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The last time New Orleans Saints fans tuned in to watch their team play a football game, it ended a bit quieter than expected. Kirk Cousins drove the Minnesota Vikings offense over a gassed Saints defense to lob a touchdown pass in overtime, ending what had been one of the most entertaining seasons in recent memory with a whimper, not a bang.

So what happened next?

Well, things got off to a strange start when the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic struck the nation. Travel restrictions due to the public health crisis canceled pro day workouts for college draft prospects around the country, and postponed in-person physicals for veteran free agents.

And for good reason; it was proven right away that anyone could be vulnerable to infection, including Saints coach Sean Payton. Payton made a full recovery and has since used his platform to encourage others to make better decisions. Payton and the Saints ended up working remotely from home for much of the offseason, just like the rest of the NFL.

First Wave of Free Agency

However, that didn’t keep the Saints from getting busy in free agency. They started out by retaining many of their own free agents to-be, like reserve safety J.T. Gray (recognized at the Pro Bowl and as an All-Pro for his efforts on special teams). Multi-year contract extensions were signed to long snapper Zach Wood, defensive tackle David Onyemata, guard Andrus Peat, and quarterbacks Drew Brees and Taysom Hill. Defensive backs P.J. Williams, Justin Hardee, and D.J. Swearinger also returned on one-year deals.

But the Saints couldn’t keep everyone. Starting linebacker A.J. Klein was signed away to the Buffalo Bills, reuniting him with a familiar coaching staff from his Carolina Panthers days. The Panthers ended up signing a host of former Saints, inking backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to a lucrative $60 million contract while also poaching cornerback Eli Apple and practice squad wideout Keith Kirkwood. Breakout safety Vonn Bell signed with the Cincinnati Bengals after talks broke down with the Saints in a sequence that eerily recalled last year’s fallout with Mark Ingram.

So who did the Saints add? They made two big splashes early in free agency by bringing back former first-round pick Malcolm Jenkins, who rose to prominence during six years with the Philadelphia Eagles. But the biggest move was the arrival of Emmanuel Sanders, a Pro Bowl receiver who should pair excellently with Michael Thomas. The Saints also signed underrated fullback Michael Burton, who knows the playbook after spending the 2019 offseason in New Orleans. He’ll replace the retired Zach Line.

2020 NFL Draft, Rookie Free Agents

That wide-ranging strategy positioned the Saints to take the best players available in the 2020 NFL Draft, which they did early by picking Michigan center Cesar Ruiz with their first selection. But lacking many holes on the roster didn’t mean the Saints were content to sit on their hands throughout the draft. Instead, they aggressively traded up for Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun and Dayton tight end Adam Trautman, betting on a quality-over-quantity approach. To top it off, the Saints traded back into the final round for Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens, an athlete in Taysom Hill’s mold.

And that led to a busy couple of hours in recruiting undrafted free agents. The Saints guaranteed large chunks of their contracts in rookie deals with Michigan State linebacker Joe Bachie, Oregon offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton, and Tennessee receiver Marquez Callaway, while adding some other intriguing options to take into training camp. And somehow, their biggest move was still ahead.

Second Wave of Free Agency

That would be the signing of Jameis Winston to a one-year deal valued at little more than $1 million. It’s not every day that a team rounds out its quarterbacks room with a former Heisman Trophy winner and first-overall draft pick who led the NFL in passing yards a year earlier. But Winston is here to learn from the best and maybe take over for Brees someday soon (which will be sooner than later, with Brees having a broadcasting job with NBC Sports waiting on him), and he’s already made his millions. He can take a pay cut for a year.

Winston wasn’t the only veteran free agent the Saints signed after the draft (and, conveniently, after the NFL’s compensatory draft pick cutoff date), though. They padded out the depth chart with defensive lineman Margus Hunt, pass-catching running back Ty Montgomery, linebacker Anthony Chickillo, and offensive lineman James Hurst. All of those additions qualified for the veteran salary benefit, helping the Saints work around the salary cap.

Coaching Staff Changes

There were minimal changes to the coaching staff, with linebackers coach Mike Nolan leaving for the Dallas Cowboys coordinator job. He was replaced by his assistant Michael Hodges, who had been preparing for the opportunity after several years on Payton’s staff. On the whole, the Saints are returning the same coaches who worked with last year’s team.

So that’s where we are now: these free agency moves and rookie acquisitions have resulted in maybe the deepest, most talented roster in Saints history on both sides of the ball. And at the end of the day, many of these players have been around for the last year or two, winning many games together — that’s important continuity in a normal year, much less one ravaged by COVID-19. With less practice time available, the most-experienced teams that are used to working together have a definite edge.

And that should have Saints fans excited on the eve of training camp.

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