New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees has strong supporting cast
By Andrew Long
Drew Brees has achieved an incredible amount of success with the New Orleans Saints and has often done so while lacking elite talent on the outside.
The New Orleans Saints have long relied on the arm talent and smarts of Drew Brees to field a competitive football team. He is the team’s all-time passing leader and the quarterback that led the team to their one and only Super Bowl title. Much of his success has come with minimal talent on the offensive side of the ball, placing a large amount of the pressure to secure victories on his shoulders.
Related Story: New Orleans Saints: Michael Thomas can lead team in receptions
That’s not to say that the Saints have never supplied their quarterback with talent, as Brees had wide receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jimmy Graham at his disposal for a number of years. And while those players are spectacular in their own right, neither of the two are currently on New Orleans’ roster.
Colston’s tenure with New Orleans may have come to an end over the offseason, but his impact on the team will forever be felt, as he is the all-time leading receiver in Saints history. Jimmy Graham, while not an all-time record holder, is still viewed as one of the best tight ends in the league. Even without these players in his arsenal, I still believe that Drew Brees has an extremely talented group of pass-catchers to utilize.
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks leads the group in New Orleans, securing the first thousand-yard season of his career with 84 receptions for 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns last season. It didn’t take long for the 22-year-old wideout to figure out how to get behind defenders at the professional level, using his speed and elusiveness to achieve success.
The speed that Brandin Cooks possesses is surely impressive and will undoubtedly help create space for his teammates to work underneath. Perhaps the player that will benefit the most from the speed of Cooks is Michael Thomas, the team’s second round draft choice in the 2016 NFL draft.
It is my belief that Thomas will be the starter opposite of Cooks come opening day. I believe that the skill sets of the two players contrast very well, as Thomas has the size and strength to become a legitimate possession receiver for the team – which they’ll need with the departure of Marques Colston.
If Cooks can continue to stretch the field and open up space for the short to intermediate routes, Thomas should have no problem producing for the New Orleans Saints. His ability to fight off the opposition for contested passes will certainly help, too, as will his ability to run after the catch.
The combination of Brandin Cooks and Michael Thomas should supply Drew Brees with ample playmaking ability on the outside, and that’s before you factor in Willie Snead, a player that seemingly came out of nowhere for the Saints last season.
Snead, who went undrafted coming out of college, recorded 69 receptions for 984 yards and three touchdowns in 2015. With Snead, Cooks, and Thomas handling the duties on the outside for the Saints, newly acquired tight end Colby Fleener will be free to wreak havoc in the middle of the field for New Orleans.
New Orleans Saints: Biggest Roster Hole in NFC South?
Fleener certainly isn’t on the same level as Jimmy Graham, but with the strong group of wideouts that the New Orleans Saints possess, he doesn’t have to be. Brandin Cooks appears to be one of the best deep threat receivers in the league, Michael Thomas has the opportunity to become a great possession weapon, and Willie Snead can contribute in a number of areas for the team.
In the grand scheme of things, I firmly believe that this group of pass-catchers have the opportunity to become one of the better groups that Drew Brees has played with, which isn’t something to take lightly.