Tag: options

4 New Orleans Saints trade candidates ahead of 2023 roster cuts

With roster cuts swiftly approaching, other teams may come calling. 4 New Orleans Saints trade candidates who could be moved | @southexclusives

With roster cuts swiftly approaching, it’s only a matter of time until teams come calling to see if they can get the New Orleans Saints to trade away some players on the roster bubble — and even those who are seemingly positioned to make the team. If the offer is compelling enough, the Saints could choose to lean on their depth at some position groups and part ways with talented players to recoup some value through draft picks or player swaps. It’s happened before.

But who could be on the move? More likely is that other teams may be interested in snatching up a player before the Saints waive them, avoiding the anxious wait-and-see process as waiver claims are processed around the league. With that said, some speculation is already linking a Saints veteran or two to other teams around the league. Let’s explore the four highest-profile Saints trade candidates before the preseason wraps up:

6 offensive linemen Saints could target in trades after Trai Turner injury

Offensive line depth is important to the Saints. Here are six options who could be available for trades after Friday’s Trai Turner injury:

Offensive line depth is important to the New Orleans Saints, who took quick action to replace backup guard Billy Price with former Pro Bowler Trai Turner when Price failed his physical. But now they need to replace Turner after he went down with a season-ending injury at Friday’s training camp practice.

It’s more likely that the Saints will look to sign another free agent to compete for the backup job, but here are six options who could be available for trades. Fans would like to think that other teams are willing to give up All-Pro talents for peanuts, but keep in mind that anyone available at this time of the year is likely already on the way out with their current team. Beggars (like the Saints) can’t exactly be choosers.

Exploring the Saints’ picks, alternative options in TD Wire’s 3-round mock draft

Touchdown Wire has a lengthy three-round mock draft, which gives us a chance to check out the Saints’ picks and explore their other options:

Draft season is in full swing, with the latest 2023 NFL mock draft coming from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire. We’ve got three rounds of picks to sort through from this projection — including some nice gets for the New Orleans Saints.

But one benefit of having a full model to work with is we can consider all of the available options and alternatives for the Saints. Maybe there are other prospects on the board who make more sense for New Orleans than the players picked for them. Let’s dig in:

Ranking the 10 best free agent defensive tackles available for the Saints

Ranking the 10 best free agent defensive tackles available for the Saints, with Sheldon Rankins on top:

Everyone knows what position the New Orleans Saints need to make a priority: defensive tackle. The team lost its top two players in Monday’s start to the free agent legal tampering period, with David Onyemata joining the Atlanta Falcons and Shy Tuttle going to the Carolina Panthers. All of their other interior linemen who got on the field last year are free agents — Malcolm Roach (who wants to test the market before accepting a two-year contract offer), Kentavius Street, and Albert Huggins. The Saints couldn’t field a complete defense if they had a game today.

And money has been flying around the league with defensive tackles on the move. The San Francisco 49ers are going to sign Javon Hargrave. The Washington Commanders retained Daron Payne. The Seattle Seahawks lured in Dre’Mont Jones. And the Cleveland Browns reached an agreement with Dalvin Tomlinson. The cupboard is starting to thin out before the Saints even get on the board.

Still, there are options available. Here are the top ten free agents still out there at their top position of need:

1 free agent the Saints should target from every other team in the NFL

1 free agent the New Orleans Saints should target from every other team in the NFL, from the Arizona Cardinals to the Washington Commanders:

They say that you miss all of the shots you don’t take, which has been a popular philosophy for the New Orleans Saints in free agency. It’s sometimes tough for them to land their top targets due to the complicated salary cap gymnastics required to fit everyone on their books — but that hasn’t stopped them from aggressively pursuing players who they believe can make their team better.

And that should continue to be the case in 2023. It’s early, and many of these players will sign extensions with their teams in the weeks ahead. But we have an idea of the areas the Saints must upgrade to field a competitive roster in the fall.

Given the list of free agents currently expected to be available, here is one player from each of the other 31 teams around the league who New Orleans should at least make a run at once they’ve reached salary cap compliance (with our division previews and list of alternative free agent targets collected at the bottom):

PFF suggests two free agent targets for the Saints in 2023

Pro Football Focus suggested two free agent targets for the New Orleans Saints in 2023, bringing upgrades at defensive tackle and wide receiver:

Will the New Orleans Saints be big spenders in free agency again this year?  They have a ton of work to do in reaching salary cap compliance before they can worry about signing players away from other teams, but we should still expect the Saints to be active as always with Mickey Loomis as their general manager and Khai Harley working around the cap. If there’s a player the Saints covet, we know they’ll move mountains to go get them.

That’s not to say we should anticipate a spending spree. The Saints still need to be conscious of their cap situation and the extensions they’ll be working on with young stars in the future. It’s got be a careful balancing act. Still, it’s good to know your options. With the 2023 free agency cycle on the horizon in March, Pro Football Focus named one offensive and defensive target for each team. PFF’s Brad Spielberger suggested New Orleans go looking for help at wide receiver and defensive tackle:

6 candidates to replace Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael

It’s clear the Saints need to go in a new direction on offense. These candidates could be good picks to replace OC Pete Carmichael, via @RossJacksonNOLA and @john_siglerr:

It’s clear that the New Orleans Saints offense needs to change. The team made an assumption that Pete Carmichael could keep it afloat thanks to his 15 years of experience in the system, as the NFL’s longest-tenured offensive coordinator — but that blew up in their face. They averaged just 19.4 points per game this season and a meagre 13.5 points per game through their final six contests. That’s inexcusable with the playmakers assembled in New Orleans.

Carmichael mismanaged personnel throughout the season, failing to creatively use Alvin Kamara on the ground (with too many runs flowing between the tackles in 10 yards-to-go situations) and through the air (with the fewest designed screen passes in the league, and little to no targets out of the slot) and neglecting to keep his most effective short-yardage convertor, Taysom Hill, involved for long stretches of play. Electrifying rookie receiver Rashid Shaheed didn’t become a regular part of the offense until Week 11.

And that doesn’t even get into his concerning trends as a play caller. Few offenses had more rushing attempts on 2nd-and-10 after an incomplete pass than the Saints did under Carmichael (37), with defenses responding accordingly by allowing just 3.4 yards per carry on those downs. Carmichael never seemed to buck that trend, among others. New Orleans needs to evolve.

So making a change at offensive coordinator should be one of the first moves of their offseason. Whether the Saints try to keep things in-house again or fully explore their options outside the building, here are five names on our radar:

Juwan Johnson, Kaden Elliss lead Saints’ top-7 2023 free agents to re-sign

Juwan Johnson, Kaden Elliss headline the list of the Saints’ top 2023 free agents to re-sign:

It might not feel like it, but we’re already in the middle of the New Orleans Saints’ rebuild. The high-end rosters that defined Drew Brees’ final years with the team have gotten older and lost key players in each phase of the game: offense, defense, and special teams. To be frank, the Saints haven’t played enough competitive football over the last two seasons to look at them in the same light as the squads that preceded them.

With the 2023 offseason around the corner, it’s important the Saints take a hard look at the shape of their roster and consider which free agents to prioritize in the spring. There are many players they should bring back, but some in-house free agents should take priority. Here are seven on top of our list:

20 potential free agent targets for the Saints in 2023

The Saints should be active again in free agency, even if they’re looking for cost-effective options amid a challenging salary cap situation:

A lot of eyes are on the the upcoming New Orleans Saints offseason given how poorly their 2022 campaign has gone. The Saints have clawed their way up to a 6-9 record and are facing elimination from playoff contention with a loss to the best team in the conference this week. So, yeah, a lot of attention is already going towards their fortunes next year.

And the Saints should be active again in free agency, even if they’re looking for cost-effective options amid a challenging salary cap situation. Few teams are in the red by as wide a margin as New Orleans — the rosiest salary cap projections have them starting out over the cap by more than $50 million. The Saints can whittle away at that with their usual restructures and salary cap manipulation, but they’ll probably have to part ways with some veteran players in the process, too.

Still, they’ve always been active spenders in free agency with general manager Mickey Loomis running the front office, and we shouldn’t expect that to change any time soon. Here are some areas of concern and 20 pending free agents to watch out for in the spring:

50 potential draft targets for the New Orleans Saints in 2023

50 potential options for the New Orleans Saints in 2023 sourced from the latest mock drafts include Hendon Hooker, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Mazi Smith:

Bowl season is in full swing and 2023 NFL draft prospects are beginning to announce their intentions, and while the New Orleans Saints aren’t going to enjoy the benefits of a high draft pick after their disappointing season they’ll still be active on draft day. It’s always good to keep up with which draft prospects may be on their radar even if New Orleans won’t be on the clock until

To get an idea of which prospects could be in play when the Saints are expected to be on the board early in the second round, I surveyed five different mock drafts from around the NFL media landscape — taking down the players projected from Nos. 25 to 40 overall. There are always players expected to go late in the first round who slip back a bit and others who go sooner than expected, so this gives us an idea of maybe-realistic options.

Of course that’s going to change when teams begin evaluating the upcoming draft class in earnest. College all-star events like the Senior Bowl and Shrine Game will do a lot to expose coaches and decision-makers to players, as will the NFL Scouting Combine and workouts on the pro day circuit. For now we’re just building a list of names to know to look out for in the months ahead, and trying to get an idea of where the strength of this draft class lies.

And of the 50 prospects listed in those various mock drafts, an overwhelming majority play cornerback or defensive end (8 each). There’s smaller groups of offensive tackles (6), defensive tackles (5), and interior offensive linemen (5) in the mix, too, as well as linebackers and safeties (4 each). It’s looking like slim pickings at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver (3 each), and a single tight end got mentioned in our draft range.

So it’s shaping up for a draft class running deep in the trenches and secondary, with limited options at high-priority spots for New Orleans like quarterback and running back. Maybe this is another year where the Saints zig when everyone else zags, unless they’re looking to build on a strength like their offensive line or cornerbacks room. It’s good to see so many talented defensive linemen in the running given how poorly New Orleans’ front four have played this year, though. Maybe that’s where they go.

Anyway, here’s what you’re here for. Run through the list of all 50 prospects who made the cut: