They played with tragedy in their hearts after what happened in New Orleans last year. Can they make a run at the NFC South this season?
Strength
New Orleans had a very good defence last year but there was one specific area they excelled in. The Saints were the best team in the NFL for defensive red zone percentage, meaning they were the best defence at stopping opposition teams from scoring a touchdown once in the red zone.
After improving their secondary over the off-season, they are going to be tough to score on.
Weakness
After the injury of Jameis Winston, the Saints offence was nowhere to be seen. They rotated through Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill, and Ian Book but they went 4-6 as starters.
Looking at the off-season they had, and they have three new starting wide receivers with Michael Thomas not playing last season, Jarvis Landry signed, and Chris Olave drafted. If Winston can come back healthy, I expect this passing attack to improve drastically.
Player to watch
Tyrann Mathieu has been one of the best safeties in the NFL since entering in 2015, but last year was one of his least productive seasons yet.
He signed with New Orleans, in the state where he played college for LSU, and adds the cherry on top of what was a really good secondary. I am looking forward to seeing what he can do and if this rejuvenates him back into career-best form.
Who’s under pressure?
In 2019, Michael Thomas broke the NFL record for most receptions in a season. Since then, he has played in seven of a possible 33 regular season games with ankle problems plaguing him. He put off surgery which cost him the entire 2021 season and considering his importance to this offence, it is imperative that he stays healthy.
Projection
The Saints are going to be really fun to watch either way. Either they will finish 12-5 and upset Tampa Bay for the division, or go 6-11 and have all eyes on them come the off-season.
I am leaning towards the 6-11 side and despite their awesome secondary that will be fantastic to watch, Jameis Winston has never convinced me he can lead a team to success, and I don’t see this being any different.
Win/loss: 6-11.
Sheikh
Roar Rookie
I think the Saints share your view of Winston, and the other QBs on their roster, as they signed Andy Dalton for 2022. Now as a Cincy fan I love Dalton, but he's not the QB to lead your side to the playoffs; these days he's a game manager who can make good use of decent skill players. And that might be what the Saints need as there is some talent still in New Orleans (Ingram and Kamara at RB, Thomas, Landry, Olave & Smith at WR). Where they may struggle is replacing Armstead at LT, who's signed with Miami. Ramczyk is better at RT and so it's probably a battle between Hurst (who's started when either Armstead or Ramczyk is injured) or the 1st rounder Penning who has huge upside but was projected anywhere from mid 1st round to late 2nd round depending on whether you look at his strengths or weaknesses.