Tag: needs

Packers roster needs entering 2023 free agency

A quick look at the Packers’ biggest roster needs entering 2023 free agency.

The Green Bay Packers have roster holes to address entering the start of the new league year. The legal tampering period begins Monday, providing free agents (of which the Packers have 17) a chance to negotiate and agree to terms with other teams. The start of free agency and the new league year arrives Wednesday.

How will the next few days (and weeks) shape the look of Brian Gutekunst’s roster?

Here’s a quick look at the team’s roster needs entering free agency:

Tight end: Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan, who combined to play 1,042 snaps at tight end last year, are both free agents. The only player under contract at this position who was on the 53-man roster last year is Josiah Deguara, an H-back type lacking experience as an inline tight end.

Safety: Adrian Amos, Rudy Ford and Dallin Leavitt are free agents and Darnell Savage is likely headed to the slot, meaning this position could be in for a complete overhaul. Adding a veteran here is probably a top priority entering free agency.

Defensive line: Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed are both free agents. Devonte Wyatt, last year’s first-round pick, is in line for a bigger role, but the Packers likely want more experienced depth here. It’s possible Reed returns.

Wide receiver: Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs provide a strong developing base, but Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb are both free agents, leaving a veteran void.

Edge rusher: Preston Smith is back, Rashan Gary (ACL) should be available at some point early in the 2023 regular season and Kingsley Enagbare impressed at times over the second half of the season, but good teams need quality depth on the edge always. Re-signing Justin Hollins is an option.

Quarterback: If Aaron Rodgers retires or is traded, the Packers will need a veteran backup for Jordan Love. The only other quarterback on the roster is Danny Etling.

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Top 11 running back prospects for the Saints in 2023 NFL draft

2023 NFL draft: Bijan Robinson, Tyjae Spears among top 11 running back prospects for the Saints

The New Orleans Saints needed to reload their backfield even before news broke this week of Alvin Kamara’s legal situation in Las Vegas, when a grand jury indicted him and three others in an alleged nightclub beating. Kamara is likely to be suspended once the courts reach a final decision meaning he’ll be sidelined for a month or more during the 2023 season.

But the Saints’ issues running the football last year were well-documented, and they should be looking to add some fresh legs whether Kamara ends up missing time or not. He’s been run into the ground the last few years without an adequate No. 2 beside him, and it might make sense to invest in a successor if his performance continues to decline.

And it’s a good year to need a running back, with the 2023 NFL draft class offering plenty of options. Here are our top 11 runners:

4 Chiefs free agents the Saints should be scouting in Super Bowl LVII

Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders is among 4 Chiefs free agents the Saints should be scouting in Super Bowl LVII:

Let’s start off by acknowledging the New Orleans Saints probably won’t be big spenders in free agency again this year — they’re currently sitting out the salary cap by more than $57 million, and they’re hard at work trying to figure out how they could fit a $32 million cap hit for Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr on the books.

But that’s not to say the Saints won’t be active at all. They signed multiple contributors to low-cost contracts last year, and they’ll be on the look for help again in 2023. And that could bring them back to the Kansas City Chiefs. Both of the Saints’ leaders in interceptions last year came from Kansas City: safeties Tyrann Mathieu (3) and Daniel Sorensen (2). With the Chiefs soon kicking off Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles, here are four pending free agents to watch who could fit New Orleans’ needs:

How would trading for Derek Carr change Saints’ offseason needs?

How would acquiring Derek Carr change the Saints’ top offseason needs? If they can land the Raiders QB, these areas should take priority:

Things are trending in the right direction for the New Orleans Saints to acquire Derek Carr, with the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback returning for a second day of meetings at the team facility in Metairie on Thursday. The Saints didn’t have a bigger roster need this offseason than at quarterback, so it makes sense to aggressively pursue someone they feel can stabilize that position.

But the work isn’t finished if they’re able to cut a deal with Carr (and the Raiders, who are hoping to trade him before next week’s self-imposed Feb. 15 deadline). The Saints have other areas of concern on both sides of the ball. It’s fair to wonder if this team can get to the Super Bowl with Carr at quarterback and with Dennis Allen as its head coach, but checking these items off their to-do list could at least help them reach the playoffs in an actively-rebuilding NFC South:

Defensive line, not QB, identified as Saints’ biggest need entering 2023 offseason

Defensive line, not quarterback, was identified as the Saints’ biggest need entering their 2023 offseason at Pro Football Focus:

The New Orleans Saints offense averaged just 19.4 points per game in 2022 with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston under center, but Pro Football Focus says all attention needs to go to the Saints defensive line as New Orleans’ biggest offseason priority in 2023.

It’s a sentiment shared by Cameron Jordan, who immediately began advocating for the Saints to spend the first-round pick they got from trading Sean Payton on a defensive tackle to help him out up front. But that’s an interesting take. PFF analyst Sam Monson had this to say in breaking down the biggest roster need for all 32 teams:

“Marcus Davenport enters free agency having never really justified the aggressive trade the Saints made to move up and draft him. He produced just 34 pressures across 15 games this season and has never earned a PFF pass-rushing grade north of 82.0. He is also yet to play more than 550 snaps in a season.

With Cameron Jordan turning 34 by the time next season rolls around and the interior underachieving in 2022, the Saints need to reload on their defensive line in a big way.”

It’s true that the Saints took a step back up front, and that they’re working with a long list of pending free agents including starters like Davenport and interior lineman David Onyemata. They’ve also lost the unit’s position coach Ryan Nielsen and hired former Florida Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham as his likely replacement. The defensive line needs to be rebuilt. There aren’t any doubts about that.

But the single most pressing area of concern remains quarterback. The Saints can probably re-sign Dalton for cheap, and they do still have Winston under contract if they can mend fences after benching him last season, but they should aim higher in 2023. Settling for less means more of the same, and another miserable season on offense like we saw in 2022 would turn even the staunchest of Saints fans against Dennis Allen and his vision for this team.

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Tight end identified as Packers’ biggest need entering 2023 offseason

The Packers need more depth, better talent and more frequent playmaking at tight end. Can Brian Gutekunst find answers in free agency and the draft?

Where do the Green Bay Packers need to add to the roster this offseason? It’s difficult to imagine a position on Brian Gutekunst’s roster needing more help – both in terms of depth and talent – than at tight end as the new league year approaches.

The need is easy to see. In a big list for all NFL teams, Pro Football Focus identified tight end as the Packers’ biggest roster need entering the offseason.

From PFF’s Sam Monson: “The young wideouts showed promise in 2022, but tight end is an area that still needs a major upgrade. Robert Tonyan saw 63 targets this season but averaged just 1.27 yards per route run and moved the chains only 20 times.”

Depth is the most concerning issue. Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis and Tyler Davis are all free agents, leaving Josiah Deguara, Austin Allen and Nick Guggemos as the only three tight ends currently under contract on the offseason roster. Deguara is a role player as an H-back, while Allen and Guggemos are recent additions who have never played in an NFL game.

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Last season proved the talent deficiency. Tonyan averaged only 8.9 yards per catch and scored just two touchdowns in his first season back from a major injury. Lewis, who turns 38 in May, isn’t a passing game threat but can still block as an inline tight end. Deguara was targeted just 15 times. The Packers need more production and playmaking ability from the position, especially in the passing game.

It comes as no surprise that tight end has been a common pick for the Packers in mock drafts. In fact, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer is one of the favorite picks in national mock drafts at this point in the process.

Will the Packers use the draft to add a top talent at tight end? Or will Gutekunst bring back Tonyan and Lewis and hope for something better in 2023? Banking on a rookie to fix the issue probably isn’t wise; a combination of a draft pick and veteran, as Paul Bretl of Packers Wire suggested here, is Gutekunst’s best bet for turning tight end from a weakness to a strength in 2023.

Top draft options: Michael Mayer, Dalton Kincaid, Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington, Sam LaPorta

Top free agent options: Dalton Schultz, Evan Engram, Mike Gesicki, Hayden Hurst, Austin Hooper, Foster Moreau

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Re-drafting for the Saints in latest Draft Wire mock

We’re re-drafting for the New Orleans Saints in the latest Draft Wire mock, taking that scenario and making our own selections based on who was available:

We’re coming up on the annual Senior Bowl college all-star game, which has prompted our own Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire to publish a two-round mock draft scoping out what’s ahead for teams like the New Orleans Saints. And he has the Saints getting a first round pick back from the Denver Broncos (who got it from the San Francisco 49ers, who had sent it to the Miami Dolphins), which would be very good news for New Orleans. We’ve already discussed the Saints picks in this mock, but what would we do differently in the same situation?

It was too soon for me to comfortably spend that first rounder on any of the quarterbacks still available, and I’m assuming that’s a problem the Saints will solve one way or another ahead of the draft. Whether that means trading for a veteran or signing a free agent remains to be seen, but I get the sense that’s their preference anyway.

Ranking the Saints top 2023 NFL draft needs

Ranking the top Saints 2023 NFL draft needs, starting at quarterback:

We’re still months away from the 2022 season finale, but it’s already clear that the New Orleans Saints will have many difficult decisions ahead of them come the offseason. Their roster needs work at a variety of positions, and there are real questions about whether they have the right coaches to get back to their winning ways.

While the Saints are going to be without their best draft asset after trading their 2023 first round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, they’ll still have selections in other rounds to help improve the team. And they’re always active in free agency. For now, here is our ranking of the Saints’ top NFL draft needs:

Great fits for Packers at top need positions in 2022 NFL draft

Finding great fits for the Packers at all the team’s biggest need positions entering the 2022 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers are going into the 2022 NFL draft with 11 picks – or opportunities – to add talent and provide answers to roster needs. The highly anticipated event begins on Thursday night with the first round, starts up again Friday with the second and third rounds and finishes on Saturday with Rounds 3-7.

Here’s one great fit at each of the Packers’ need positions for each day of the 2022 NFL draft:

7 takeaways from Chiefs GM Brett Veach’s pre-draft press conference

Here are some of the things we’re taking away from #Chiefs GM Brett Veach’s pre-draft press conference:

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach sat down with local media members for his annual pre-draft press conference on Friday. He covered a wide range of topics surrounding preparations, evaluation and different situations that could unfold during the course of the 2022 NFL draft.

Here’s a quick look at what we’re taking away from his pre-draft press conference: