At a glace: The only thing seemingly stopping the Saints from a place in the Super Bowl is ̶a̶̶n̶̶o̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶r̶̶ ̶̶b̶̶l̶̶o̶̶w̶̶n̶̶ ̶̶c̶̶a̶̶l̶̶l̶ if quarterback Drew Bree's age finally catches up him. The team took a chance and restructured the signal caller's contract - creating a lot of potential dead money - so it could acquire weapons like tight end Jared Cook and running back Latavius Murray in free agency. A little help from center Erik McCoy in his rookie year would be perfect.
Quarterback Drew Brees was again part of the MVP conversation in 2018 despite being 17 years the senior of eventual winner Patrick Mahomes. Despite a strong roster the Saints realise their Super Bowl window shuts when Brees calls it a day, and so they continue to give up draft capital and play chicken with cap space so they can put as many high-impact players around him each year.
The additions of running back Latavius Murray and tight end Jared Cook mean 2018's third-highest scoring offense - per ESPN - won't miss a beat. Murray is a downgrade on the departed Mark Ingram but it's likely New Orleans will address that by making Alvin Kamara a more featured back use Murray in short-yardage, tough running situations. Cook fills a need in the passing game and will be a mismatch alongside equally big-bodied wide receiver Michael Thomas -- together distracting defenses and creating room for the weaker supporting cast around them. The trade up for center Erik McCoy - despite so few picks - shows New Orleans wanted quality over quantity in the draft, and got a pro-ready player to fill in for the retired Max Unger.
New Orleans is returning so many key defensive player from 2018 that the unit should be a strength going forward. All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan is playing across from budding star Marcus Davenpot with last year's breakout talent Sheldon Rankins wedged between them. A stacked secondary should give up fewer penalties and busted assignments now that Marshon Lattimore, Eli Apple and co. have had time to mesh together more.
DRAFT PICKS (per ESPN)
2.16 Erik McCoy C
4.03 Chauncey Gardner-Johnson S
6.04 Saquan Hampton S
7.17 Alize Mack TE
7.30 Kaden Elliss OLB
ORIGINAL COVER PHOTO: 247 Sports
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