New Orleans Saints must double down in free agency with star player

As the clock ticks down on Drew Brees’ career, the New Orleans Saints must double down in free agency. They return a great team that once again came up short. Now add that star player to push over the top towards a title.

The New Orleans Saints did not have a happy ending to their 2018 season. A dominating regular season was followed by playoff anguish and gripes of a fixed game and blown call that demanded a restart. A redo of the NFC championship obviously didn’t happen, and the Saints are just left wondering what their offense could have done against the New England Patriots.

What do the Saints do in free agency? They return a great team that will only get better, but the clock is ticking down on Drew Brees‘ career. There’s no time to waste. Double down with star power for a championship.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the New Orleans Saints in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

The New Orleans Saints enter the offseason without their first-round pick thanks to the Marcus Davenport trade last season. That trade worked out just fine since New Orleans made it all the way to the conference finals, and Davenport was the best rookie pass rusher in the league midway through the season. His sack total slowed down after that start thanks to an injury that required surgery, but his future appears bright.

The 2019 outlook for New Orleans seems just as bright. All of Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara will be back on offense. The offensive line returns intact. Even the upside of Tre’Quan Smith and Taysom Hill returns. The only pieces who will need to be replaced or brought back are backup running back Mark Ingram and tight end Ben Watson.

Ingram’s role was important for this team and for Kamara, but it isn’t an impossible hole to fill. Neither is Watson’s, who took a considerable step back from his previous stint in New Orleans in 2015 and from his production in Baltimore in 2017.

The main pieces on defense are all set to come back next season as well. This includes Cam Jordan up front and the talented secondary. Maybe returning this unit is not a good thing, as there is much room for improvement on 2018, but steadiness and consistency aren’t worthless. The Saints were also elite defending the run, so maybe a healthy secondary will be just the recipe for a well-rounded unit. That and healthy returns for Davenport and Sheldon Rankins.

With no first-round pick, the Saints can’t rely on unearthing a starter in the draft. It will be more about building depth and, much like the Rams, not messing with a good thing. The Saints and Rams are both surely disappointed with how their respective seasons ended, but running it all back could be good enough to encounter an NFC Championship rematch in the coming year. Maybe New Orleans will get that redo after all.

Dan Salem:

The New Orleans Saints must double down on their success from last season, because 2019 is quite likely Drew Brees’ final run at a championship. Maybe he squeezes out one more season in 2020, but his time in the NFL is running short. That means they cannot stand pat this offseason, but aim to add one more star player and push them over the top towards a title.

New Orleans put up the third most points in the league last season, but their passing yards tallied in at a measly 12th overall, compared to their sixth ranked rushing attack. With Brees at quarterback, this team should be ranked higher in the passing game. One could argue that their success running the football led to fewer passing opportunities, yet there is still room for improvement.

The wide receiver market is pretty thin, outside of Antonio Brown getting traded, but I’d still like to see the Saints add a playmaker. Doubling down to be the best of the best means adding a player like Golden Tate. It means building on a strength so this season there is no controversy.

The Saints were league average on defense across the board, yet the difference between stopping the pass and stopping the run was atrocious. New Orleans was second against the run and 29th against the pass. Add this to the areas for improvement, because the NFL is still a passing league last I checked. Injuries are going to happen, so depth in the secondary is necessary to prevent a total collapse once again.

No team is perfect, but the lesson to be learned from New England’s championship is that when the playoffs role around, every player must do more and elevate their game. Not all players have this ability, but adding ones who do is critical. The Saints will return a great team once again, but the passing game has hurt them two years in a row. It’s time to throw all your chips on the table and win one more with Drew Brees.