans Saints decision to trade Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks and potential star wide receiver Kenny Stills to the Miami Dolphins has left them with their thinnest group of pass-catchers in recent memory. Second-year pro Brandin Cooks, new starting tight end Josh Hill, and veteran Marques Colston could very well be the team’s top three threats next year if they don’t add anyone else to help Drew Brees out, though it would be a shock if they didn’t address the WR position in the draft for a second straight year.

That said, the Saints aren’t limiting themselves to draft prospects, as they recently decided to look into former Minnesota Vikings No. 1 receiver Greg Jennings, who is clearly the best player at the position left on the open market following Michael Crabtree‘s decision to sign with the WR-needy Oakland Raiders. The Saints have a couple of intriguing, young options at the position in Nick Toon, the potentially underrated Jalen Saunders, second-year Rutgers product Brandon Coleman, and troublesome deep threat Joe Morgan.

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However, is isn’t ideal for the Saints to roll into the 2015 season with Cooks and Colston as their starting to wideouts with only unproven young fliers behind them. Even though the Saints sound committed to running a much more run-heavy offense behind Mark Ingram, Khiry Robinson, and Co., it would behoove them to give Brees another legitimate option.

Jennings is a safe, reliable receiver who caught 59 passes for 742 yards last season, and his 12.6 yards per reception average in the Minnesota Vikings offense shows us that he isn’t completely bereft of speed on the outside. A lot of people like to simplistically call Jennings a plodding slot receiver, but he isn’t really a slot guy, per se. He can play there, but he’s ideally a solid No. 3 receiver who mainly moves the chains on the outside and has enough route-running savvy to generate separation despite his declining speed.

At 31, Jennings is indeed a declining player, and that’s an issue for the Saints. Because while he’s more proven than anybody on the current roster, save for possibly Colston, he, like Colston, is a declining wideout. But the funny thing is that while Colston is coming off of a disappointing season with just 59 catches, he did put up 942 receiving yards with a very surprising 15+ yards per reception. Statistically speaking, Colston was a better player than Jennings last season, and both of them are the same age.

Unless if the Saints sole goal with their interest in Greg Jennings is to add a reliable, veteran presence to go with Colston in an effort to offset their relative youth at the position outside of Colston, then I don’t understand their interest in Jennings. He doesn’t offer more than their current elder statesman, even if Colston’s box score stats are grossly bloated and don’t do justice to other stats (such as his eight drops last year, per Pro Football Focus).

When the Saints decided to trade Graham, it seemed like they were trying to show the league that they are willing to go through more of a youth movement that involves saving money instead of tying up too much in just a few players, but that whole “young and cheap” theory was contradicted by their decision to trade Stills.

It’s unclear what this organization is looking to achieve at the wide receiver position, but what I can tell you is that Jennings would help this team and wouldn’t be expensive on a one-year deal. What I can also tell you is that while he’s a dependable player, he’ll offer no explosion to the offense. If the Saints are fine with that, then I don’t see the issue with signing him.

However, I look at the Saints wide receiver corps, and I see the need for another difference-maker in addition to Cooks. This team has too many needs on the offensive line and on defense to draft a wide receiver in the first round, but they could find value on the second day or later. I’m not sure how high of a pick the New Orleans Saints are willing to spend in order to address the position, but I can tell you that they need to think about replacing Colston at some point.

The Saints have players who are capable of playing inside or outside in Colston, Cooks, and, if he cracks the roster, Saunders, so I’m not sure if Jennings’s versatility is the reason for his appeal. I think the fact that they are kicking the tires on the former Green Bay Packers star shows that they like the idea of adding another chain-mover for Brees as they potentially look to shift the identity of their offense to more of a ball-control set-up.

I’m the kind of guy who prefers to add young talent in an effort to boost the upside of an offense, because I think Brees is the kind of quarterback who needs playmakers after the catch around him in order to help boost his productivity at this stage of his career. Brees’s arm strength is slowly dissipating with age, but an offense can generate explosive plays with the likes of Cooks and Saunders after the catch.

Sep 21, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Jennings (15) carries the ball beside New Orleans Saints free safety

Rafael Bush

(25) in the fourth quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. New Orleans defeated the Vikings 20-9. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

If the Saints are comfortable enough with the youngsters they have after their clear top two wideouts, then maybe it makes sense to add Jennings as another veteran presence. But I’m not sure how sold the Saints should be on those guys, especially since they are lacking in the star power department at the position.

In fact, I could easily see the Saints spending the 31st overall selection (the Graham pick) on a WR with No. 1 potential, and Matt Waldman recently took Dorial Green-Beckham as his pick for the Saints in a recent mock on Twitter. They traded up for Cooks last year, but I don’t see the issue with trying to pluck another receiver in the first round, especially since they have the ammo this year. After dealing Stills and Graham for picks, it only makes sense to repay Brees with pass-catchers, right?

These are the guys the Saints need to take, because they need to draft impact players who can lift up Brees as opposed to doing what the used to do; surrounding Brees with possession receivers whose main assets are to spread the field horizontally. I’m not opposed to the idea of signing Jennings, but I would prefer for the Saints to go in a different direction.

Next: Saints: The case for Randy Gregory

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