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No matter what Mickey Loomis says off the cuff in January, the New Orleans Saints must upgrade their wide receiver corps. Michael Thomas did the heavy lifting last season — catching an NFL-record 149 passes — but the team must surround him with some help. Starting wideout Ted Ginn Jr. is a pending free agent, as is slot specialist Austin Carr (who averaged more than 30 snaps per game when healthy, but was only targeted twice). They can’t afford to bet on sudden leaps from youngsters like Deonte Harris, Tre’Quan Smith, Keith Kirkwood, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey or Emmanuel Butler.
So the analysts at Pro Football Focus picked out one free agent the Saints should pursue: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Breshad Perriman.
It seems like a given that Drew Brees will come back for one last hurrah, and the Saints will return the key members of the roster that ranked fourth in non-quarterback team WAR this past year. Still, Brees could use a low-cost weapon opposite of Michael Thomas. Breshad Perriman has been fairly decent since leaving Baltimore in 2017. He’s dropped just one of 90 targets these past two years, which bodes well for the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. In his most recent season with Tampa Bay, Perriman ended the year red hot by producing the second highest receiving grade over the last five weeks.
Perriman finally broke out in 2019, having spent the previous years shackled to Joe Flacco at quarterback in Baltimore or Hue Jackson running the offense in Cleveland. While his overall catch rate last year was just 52.2%, that’s a product of playing with Jameis Winston. When thrown a catchable ball, PFF credited him with rare success. The leap from Winston to whoever the Saints start at quarterback in 2020 (whether it’s Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, or someone else) can’t be understated.
Interestingly, Perriman stepped up last season when called upon. He spent much of the year behind Pro Bowlers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the depth chart, but they were both on the mend late in December, promoting Perriman to top-receiver duties. He impressed as the focal point of the passing game, gaining 506 receiving yards in his final five games (and 349 yards in his last three). His 17.9 yards per catch would have led the entire Saints team last season.
With so many mouths to feed in Tampa Bay — Winston, Shaquil Barrett, and Ndamukong Suh headline this year’s free agent class, while Godwin is their top priority next offseason — some players aren’t going to stick around. And Perriman could be just what the Saints need.
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