The New Orleans Saints have not made the playoffs either of the past two seasons, and many are putting fault on their quarterback Drew Brees.
The fact of the matter is Brees is getting older, but he is also losing key targets due to front office decisions or free agency. Not all that long ago, the Saints had the likes of Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, and Darren Sproles to head their offensive attack.
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Colston was just released this past season and was in the tail-end of his career already, so the Saints’ recent troubles do not necessarily fall on him. Jimmy Graham’s absence could be the reason for the slumping offense but he was only recently traded to the Seahawks and was still on the Saints when their offense started to spiral. The player who seems to have been the most important to not only the organization as a whole but to Brees, was Darren Sproles.
Sproles was only on the Saints for three seasons, but in those three years, the team made the playoffs twice. Since the running back has left, the Saints have not been played in a postseason game.
During his tenure in New Orleans, Sproles averaged 1849 all-purpose yards per year while Brees threw for over 5,100 yards all three years. Since Sproles left, Brees has not thrown for over 5,000 yards. Darren Sproles was valuable not only in offense but also in special teams, where he was a dynamic playmaker that thrived off of bursting through open holes. When he was on the field with Brees, he provided a safety net for the quarterback. Sproles played the same role with San Diego and continues to do so with Philadelphia.
The question becomes, how does New Orleans replicate the likes of Sproles when the clearly do not have him? The answer therein lies in the 2017 NFL draft. Assuming he declares for the draft, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey would be the perfect replacement for the New Orleans Saints. Placing second in the Heisman voting in 2015, McCaffrey had 3,864 all-purpose yards while scoring 23 total touchdowns. The running back showed a knack for captivating audiences due in fact that he could do something special whenever he touched the ball. Knowing this, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton would more than likely implement McCaffrey into every aspect of the offense.
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By no stretch of the imagination should the New Orleans Saints tank their 2016 campaign. However, they should be keeping tabs on the player that could very well help put their offense back on top. Combining McCaffrey with Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, and the promising Michael Thomas could do the Saints wonders.