Preseason Preview: New Orleans Saints

 


Written by Max Freud of Swish Tribune 

Last season was disappointing for the Saints as they finished at 7-10 and missed the playoffs. Chris Olive showed some promise and their defense was still good, but the results were not there. Last year was also their first year with Dennis Allen as their head coach after Sean Payton left. 

 This year the Saints will look to compete as they brought in Derek Carr as their quarterback. The Saints will hope that Derek Carr will be able to elevate his play from last year as he wasn't himself with the Raiders and their new head coach Josh McDaniels. Dennis Allen and the rest of the coaching staff will look to help him out with weapons of their own. The Saints brought in RB Jamaal Williams from the Lions and will also get Alvin Kamara back after the first 3 games of the season as he serves his suspension . The Saints also have sophomore WR Chris Olave who had a great rookie season last year, but hopefully with more consistent QB play and more consistency from the offense as a whole he will be able to improve. The saints also brought back Jarvis Laundry and also have Michael Thomas. Thomas has been injured the last couple of years, but is going into his 2023 campaign fully healthy and is looking to make an impact on a team that is looking to bounce back from last year. 

Additionally, the Saints brought in a couple defensive lineman to help out Cam Jordan and also brought in two tight ends to help block and open up the field for Derek Carr. Jordan has been as consistent as one could ask for and seems to always have at least 6 sacks on the year. He consistently puts the opposing QB under pressure and is capable of stopping the run as well. In the middle level the Saints have Demario Davis who has been a rock for them in recent years and they also have some star help on the coverage side. The Saints have Marshon Lattimore who is an absolute stud and someone that will always get in the head of the opposing team's top receiver. Not only that, but he also makes great plays and can keep up with the best of them. It will be fun to watch him match up with Tampa Bay in weeks 4 and 17 as Mike Evans and him have a lot of history. Additional help will come in the form of Marcus Maye as he plays safety for Allen's defense. 

There were no big substantial adds for the Saints during this year's draft, but they shored up their incredible and improving offensive line and also got some shored up some skill positions as they drafted a QB, WR, and RB. A position of worry for the Saints will be their linebacker depth as Demario Davis is really the only reliable starter from past years. The other guys might be good for them, but they are unproven to Dennis Allen. 

All in all, the saints are much improved solely because of their add of Derek Carr, but they also improved around the edges. Additionally, another year of Dennis Allen running the show and Chris Olave not being a rookie anymore will also help. This season, the Saints will look to bounce back from their last season. The floor of this team is last year at 7-10 as Derek Carr might struggle and the team could face some injuries as they have in past years, but if everybody plays like they have in the past this team could be looking at 11-6 or better and could make it to the NFC championship game. I do not see this team as a Super Bowl contender as of now as I feel like they could use some more help. 

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