Saints conducting overhaul

Fourth annual Bayou Lafourche Cleanup set for Saturday
March 12, 2015
Xavier Keion Richard
March 19, 2015
Fourth annual Bayou Lafourche Cleanup set for Saturday
March 12, 2015
Xavier Keion Richard
March 19, 2015

What a week it’s been to be an NFL fan. We’ve seen blockbuster trades, big-time free agent signings and just big-time excitement and drama unlike anything that we usually ever see in the often-vanilla NFL offseason.


Adding increased local excitement to the NFL offseason gumbo is the fact that a lot of the activity in the past several days has involved the New Orleans Saints – a franchise that has done a lot of legwork to completely remodel its roster.

Throughout the week, countless talking heads have given their ‘hot take’ on the moves – some aligning in favor of the trades/signings and others saying that the team’s current shift is for naught.

As for me? I’m somewhere in the middle.


I sort-of understand what the team is trying to do with its roster overhaul, and on paper, I think that some of the moves make complete sense.

But there are a lot of ‘ifs’ in this situation that cloud this gumbo’s roux. The Saints can indeed win the 2015 NFL offseason and emerge as a better team next fall.

But to do so, they absolutely, positively have to cash in big on the draft picks they’ve acquired in a lot of these trades.


Failure to do so will result in an offseason that will go down as one of the organization’s most epic failures of all-time.

Let’s start with the big fish – tight end Jimmy Graham.

As we all know by now, the Saints moved Graham and a fourth round pick to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for center Max Unger and the No. 31 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft.


I am very, very nervous about this trade.

On paper, New Orleans got something that is the stereotypical Saints fan’s dream. The stereotypical Saints fan has despised Graham since he took his big-money contract, and has booed, trolled and tormented the big tight end for the past 12 months – especially since Graham’s 2014-15 campaign left a lot to be desired.

But what those people don’t realize is that Graham was playing hurt throughout the entire season, and that he’s only 28. He WILL be back with a vengeance next year, and he WILL be scoring double-digit touchdowns for a team that the Saints are chasing.


That’s a problem.

Sure, the Saints did get Unger, and he will be an upgrade to the interior of the team’s offensive line – no doubt.

But the guy New Orleans picks with that No. 31 pick had better be good – a guy that can come in and not just fill a need, but be a big-time impact player to the same extent that Graham was. The stereotypical Saints fan will lead one to believe that New Orleans is nipping at Seattle’s heels, but they are not. The Saints were 7-9 last season. They can’t afford to move at the same speed as the Seahawks in a trade. They have to accelerate and make strides to surge beyond their rivals, and a lot of work needs to be done before that is a reality.


Because right now, I’m looking at a Saints’ offense that as-is will be absolutely awful if the season started today. The offensive line needs help (especially since trading Ben Grubbs) the receivers are incredibly shaky without Kenny Stills. Marques Colston is no longer an elite threat, and Brandin Cooks is talented, but unproven. Oh yeah, and the tight end position isn’t stabilized, as well.

Add this to an aging Drew Brees that needs a supporting cast more than ever and the recipe doesn’t look too good – unless the draft picks cash out.

On defense, the Saints are still in need of massive work – no matter what you may hear on social media that says otherwise.


Despite popular belief, signing cornerback Brandon Browner does not fix all of the team’s woes on that side of the ball. Not in the least.

The Saints’ 2014-15 defense wasn’t bad solely because of the No. 2 cornerback position. It was bad up and down the entire depth chart.

New Orleans couldn’t stop the run up-front, nor rush the passer.


The linebackers were aggressive, but weren’t athletic enough to consistently make plays.

This put opponents in advantageous play calling situations, which led to breakdowns. Adding a cornerback will absolutely help to fix these problems, but it’s not the only missing ingredient. If the Saints are still soft up-front and don’t find an adequate replacement for Curtis Lofton, the secondary will still be grilled repeatedly. No NFL secondary can guard top-flight receivers for extended periods of time. Browner is good, but he’s not Superman. The play around the secondary has to be better for this move to have any significance whatsoever.

So I guess that I’m trying to tell Saints fans is: exhale. Relax. Don’t get too up or too down about any of these moves just yet – a lot needs to play out before we can adequately grade whether or not the team’s offseason is a success or failure.


In most instances, I’d lean toward optimism because New Orleans General Manager Mickey Loomis has established himself as a top-flight executive throughout his career with the New Orleans Saints.

But he’d better make those draft picks count – something that he didn’t do in the 2014 NFL Draft when the Saints absolutely, positively stunk up the joint.

If he does, he’s a football genius.


If he doesn’t, this entire offseason will set back this franchise for several years to come.

No pressure, Mickey. No pressure.