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New Orleans Saints report card: Grading every position group from 2023, from Derek Carr at quarterback to the offensive line and cornerbacks
Which position groups held the New Orleans Saints back in 2023? Which ones carried the team? Those are the questions we set out to answer in our 2023 report card by evaluating every position on the team from quarterback to cornerback and everywhere in-between.
Here’s how we graded all of them:
Week 13 Saints report card: How did each position grade vs. Lions?
The reviews are in, and they aren’t pretty: we didn’t see the New Orleans Saints’ best work in their Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions.
But how do you grade this performance? Let’s break it down by position groups to judge whether each unit pulled its weight on Sunday:
The New Orleans Saints preseason is over. Here’s our final Saints roster projection ahead of cut-downs on Tuesday:
The final whistle has sounded at the Caesars Superdome, signaling the end of the New Orleans Saints’ third preseason game and the start of a hurried rush to trim down their roster. The NFL’s roster cuts deadline is Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT, and the Saints must thin out their depth chart from 89 names to just 53.
It’s a difficult process. A few players will get second chances around the league and some may return to New Orleans’ practice squad, but for many guys this is the end of their pro football dreams. It’s not something to be taken lightly.
Who is on the rise? Who could be on the outside looking in? Projecting the New Orleans Saints’ 53-man roster after their first preseason game:
Who is on the rise? Who could be on the outside looking in? We’re going to be prisoners of the moment and project the New Orleans Saints’ 53-man roster after their first preseason game, which will probably look like an overreaction in a week or two. With so few roster spots up for grabs, players on the bubble need to make the most of every opportunity when they get onto the field for these exhibition games.
Let’s break it down by each position:
One takeaway from each Saints position group after first week at training camp
The first week of New Orleans Saints training camp is in the books — through four practices without pads, the team has experienced a lot of highlights and some low moments, but things are moving well. With their first padded practice coming up on Monday (in front of fans) and the preseason opener just two weeks away, let’s check in on each position group:
The Saints are not finished tweaking their roster, but Mickey Loomis says he’s not losing sleep over it. Where are they looking for more upgrades?
The New Orleans Saints opened training cap by signing several veteran players to reinforce the depth chart, including a pair of veteran offensive guards in Trai Turner and Max Garcia (as well as a reunion with their former Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham). Those were all moves that general manager Mickey Loomis characterized as guys with proven performance who can compete for roster spots during his first press conference.
But they aren’t finished just yet. The Saints also brought in a half-dozen defensive linemen for a group tryout before camp, and Loomis acknowledged that there are other roster spots they would like to add another proven player or two. But are there any areas of need on his mind?
“Nothing glaring,” Loomis said, choosing his words carefully. “There’s probably a couple of spots, I don’t want to identify them. There’s a couple where I wouldn’t mind having another player that has played in the NFL. But nothing glaring that I’m losing sleep over.”
So which positions could Loomis be alluding to? Let’s look at the depth chart and areas where there are more younger, inexperienced players than established veterans.
Linebacker jumps off the page. Demario Davis is the only player in the group with more than 30 career starts; Pete Werner has only played 27 games through two years (out of 34 potential starts) while Zack Baun (8 starts in 45 games), Andrew Dowell (no starts in 34 games), Ty Summers (1 start in 52 games), and Ryan Connelly (1 start in 31 games) are all better known for their efforts on special teams than quantity of reps on defense. That’s also the case for second-year pro Nephi Sewell, while rookies Anfernee Orji and Nick Anderson are relative unknowns, as is D’Marco Jackson as he returns from a season-ending injury.
There are other cases to be made, like at defensive end where Cameron Jordan is the sole established presence, ahead of Tanoh Kpassagnon (34 starts in 84 games) and Carl Granderson (7 starts in 54 games). Defensive tackle could also use another piece — Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders are a solid pair of veterans, but they’ve started a combined 17 of their 111 career regular season games. The Saints are putting a lot of pressure on young draft picks like Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, and Payton Turner to fill out the depth chart along the defensive line, which leads to uncertainty.
It would be nice to have someone else with a strong NFL resume in either group, but as Loomis said, it’s not worth losing sleep over with so many young, developing players in the pipeline. Don’t be shocked if more moves are on the way, but maybe don’t look out for anything earth-shaking, either.
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Ranking every position group on the New Orleans Saints’ roster in 2023, from strongest to weakest | @DillySanders
The New Orleans Saints are coming off of their worst winning percentage since Jim Haslett was the head coach in 2005. It’s safe to say that Dennis Allen has his work cut out for him and is for sure on the hot seat, but the good news is that this roster looks a lot better than last season. They’ve made some key changes to key spots in the roster, could be getting some big names back and are banking on some young players to progress.
Here is every single position group on the Saints this season ranked from best to worst based on all of the information we currently have, this will probably look a lot different by the end of the season and potentially after training camp:
Ranking New Orleans Saints position groups from worst to first in 2023: Which unit has the most talent, and which the most areas of concern?
Your New Orleans Saints are marching toward a week of organized team activities at the the team’s Metairie practice facility, and the roster is very nearly set. Here’s a quick ranking of their position units from worst to best — or, put another way, from worst to first:
The Patriots didn’t draft a tackle, but they reportedly have a plan.
You can always count on coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to have some sort of unorthodox plan.
That appears to be the case along the offensive line after the team drafted three interior linemen and no offensive tackles. The latter was a problematic position for the team last season, and things appear even less certain in 2023 with Isaiah Wynn’s contract up.
Sure, the Patriots signed veteran Riley Reiff to possibly start across from Trent Brown, along with filling depth at the position by re-signing Conor McDermott and adding Calvin Anderson. However, the position clearly needed youth to push the eventual camp competition.
And they might have found it in rookie fourth-round draft pick Sidy Sow, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The offensive guard out of Eastern Michigan has started at left tackle as a freshman 11 times, and he could be in line for a move back to that position.
Breer wrote:
I’d mentioned the Patriots not addressing their tackle need—there’s a postscript to that one. I know New England was excited to get Sidy Sow from Eastern Michigan, who has been projected as an interior offensive lineman, and who they got with the pick in the fourth round that they picked up for going back from No. 14 to No. 17 (in the Steelers trade) in the first round. My understanding is they’re gonna try Sow at tackle, where he actually played as a true freshman in 2018.
Sow definitely has the size to kick outside of the offensive line at 6-foot-5 and 326 pounds. He’s a powerful blocker that can be downright nasty to face in the trenches.
Reiff has the veteran experience on his side to help the Patriots immediately, but his ceiling is already capped at age 34. Sow is a bit of an unknown that could flourish with the right technique and coaching for years to come.
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Packers GM Brian Gutekunst needs to build out his roster at these positions in the 2023 draft.
Depth, experience and talent of the current roster will be important factors as the Green Bay Packers identify the team’s biggest positions of need entering the 2023 NFL draft.
The draft isn’t about addressing immediate needs and must be used to build out a roster over many years, but looking at the current roster can help guide the process.
Here are the positions where the Packers must add during the 2023 draft:
