NO Saints S74 Final 53
by mayne41event | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
By Donovan Simmons | @RZDSimmons | February 28, 2022 7pm
Last season, I titled my Final 53 article “Is this the year?”. With the additions that Coach Mayne and his staff have made, they felt like they were a QB away. Well. 39 INTs and a 6-11 record later, they’re still searching for answers at the position. Then came this past offseason.
The first domino to fall was the parting ways of DC Ben Turner. In comes Jackson Pierce and his attacking 3-4 defense. Next, after Saints brass did their due diligence for draft prep, they felt their best course of action at the QB position was to bring in former #1 overall pick Travis Peterman from the Eagles for a pair of picks. Could this be the guy? Or will their 4th QB in 3 years fall in line with the rest and leave them still searching for answers.
Now with the Peterman deal piquing the interest of most in the RZ media, the biggest head-scratcher of the Saints offseason was dealing all world RB Alvin Kamara to AZ for a trio of picks (one this past draft and 2 next year) and FS Lance Pollard, who is on a franchise tag for $8+ million. Now we can talk about the $25 million cap hit for Kamara and needing to spend that elsewhere over the next two seasons. Deals for Ty Hoffman, Peterman, Davenport among others are due at season’s end, Choice and McCloud for the following season as well. Or we can talk about recouping some draft capital after the Peterman deal. We could mention the addition of a borderline starter at Safety, which new DC Pierce championed in the building.
Even if we mention all of those things as to why the deal was made, the pundits of RZ will still have their questions, and rightfully so. I think the only way those questions will be answered will be if the Saints can be in the hunt for playoffs, whether it’s a division win (Highly improbable with TB and CAR trading division wins and the up and coming Falcons and Coach Atom.
But before we get on the field, here are the new signings, the S74 Draft Class additions, and the practice squad.
Signings
WR Will Fuller V 2yrs $21.7 mil
DE Levi Onwuzurike 3yrs $9.75 mil
CB Tyson Campbell 4yrs $55 mil
RB Javonte Williams 4yrs $10.8 mil
OLB Emmanuel Ogbah 2yrs $22.6 mil
Draft Class
1.10 - DE/OLB Luke Parry USC
3.10 - T Tony Chamberlin Auburn
4.15 - T Marquee Chaisson Arkansas
5.10 - TE Jeremiah McCain Virginia
6.10 - MLB Tyler Shields Georgia
7.10 - WR Jamar Dillon Ohio State
Practice Squad
G Marvin Kramer
WR Jamar Dillon
CB Sheldon Lowery
WR Matt Lashley
SS Danny Goodwin
T Cris Gentry
FS Zach Whitehead
G Trevor Parks
T George Cota
NT Will Henry
FS Kyle Stephenson
HB John Long
And now, the Season 74 final 53 for your New Orleans Saints
QB - Travis Peterman, PJ Walker
Will a change of scenery be enough for Peterman to redeem himself after a rocky 3 years in PHI? Only time will tell. Having veteran PJ Walker in the QB room with him can only help him get acclimated faster.
RB - Javonte Willaims, Garrison Henley, Donnell Pierce, Julian Simmons, James McCoy (FB)
With the Kamara departure, you’d figure all signs point to Henley taking the reins. But enter Javonte Williams, who fell out of favor in DEN after spending 4 years there. Along with Pierce, Simmons, and FB McCoy, it will be interesting to see what the rushing attack will bring in the Post-AK era.
WR - Will Fuller V, Devin Duvernay, Michael Pittman, Bryan Barden, Derek Faulkner, Matt Devine
Bryan Barden was the breakout WR last year. 1,000 yds on only 52 catches. Look for him and FA signing from last year Devin Duvernay to be the WR 1 & 2 this season. The incoming vet Will Fuller V, along with Pittman, Faulkner, and Devine round out the WR core.
TE - Juwan Johnson, Dalton Keene, Jeremiah McCain (R)
Johnson led the team in receptions and was second in yards. Look for him to be Peterman's security blanket. Rookie TE Jeremiah McCain showed out in camp and will hold the TE2 spot
T -, Andrew Bates, Walter Lowry, Tony Chamberlain (R), Marquee Chaisson (R)
The sudden and shocking retirement of Ryan Ramczyk mid-season hurt and the offense never fully recovered. Bates and Lowry now have another year and offseason under their belt. So we will see how they will hold up for S74. Chamberlain and Chaisson will back them up…. But I have a feeling one of the rookies will be starting by year's end.
G - Cesar Ruiz, Ty Hoffman, Rob Horan
One of the top Guard tandems returns. Hoffman, a first-round pick a part of Coach Mayne’s first draft class, is in his contract year. All signs point to a deal getting done ASAP.
C - Erik McCoy, Michael Dieter
No changes here. McCoy is still calling the shots in the OLine room.
DT -, Bart McCloud, Jaden Telfer, Levi Onwuzurike, Ross Blacklock
We’ll start with the new look defense at the DE/DT spot with Pro Bowler Bart McCloud leading the way. A third-round pick last year Jaden Telfer only appeared in 4 games but was able to log 5 sacks in those games. Making it hard to deny him a starting role. Blacklock and FA signing Levi Onwuzruike will back them up.
NT - Jerry Choice, Frederick Harris, Avery Boss
Pro Bowler number 2 was Jerry Choice. He will anchor the nose tackle spot and at 6’6” 315lbs, he’ll be a load for any interior lineman to handle.
OLB - Marcus Davenport, Emmanuel Egboh, Luke Parry (R), Peyton Turner, Rashaud Shepherd
Saints mainstay Davenport will transition to OLB and look to continue setting the edge after back-to-back 9 sack seasons. Not only did the Saints bring in FA Emmanuel Ogbah for the other side, but they also drafted pass rusher, Luke Parry, out of USC. Expect to see Ogbah in base sets and Parry for pass situations.
MLB - Pete Werner, Khaleke Hudson, Bobby Boyd, Tyler Shields (R)
Werner and Hudson will be the two stack backers and look to continue being factors in the back 7. The ultra-athletic Tyler Shields was a sixth-round selection out of Georgia but will need a year of seasoning before seeing significant time on the field.
CB - Marshon Lattimore, William Jackson III, Michael Ojemudia, Tyson Campbell, Paulson Adebo, George Freeman
Pro Bowler Michael Ojemudia ended up being the crown of the FA signings before last season. And will move out of the slot and line up opposite Lattimore in base sets. Will Jackson and FA signing from this year Tyson Campbell will handle the slot CB duties.
S - CJ Gardner-Johnson, Julian Love, Lance Pollard, Connor Murray
The fourth and final Pro Bowler off of this Saints defense is CJGJ. Expect him to be the swiss army knife in Pierce’s scheme. He’ll play deep in his Strong Safety spot, he’ll come up and play the slot. He’ll cover WRs, TEs, RBs and may even rush the passer. Love and the newly acquired Lance Pollard will also see solid time in this defense.
Specialist - Jake Elliott, Blake Gillikin
Kicking and Kicking up a storm.
Follow me @RZDSimmons on Twitter all season long for Saints coverage. And check out the team page at daddyleagues.com/redzone/team/NO
