The Saints are in somewhat of a similar situation LA is in. Years ago, they sold out in an attempt to win a Super Bowl, but it didn’t pay off. Now they’ve been stuck in cap hell, but luckily, the roster still isn’t as depleted as LA. The biggest concern with New Orleans is their QB and head coach. It’s not like Dennis Allen and Derek Carr are bad by any means. However, in the modern NFL, many teams are competitive, and it’ll be tough for two average leaders to win many games. I still expect them to be competitive, but making it to the playoffs will be slightly challenging.
They could undoubtedly make a playoff appearance if a few things go their way, but that’s a big if. Derek Carr just isn’t going to turn this franchise around. At least they will have one of the better defenses, as Allen is an excellent defensive mind. Although the New Orleans front office hasn’t had the best drafts recently, they’ve done an outstanding job of acquiring stars over the years. There are a lot of bright spots on this roster, and it’ll at least be an entertaining watch for Saints fans.
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Grading scale: 20-100.
(+): The player is expected to improve.
| Power Ranking – 20 | OVR Grade – 80.0 | Projected Wins – 8.9 |
| HC – Dennis Allen | OC – Pete Carmichael | DC – Joe Woods |
Dennis Allen is an exceptional defensive coach but has yet to prove he’s anything but a mediocre head coach. It seems he has kept up the culture that Sean Payton established well, as players have developed and played hard. I noticed the defense wasn’t quite as good in 2022 as in previous years, but he still clearly knows how to get a lot out of his defense. Allen runs a 4-3 defense with a ton of man and match coverage. Moreover, depending on the opponent, he knows how to mix up his coverage scheme. There’s a reason Tom Brady severely struggled against the defense so many times. Whenever the Saint’s defense struggles in the first half, he has an excellent plan to adjust the defense. He may not be the best head coach, but he will definitely have this defense playing well.
Pete Carmichael has been the offensive coordinator for quite some time though he never started calling plays until last year. He did a fine job in year one considering his circumstances. Now that he has an upgrade at QB and the likely return of Michael Thomas, this offense should take a step up. He runs a pro-spread offense that is very balanced. When Winston was in, they had many attempts in the field’s intermediate to deep range. However, when Dalton was in, it was a lot more short passes. They adjust their playcalling well based on their personnel as well. There isn’t a lot of play-action, and you see primarily gap-running schemes in this offense. Carmichael is a quality offensive mind, but he won’t elevate this group too much.
| Playcalling – 80 (T22) |
| Scheme – Modern Pro-Spread |
| QB – 76.2 (19) |
| Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, Jake Haener |
| Receiving Options – 82.2 (T16) |
| WR1 – Chris Olave, Bryan Edwards, Keith Kirkwood WR2 – Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry SWR – Michael Thomas, Tre’Quan Smith, James Washington TE – Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Taysom Hill, Jesse James FB – Adam Prentice, Jake Bargas HB – Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller, Eno Benjamin |
| Pass-Pro – 79.5 (9) |
| LT – Trevor Penning, James Hurst LG – Andrus Peat, Calvin Throckmorton C – Eric McCoy, Alex Pihlstrom RG – Cesar Ruiz, Nick Saldiveri RT – Ryan Ramczyk, Landon Young HB – Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller, Eno Benjamin |
| Run Blocking – 78.4 (15) |
| LT – Trevor Penning, James Hurst LG – Andrus Peat, Calvin Throckmorton C – Eric McCoy, Alex Pihlstrom RG – Cesar Ruiz, Nick Saldiveri RT – Ryan Ramczyk, Landon Young TE – Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Taysom Hill, Jesse James FB – Adam Prentice, Jake Bargas |
| Run Options – 88.4 (7) |
| HB – Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller, Eno Benjamin FB – Adam Prentice, Jake Bargas |
There are a lot of areas to feel proud about on this offense. The big question is how far Derek Carr can take them. Alvin Kamara is one of the best-receiving backs in the NFL and is also a very elusive runner. Chris Olave is coming off a fantastic rookie campaign, and Rashid Shaheed is an underrated deep threat. If Michael Thomas is healthy, expect this to be a dynamic receiving core. Trevor Penning was a massive liability in pass-pro but made up for it as a run blocker. Ryan Ramczyk is another underrated player who doesn’t get enough credit. He is one of the best-run blockers in football.
Furthermore, Eric McCoy is a quality starter at Center, although Andrus Peat is an overrated Guard. The Tight End room looks worrisome, but Juwan Johnson may step up. Derek Carr will have a talented core group of players around him, and it’s about if he can step up this year and lead them to the playoffs.
| Coaching – 85 (T10) |
| Scheme – 4-3 Man |
| Secondary – 84.8 (3) |
| CB1 – Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, Troy Pride Jr. CB2 – Paulson Adebo, Isaac Yiadom SCB – Bradley Roby, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Ugo Amadi FS – Marcus Maye, J.T. Gray, Smoke Monday SS – Tyran Mathieu, Johnathan Abraham, Jordan Howden |
| Pass Rush – 76.6 (30) |
| ED1 – Cameron Jordan, Isaiah Foskey, Payton Turner ED2 – Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Jabari Zuniga IDL1 – Bryan Bresee, Nathan Shepherd, Jack Heflin IDL2 – Khalen Saunders, Malcolm Roach, Prince Emili |
| Off-Ball Linebacker – 81.5 (6) |
| LB1 – Demario Davis, Zach Baun, Ty Summers LB2 – Pete Werner, D’Marco Jackson, Andrew Dowell |
| Run Defense – 75.7 (26) |
| ED1 – Cameron Jordan, Isaiah Foskey, Payton Turner ED2 – Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Jabari Zuniga IDL1 – Nathan Shepherd, Bryan Bresee, Jack Heflin IDL2 – Khalen Saunders, Malcolm Roach, Prince Emili |
New Orleans’s personnel fits very well with what Dennis Allen wants to achieve here. Some talents may be regressing here, but they still have high-level impacts all over this defense. Marshon Lattimore is arguably a top-five Corner and a master of his craft. He’s an elite man coverage Corner and has superb athletism. Despite his age, Tyran Mathieu is one of the most impactful Safeties in the game. He had an outstanding year in coverage last season. Additionally, Marcus Maye is a very rangy and intelligent Safety. Demario Davis may be old, but he is still one of the most versatile Linebackers in the league. Pete Werner is also an underrated stud Linebacker.
The D-Line will be the significant weakness of this defense, although Bryan Bresee was an excellent draft pick. Cam Jordan isn’t the same player he used to be, and Carl Granderson is only a replacement-level starter. The interior will likely get gashed in run defense, as no players are strong at the point of attack in the middle. If the Linebackers can continue to enhance the run defense and the secondary holds up despite the poor pass rush, they’ll be fine. However, this isn’t the same world-beating defense we saw two seasons ago.
| Special Teams – 88 |
| K – Wil Lutz P – Blake Gillikin LS – Zach Wood KR – Rashid Shaheed, Malik Flowers PR – Rashid Shaheed |
Total Win Projection – 8.9
| WK | New Orleans | Win % |
| 1 | vs Tennessee | 67% |
| 2 | @ Carolina | 50% |
| 3 | @ Green Bay | 50% |
| 4 | vs Tampa Bay | 67% |
| 5 | @ New England | 33% |
| 6 | @ Houston | 57% |
| 7 | vs Jacksonville | 50% |
| 8 | @ Indianapolis | 57% |
| 9 | vs Chicago | 67% |
| 10 | @ Minnesota | 20% |
| 11 | BYE | |
| 12 | @ Atlanta | 50% |
| 13 | vs Detroit | 43% |
| 14 | vs Carolina | 67% |
| 15 | vs N.Y. Giants | 43% |
| 16 | @ L.A. Rams | 50% |
| 17 | @ Tampa Bay | 50% |
| 18 | vs Atlanta | 67% |
Despite what might not seem like a playoff team, they are in a weak division, and the path to the playoffs is relatively easy. It is still hard to consider this team a legit playoff team, but they’ll at least be a tough out. The coach and culture alongside the QB aren’t anything special, but there are multiple stars here who will elevate the team. It’ll be a feisty and tough team to play throughout the season.
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