Tag: Juwan Johnson

This 2024 NFL mock draft has the Saints adding Georgia playmaker Brock Bowers

This 2024 NFL mock draft has the Saints adding Georgia playmaker Brock Bowers, a gifted receiver who lines up at tight end:

We’re off and running into bowl season as the college football playoff tournament takes shape, and the New Orleans Saints were projected to pick one of the stars of the show in this mock draft: Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers. The Saints went into Week 13 slotted in at the No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Here’s why Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon says the Saints should add Bowers to their offense:

Slotting Bowers is difficult because he’s not a typical tight end. He’s more of a weapon in the mold of Kyle Pitts coming out, and all that athletic promise and collegiate accomplishment hasn’t yet paid first-round dividends on the No. 4 pick of the 2021 NFL draft. Bowers has a chance to go much higher than this, and the Saints can surely use a versatile, game-breaking target.

There’s no arguing with Bowers’ production. A receiving-first tight end, he’s caught 56, 63, and 51 passes in his three-year career at Georgia for yearly totals of 882, 942, and 661 passing yards. That’s remarkable consistently. He’s scored 31 combined touchdowns as a receiver (26) and runner (5), too, going into Saturday’s SEC Championship Game with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Saints have plenty of names at tight end between Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau (who both signed multiyear contracts this summer) with Jimmy Graham rounding out the group, but Derek Carr hasn’t gotten much out of them. Johnson has caught 18 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in seven games; Moreau has totaled just 11 receptions for 115 yards and a score; and Graham’s lone catch this season was an 8-yard touchdown.

Talent at the position isn’t a problem. Johnson broke out last year with 42 catches for 508 yards and 7 touchdowns. Moreau peaked with 28 yards per game last season on the Raiders (with Carr throwing to him, mystifyingly) but he’s only beaten that number twice this year. Part-time quarterback Taysom Hill has more receptions (24) and yards (214) than the other tight ends.

It’s the play caller and quarterback. The Saints had to use their tight ends as blockers more heavily than expected early this year, but changes to the offensive line improved protection and freed them up to catch more passes; but Pete Carmichael isn’t scheming them many designed touches and Carr isn’t spreading the ball around. Chris Olave leads the team with 103 targets through 11 games. Alvin Kamara missed the first three games and still ranks third on the team with 61 targets. Carr must do a better job surveying the field, finding his open targets, and throwing them a catchable football. Or else we’ll be stuck here this time next year wondering why Bowers is underperforming, too.

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4 Saints keys to victory on offense vs. Lions

It all starts with scoring more touchdowns. Breaking down four keys to a New Orleans Saints victory on offense against the Detroit Lions:

What can the New Orleans Saints offense do to secure a win over the Detroit Lions in Week 13? What schematic decisions and points of emphasis will make a difference? Which vulnerabilities in the Detroit defense can they exploit?

Scoring more touchdowns would help.

Really, though: Derek Carr’s deficiencies in the red zone and inside the 10-yard line have been pronounced in recent weeks, and figuring out why he’s struggling so badly can make a difference on Sunday. But there are 80 yards to cover before the Saints can get in scoring position. With that in mind, here are four keys to victory we’re looking for from the New Orleans offense:

Fantasy football sleepers to play in Week 13

Check out these sleepers to play in fantasy football for Week 13.

It’s here. Part II of the bye-pocalypse is upon us, and the mad scramble to find sleepers for our starting lineups in fantasy football has commenced.

And it’s as rough as we expected it to be. Six teams are on a bye in Week 13 including the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.

As it pertains to the sleepers, the options aren’t as plentiful as they would be in a typical week. But that’s not going to stop us from trying to find some diamonds in the rough as managers look to make the final push for the playoffs.

Don’t forget to check out The Huddle’s weekly PPR projections and rankings to get a better idea of how we feel about the upcoming week as a whole.

Derek Carr finishes November with just two touchdown passes

Derek Carr finished November with just two touchdown passes and one win. The Saints are not getting a great return on his $150 million contract:

It’s fair to say the New Orleans Saints have not gotten a great return on their investment in Derek Carr. The veteran quarterback’s $150 million contract resulted in just two touchdown passes through the month of November — a three-game stretch interrupted by their bye week.

As noted by ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, Carr’s last touchdown pass was a 2-yard strike to Taysom Hill in the second quarter of their Nov. 5 game with the Chicago Bears. Both teams traded field goals before Hill threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson late in regulation.

Carr’s struggles to end drives with touchdowns have only grown more pronounced as the season continues. The offense managed just three points in two and a half quarters when he left the Minnesota Vikings game with an injury. When Carr returned after the bye week for a road game with the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints went 0-for-5 on drives reaching the red zone.

Those five possessions ended with three field goals, Carr’s ugly interception to Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (which was returned 92 yards for a backbreaking defensive touchdown), and a fumble by Hill that set up a nine-play, 95-yard scoring drive for Atlanta. It’s been a disaster.

And really that’s the only way to look at Carr’s turn as the starting quarterback for New Orleans. He’s managed just 10 touchdown passes in 11 games while throwing 5 interceptions and fumbling 5 times (twice losing possession). His performances with the Las Vegas Raiders the last two years were the lowest of his career, but he’s playing even worse now that he’s exchanged his silver helmet for a gold one.

Carr deserves plenty of blame for the Saints’ problems this season. So does his play caller Pete Carmichael. But ultimately the buck stops with the head coach who empowered (or settled for) both of them: Dennis Allen. Carr was Allen’s handpicked quarterback, and Carmichael was who he stuck with after failing to recruit an offensive coordinator in each of his two years in charge. Drastic changes are needed for the Saints to live up to the standards they’ve set for themselves.

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5 Saints players who deserve bigger roles coming out of the bye week

Rashid Shaheed and Juwan Johnson are two of the Saints players who deserve bigger roles coming out of the bye week:

It can’t be more obvious that the New Orleans Saints need to make some changes during their bye week. They’re lucky to have a 5-5 record and sit on top of the worst division in pro football; the weak NFC South is all that’s keeping them in the playoff picture.

So what adjustments can they make? They can start by making bigger roles for these five players after the bye week:

Studs and Duds from the New Orleans Saints’ first 10 games in 2023

Studs and Duds from the New Orleans Saints’ first 10 games in 2023: Who has stood out, for good and bad?

The New Orleans Saints are on bye this week, so it’s a great time to turn retrospective and look back at the ten games they’ve played so far. And we’re looking for the Studs and Duds of 2023 — players who have stood out the most for both good and bad.

Who are your picks? Here are ours:

By The Numbers: Comparing Saints QB Derek Carr to his predecessor Andy Dalton

By The Numbers: Comparing Saints QB Derek Carr to his predecessor Andy Dalton

We saw a lot of raised eyebrows and questioning takes from the pro football world when the New Orleans Saints announced a four-year contract with Derek Carr valued at up to $150 million, an average annual payout of $37.5 million. That number ranked tenth among NFL quarterbacks at the time of signing, and it’s since fallen to 13th around the league after a couple of young pros signed lucrative extensions.

But Carr has not played like the 13th-best quarterback in the game. He ranks 17th in passer rating (89.8), 20th in ESPN’s quarterback rating (50.7), and 16th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt (5.96), a metric which accounts for touchdown passes, interceptions, and sacks relative to passing yards and attempts. His passing grade at Pro Football focus ranks 23th (67.5). At best, you could argue Carr is playing like a league-average quarterback, but the numbers suggest he’s closer to mediocre, and that’s certainly what the viewing experience has felt like each week.

Let’s go back to that $37.5 million figure. The Saints paid Carr so highly because they believed he would be a big upgrade over Andy Dalton, the veteran backup who surprised everyone by starting 14 games last year after Jameis Winston was injured, and who received just $3 million from the Saints in his one-year contract. They could have paid 12.5 Andy Daltons for the price of one Derek Carr.

So has Carr been 12.5 times better than Carr? It’s a little premature to compare them head-to-head with Dalton having started 14 games last year and Carr just 10 games into his Saints career, but there’s enough data to work with to analyze some trends. So how do they stack up against each other?

Carr is averaging more passing yards per game (223.1) than Dalton’s pace last season (205.1), but that’s because he’s also throwing more often. He’s clocking 33.4 pass attempts per game against Dalton’s 27. Dalton had a slightly better completion percentage (66.7%) than Carr (65.9%) while averaging a full yard more per attempt (7.6) than Carr (6.7).

One thing Carr has done better than Dalton is protect the football. He’s thrown just four interceptions (1.2% of his attempts), turning the ball over at half the rate Dalton did (nine interceptions; 2.4% of his passes). But Carr has fumbled four times this season, losing the ball twice, while Dalton fumbled five times last year, losing once. Altogether that’s 6 turnovers for Carr in 10 games and 10 giveaways for Dalton in 14 games.

Last year, the Saints ranked 21st in red zone efficiency (521.%), with 25 of their 48 drives into the opposing 20-yard line ending in touchdowns. They’ve regressed this year with Carr at quarterback, posting the 24th-ranked red zone conversion rate (48.6%) while going 17-of-35. Poor execution in scoring position was a major criticism of Carr throughout his Raiders career, and those issues — questionable decision-making, inaccurate passes, and folding under pressure — have continued in New Orleans.

What’s more distressing is that Carr hasn’t hit the big plays outside the red zone, either. He’s thrown 8 of his 10 touchdown passes in the red zone. In his career he’s thrown about 35% of his touchdown passes from outside the red zone, out in the open field. This year he’s done so just twice. Even Dalton was able to hit on those deep touchdown passes from outside the 20-yard line last year (7 of 18; 38% of them).

That’s inexcusable for a quarterback with Carr’s experience and some of the best young deep threats in the game available to him. It’s past time he figure out whatever chemistry issues are putting a rift between him and Chris Olave. Rashid Shaheed deserves even more touches than he’s getting. Juwan Johnson has been a non-factor after breaking out last season with Dalton under center. At least Carr is throwing to Alvin Kamara more frequently, but it’s come at a detriment to his downfield weapons.

Carr is the veteran in the room, the Pro Bowl quarterback with 153 starts behind him. It’s past time he play like it. Or else it’s going to seem increasingly certain that the Saints miscalculated what he would bring to the table. If he can’t outperform Dalton, it’s worth asking whether they should have even made a switch to Carr, much less overpaid him so badly.

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Dennis Allen’s fate shouldn’t be separate from Pete Carmichael

Despite being a defensive coach, Dennis Allen’s choice to not make offensive changes should reflect on him.

The New Orleans Saints have been in the same place all season long. They are good enough to compete in and win a bad division but not good enough to inspire confidence for a playoff run. Because New Orleans is always in contention for the NFC South, the fans have to constantly hear the dreaded “we can still win the division” line or some variation of it. That’s a true statement and is the reason the Saints are opting to not make coaching staff changes.

The desire for change comes on the offensive side. Head coach Dennis Allen leads the defense. Despite their first half struggles, it is unlikely there will be changes defensively. That doesn’t mean he should be absolved from responsibility; Allen should shoulder a lot of responsibility for the state of the offense.

As the head coach, he has sat and watched the offense be inconsistent with no real attempt to jumpstart it. If Allen wants the Saints to keep doing what they’re doing, he should also be held accountable for the results.

The likely scenario is if the offense doesn’t improve, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael will suffer the consequences. The issue with the offense is the talent appears to be there. They have playmakers in Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Michael Thomas, Juwan Johnson, and Taysom Hill, plus an offensive line stocked with first- and second-round draft picks. And a quarterback who has seen it all in Derek Carr. A lot of struggles boil down to coaching, so replacing the play caller makes sense.

However, Allen has chosen to not switch play callers for two seasons. For that reason, his fate should be just as much tied to the offensive success as Carmichael. If things don’t pick up after the bye week, the Saints must consider wholesale changes sooner rather than later.

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Penalty-free football helped the Saints take care of business against the Bears

Penalty-free football helped the Saints take care of business against the Bears. Everything didn’t go according to plan, but they didn’t hurt themselves with fouls:

Penalty-free football helped the New Orleans Saints take care of business against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. That’s not to say everything went according to plan, but they didn’t hurt themselves with fouls while giving free yardage to the opposing squad.

That’s progress. The Saints went into Week 9 with a league-leading 513 penalty yards, but they ended the afternoon with a single foul, yielding 5 yards for a false start on tight end Juwan Johnson. The Bears were penalized 8 times for 71 yards by referee Ron Torbert and his officiating crew.

And things look even better when you widen the lens. The Saints have been penalized 12 times in their last three games, but eight of those infractions came last week against the Indianapolis Colts. And half of those penalties were for false starts on Johnson, center Erik McCoy, left tackle Andrus Peat, and left guard Max Garcia. That game’s referee crew, led by Craig Wrolstad, has thrown more penalty flags for false starts (15) than any other foul this season.

Hopefully this can start a positive trend for New Orleans. Playing games with fewer penalties leads to more efficient drives, more first down conversions, and more scoring — all things that are conducive to winning the day. Playing smarter and keeping hands clean is going to help this team get where they want to go.

One player in particular deserves some credit for cutting down on his penalties. Cornerback Paulson Adebo was fouled early and often this season, drawing four penalties for defensive pass interference and two flags for defensive holding in his first four games. But he hasn’t been fouled in either of the last two games while making a positive impact with multiple turnovers in recent weeks. If Adebo can avoid those penalties moving forward while continuing to take the ball away and hold up in coverage, the Saints secondary suddenly looks even more formidable. Sunday’s win over the Bears is the next step towards that goal.

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Khalen Saunders takes credit for Juwan Johnson’s TD: ‘I got triple teamed’

Khalen Saunders took some credit for Juwan Johnson’s touchdown catch, having drawn a lot of coverage from the Bears defense on Sunday:

Now this is funny. The New Orleans Saints added a new element to their offense in recent weeks by working nose tackle Khalen Saunders into short-yardage sets as a fullback. And on Sunday, they took things a step further by having Saunders run a route in scoring position after he had previously worked as an extra blocker. The play was designed to flow to him with Tayson Hill dropping back to pass.

But the Chicago Bears didn’t take the bait. They weren’t about to be the first defense to allow a touchdown pass to the big man, with linebacker T.J. Edwards and safety Eddie Jackson both running with him in coverage. The extra attention freed up Juwan Johnson on the other side of the field, so Hill simply looked the other way and connected with him on a too-easy touchdown pass.

And Saunders rightfully wants everyone to know about his role on the play. It wouldn’t have happened without him forcing the defense’s hand.

“Binkatron, that’s my new nickname. I feel like Calvin (Johnson) out there,” Saunders told reporters after the game, referencing his nickname of “Binky” and Johnson’s famous “Megatron” moniker. He continued, “I looked up, had to turn around and count each one of them to let them know, ‘Y’all got three people on a D-lineman right now.’

“I got triple teamed. Count them. Binkatron,” Saunders added.

There were other defenders in the area and just two were covering him, but we won’t hold it against Saunders. Whether it’s two or three opponents covering him, he’s still commanding respect from the defense, and it’s helping the team. Saunders should continue drawing attention given his resume.

He didn’t get many opportunities to play offense with the Kansas City Chiefs, but he scored touchdowns as both a runner and receiver in college at Western Illinois, and he’s been playing both ways dating back to his high school career at Parkway Central in St. Louis. He isn’t someone defenders can overlook. But here’s hoping he gets his own touchdown someday.

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