New Orleans Saints: Ted Ginn Jr. worth keeping around
Despite signing and drafting some wide receivers, Ted Ginn Jr. still has a lot of value to the New Orleans Saints and their goals for 2018.
When the New Orleans Saints traded Brandin Cooks, it looked like the team would struggle. Fortunately, they had one of their best seasons in years. To help compensate for the loss of Cooks, the team lured Ted Ginn Jr away from the Carolina Panthers.
Ginn was coming off a career year with the Panthers. Originally drafted by the Dolphins in 2007, Ginn has been with multiple teams during his career. Besides the Dolphins and Panthers, Ginn was also a member of the 49ers and the Cardinals.
Even with a huge year with the Panthers, the Saints have proved to be an excellent fit for Ginn. At age 33, the Saints aren’t expecting huge numbers from Ginn and rightfully so. He’s the oldest receiver on the team and his production isn’t what it used to be.
However, Ginn has had one of his best years with the team. In 2017, he was just short of passing his career high for receiving yards and had his third highest amount of targets. It might have taken some time, but he forged a connection with Drew Brees.
It is fair to say Ginn isn’t at the top of his game, but he’s also 33 years old. He’s entering his 12th season and is making the most of it. A lot of receivers don’t even play that long. If they do, they don’t usually have such a huge jump in production, either.
There are definitely some concerns with Ginn, though. Even though the team lost Willie Snead, they signed Cameron Meredith and drafted Tre’Quan Smith. They’re looking for a younger receiving corp and Ginn is old compared to them.
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Even so, there’s no reason to give up on Ginn just yet. He still holds tremendous value, especially on special teams. During the regular season, he returned both kickoffs and punts. He split the position with Alvin Kamara, but still proved to be a valuable special teams player
Ted Ginn Jr isn’t going to perform miracles in 2018 for the Saints. However, it brings some much-needed depth to the wide receiver position and aids on special teams. He might not be a fantasy darling, but he’s still worthwhile.