Daddyleagues

Season 71 - 53 Man Breakdown

by mayne41event | 3 years ago | 0 Comments

By Donovan Simmons | @RZDSimmons | November 11, 2021 3:05pm

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The beginning of another season of RedZone Football. And if the way Season 70 ended is any indication of what Season 71 will hold. The Saints finished Season 70 just under .500 at 8-9. They showed that they can compete with the top of the NFC South. But definitely were a step below the likes of Tampa and Carolina. All season they would gather some momentum and then shoot themselves in the foot with heartbreaking mistakes.

So we turn the page to Season 71. A lot of new faces in the locker room. The Saints were pressed up against the cap at the start of the offseason. So moves to fill holes had to be strategic. Cuts had to be made, most noteably CB Bradley Roby. Which gave them room to re-sign CB Brian Poole and RB Tony Jones Jr. A deal was also made to bring in S Julian Love, which then made Malcolm Jenkins expendable. To round out the free agency period, The Saints brought in DT Davon Godchaux and QB PJ Walker.

Then came the RZ Draft. For more on each selection, head to my Twitter @RZDSimmons. But here is the list for your reading pleasure. Also, see below the players signed to the practice squad.

1.17- G Ty Hoffman

2.17- QB Colin Hamels

3.17- DE Avery Boss

4.17- RB Garrison Henley

5.17- RT Andrew Bates

6.17- RB Donnell Pierce

6.20- CB Sterling Smith

7.17- CB George Freeman

Practice Squad

T James Riley
G George Graham
QB Jamie Newman
DE Kendrick Stoudemire
DE Courtney Bronson
SS JC Holley
CB Dane Jackson
CB Isaiah Dunn
WR Dalton Mann
WR Brandon Blade

And now, here are your RedZone League Season 71 New Orleans Saints.

QB - Colin Hamels (R), PJ Walker

Hamels was one of two QBs that flew up the draft board as the season progressed, the other being Ben Banks. Some mock had Hamels going as high as 10 in the first. He ended up falling to 2.17 and The Saints couldn't take the chance that he was going to fall any further. With letting Winston hit the open market, this was a major need for the Saints and they got their guy. This marked the end of Taysom Hill and PJ Walker was brought in as the backup.

RB - Alvin Kamara, Garrison Henley (R), Donnell Pierce (R), Tony Jones Jr, James McCoy (FB)

The lifeblood of the offense. It all starts and ends with Kamara. Tony Jones did a great job as the spell back and was rewarded with a two year deal. And then the draft happened. Henley was the best player on the board at 4.17 and really did work in the preseason to move into the main spell back role. A similar situation with Donnell Pierce at the 6.17 as well. But look for all 4 guys to touch the ball in this offense.

WR - Michael Thomas, Deonte Harris, Marquez Callaway, Jalen Camp, Reggie Blanton, Cornell Powell

Now the WR core took a hit with losing TreQuan Smith to free agency, but his asking price to resign him was out of the Saints budget. Deonte Harris signed a much more team friendly deal. And with limited space available, finding another WR for the room just wasn’t in the cards. Marquez Callaway will step into the mix and play outside WR in 3WR sets.

TE - Adam Trautman, Juwan Johnson, Dylan Soehner, Noah Togiai

The Pro Bowler Trautman returns at TE1 and Juwan Johnson is the Robin to Trautman Batman. These two may get an increased workload due to the light WR core.

T - Ryan Ramczyk, Elijah Wilkerson, James Hurst, Andrew Bates (R)

Terron Armstead was another big loss to free agency. Elijah Wilkerson was signed as a camp body, made the team and earned the starting LT spot. Bates was drafted at the 5.17 spot but is a year away from threatening for the starting job.

G - Cesar Ruiz, Ty Hoffman (R), Beau Benzschawel

Ruiz, last years rookie standout, welcomes in 1st round pick Ty Hoffman to the hog mollys up front. They look to be a solid tandem for years to come.

C - Erik McCoy, Will Clapp

McCoy will anchor the middle and make the line calls. He hopes to develop a good repore with new QB Hamels. Also McCoy will be looking to be a 3+1 signing.

DE - Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, Payton Turner, Avery Boss (R)

Cam Jordan returns as one of the anchors of the defense. Davenport will be looking for his big money 3+1 deal this offseason. Both sides are confident that a deal will be reached. Turner may see more time in pass rushing situations this year. Rookie Avery Boss will sit under the learning tree of Jordan as the heavy DE in this front.

DT - David Onyemata, Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd, Beau Allen

Onyemata is another deal that is up after this year. But at 29, I can’t imagine him being apart of the 3. He does have a chance to be the +1 but that will depend on the cap number. Shepherd was resigned last year, but after clearing some space, Davon Godchaux was brought in and implanted himself in the DT2 spot.

OLB - Zack Baun, Pete Werner, Deshaun Davis, Randy Ramsey

Probably the biggest question mark going into Season 70 was OLB. Coach Mayne Event and his staff trusted Zack Baun and Pete Werner to hold down the fort. Baun was the opportunist with 2 picks and a sack last year. While Werner was steady with 54 tackles. Look for both to make the jump in year two of this scheme.

MLB - Demario Davis, JaWuan Hendricks, Cole Christiansen

Is this the last ride for Demario Davis? If we are basing them off of his numbers last year, he’s got a lot left in the tank. But The Saints will definitely need to find the heir apparent this offseason.

CB - Marshon Lattimore, Brian Poole, Fabian Moreau, Paulson Adebo, George Freeman, Sterling Smith

Lattimore, Poole and Adebo return and are joined by free agent signing Fabian Moreau and rookies Freeman and Sterling Smith. This crew will need to be more opportunistic if they want to compete with the top of the NFCS and the conference.

S - CJ Gardner-Johnson, Julian Love, George Odum, JT Gray

The third 3+1 player and in this reporters opinion, the most important one. With the acquisition of Julian Love from the Giants, CJGJ will move back to SS and may even see some time at slot CB. Odum will back up CJGJ at SS.

Specialist - Wil Lutz, Blake Gillikin

Kickers kick…. Part Deux

Follow me @RZDSimmons on Twitter all season long for Saints coverage. And check out the team page at daddyleagues.com/redzone/team/NO

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/eb/91/54/eb9154dbf327da5d31584d8d08d38707.jpg