Saints have begun using their tight ends again under Darren Rizzi

The Saints tight ends have stepped up after injuries decimated the wide receiver corps. It’s a positive trend from Darren Rizzi’s time as interim head coach:

The promotion of Darren Rizzi to interim head coach has had its ups and downs, but ultimately the New Orleans Saints are 3-1 and the team has been able to close out most of their games. And that’s happened despite some real adversity challenging them.

With the injury to Chris Olave and previous injuries to Bub Means and Rashid Shaheed, the offense has had to find a variety of ways to succeed in the passing game, and in the last four games, that has meant heavy involvement of the tight ends in the receiving game. Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, and even Dallin Holker have each stepped into larger roles offensively.

Since Rizzi has taken over, here are the receiving stat lines for the tight ends in each game (including Taysom Hill):

  • Vs. Atlanta Falcons: 4 receptions on 7 targets for 58 yards
  • Vs. Cleveland Browns: 14 receptions on 17 targets for 130 yards and 1 touchdown
  • Vs. Los Angeles Rams: 12 receptions on 18 targets for 79 yards
  • At New York Giants: 7 receptions on 8 targets for 100 yards and 1 touchdown

The average over this span is approximately 9 receptions on 12 targets for 92 receiving yards and a touchdown every other game. In the last three of those games, two of the top three Saints receivers in yards have been tight ends as well, which was most certainly not the case pre-Rizzi promotion and Olave injury. We will see how things shake out and if this remains the case long-term, but for now they have been the focal point of the receiving game in recent matchups.

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