NFL Power Rankings 2019: Post-mandatory minicamp edition
By Randy Gurzi
3. New Orleans Saints (4)
No team had more of a right to be upset about how the 2018 season ended than the New Orleans Saints. A blatant pass interference call was missed as they were trying to put the Los Angeles Rams away in the NFC Championship game. That opened the door for overtime, and the Rams ended up winning after the defense picked off a Drew Brees pass.
Had they made it to the Super Bowl, they might have been able to fare better against the New England Patriots, who slowed down the young Rams offense. We will never know though, thanks to this infamous blown call that could alter games in the future by making more plays reviewable — but that’s for another conversation.
The 2019 Saints should still be a team in the mix. Brees is returning as is Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara. They lost Mark Ingram but made an underrated move in replacing him with Latavius Murray. Another underrated move was their signing of Jared Cook, the free agent tight end who could be a solid option in the passing game outside of Thomas.
A focused and angry Saints team has had two consecutive seasons end in heartache, now they look to make things right while trying to get the veteran Brees back into the big game.