New Orleans Saints
After a terrible call cost them a shot at the Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints were somewhat active in free agency, but most importantly, they were smart. They lost Mark Ingram, which upset fans but was a smart move. They decided what they would pay and he got more with Baltimore, which is just smart business. Landing Latavius Murray was a solid plan B and they also have a rookie to watch in Devine Ozigbo from Nebraska.
At tight end, they upgraded with the addition of Jared Cook who is coming off a career-year with the Oakland Raiders. He serves as the best receiving threat at the position since the days of Jimmy Graham in New Orleans. In a pair of underrated moves, they addressed the interior of their defensive line as they were able to land Malcom Brown from the Patriots and Mario Edwards, Jr. who was with the Giants last season.
Unfortunately, they were without a whole lot of picks in the draft, thanks to their trade last season to get Marcus Davenport. Even with the limited capital, they made some good moves. They replaced Max Unger, who retired in the offseason, with Texas A&M’s Erik McCoy in the second. They didn’t draft again until the fourth round but landed Chauncey Gardner-Johnson who has starting qualities at safety. They didn’t have a lot to work with, but did get better which isn’t easy.
Grade: B+