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The New Orleans Saints went into the offseason needing help at wide receiver, and they didn’t find it. Their gamble that Cameron Meredith would rebound from a serious knee injury stronger than Willie Snead would recover from a bad season turned out to be a bust. Second-year pros Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood weren’t able to stay healthy for much of the season or consistently help the offense. Ted Ginn Jr. regressed hard after a career year in New Orleans. Undrafted prospects Emmanuel Butler and Lil’Jordan Humphrey have proven to be practice squad fodder.
It’s almost cruel that the Saints have to play one of the best rookie wideouts this week given the series of disappointments they’ve dealt with. A.J. Brown has been a revelation for the Tennessee Titans, posting a statline that anyone would be proud of. He’s caught 47 of 74 targets (63.5%) to gain 893 yards and score seven touchdowns, picking up a first down on 35 of his catches. That’s an average of 19.0 yards per catch (8.7 yards gained after the catch) and a first-down conversion rate of 74.5%, with per-game numbers of 3.4 receptions and 63.8 receiving yards in 2019.
Unfortunately, Saints coach Sean Payton can be counted among the crowd that hasn’t been shocked by Brown’s success as a second-round pick out of Ole Miss.
“He’s someone we scouted a lot when he was coming out last year,” Payton admitted during a conference call with Titans media. “First off, he’s got transitional quickness, he’s big. He’s someone that I think is very good after the catch. I also see a real good blocker in the running game. For a young receiver, those are real good signs.”
While Payton and the Saints may have liked Brown’s NFL prospects, they were too short-handed in draft capital to do much with that interest. They had to trade up from No. 62 to No. 48 to select Texas A&M center Erik McCoy, and that pick has been a slam dunk — the rookie won a starting gig and has rarely missed a snap this season while putting in high-quality game tape. The Titans picked Brown a few minute later at No. 51.
Brown wasn’t a huge part of the Titans offense early in the season, having averaged just 29.3 snaps per game through the first four weeks. But his playmaking ability and strength in blocking out on the perimeter has warranted more playing-time, and he’s gone on to average 45 snaps per game in the ten weeks since.
It’s going to be difficult for the Saints to corral Brown and the other Titans receivers, which include former top-ten draft pick Corey Davis and, ironically, slot specialist Adam Humphries — another receiver the Saints targeted this offseason, who the Titans won over with a four-year, $36 million contract in free agency. Pro Bowl Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore should be up to the task, but there’s real questions to ask whether number-two corner Eli Apple, slot defender P.J. Williams, and veteran newcomer Janoris Jenkins will be up to snuff.
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