Tag: team needs

Saints linked to big-time offensive lineman in 2025 mock draft

The Saints were linked to a big-time offensive lineman in Touchdown Wire’s latest 2025 mock draft. Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. would be a good get:

The 2025 NFL draft is a long ways away, so it’s better to use mock drafts like this one from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar as advanced scouting reports on players to watch during the 2024 college football season. And this time Farrar has the Saints picking Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr.

A former five-star recruit with the rare combination of size and athleticism pro scouts look for, Banks has been exceptional through two years of play. He’s lined up exclusively at left tackle and allowed just three sacks on 1,006 snaps in pass protection per Pro Football Focus charting. After being selected for the All-Big 12 second team in 2022, he was promoted to the conference’s first team in 2023.

Here’s why Farrar sees him as such a great fit with New Orleans:

Back in Sean Payton’s salad days, the Saints were all about getting the best guards possible to assist Drew Brees in throwing the ball in the ways that were best for him. Now, Dennis Allen’s crew is just looking for a front five that works. The selection of Oregon State tackle Taliese Fuaga with the 24th overall pick in the 2024 draft helps, but there’s so much that’s still undefined along the line. Kelvin Banks Jr. would be a nice fit in New Orleans because he can play both guard and tackle, and he does it all with serious attitude. Last season for the Longhorns at left tackle, Banks allowed one sack and 12 total pressures in 550 pass-blocking snaps, and when it was time to hit the second level, Banks was looking to HUNT opponents.

It’s tough to fault that logic. The Saints need to keep pouring resources into their offensive line until it isn’t a problem anymore. If they can’t get it right, it won’t matter who the quarterback is or which weapons he can throw to, or whether it’s Alvin Kamara, Kendre Miller, or someone else leading the backfield next year. Drafting Fuaga was a good start. If things don’t work out with Trevor Penning switching to right tackle, a first-round left tackle like Banks could allow Fuaga to move back to his college position. But if Penning does flourish in his new role, either Banks or Fuaga could move inside to guard. Another talent injection could be just what this unit needs.

Still, it’s a problem for another day (if not another year). Right now the Saints are betting on Fuaga and Penning bookending the line while Nick Saldiveri steps into the lineup at left guard, with Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz returning from last year’s team. Hopefully that combination works well and wins them enough games to where they can look to address another position of need in 2025.

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Pro Football Network says safety is Saints’ biggest remaining weakness

Pro Football Network says safety is the Saints’ biggest remaining weakness. That’s tough to buy when they don’t have a starting left guard:

Which positions look weakest on the New Orleans Saints’ depth chart? There’s still time to add reinforcements before training camp and the start of the 2024 season, but their options are limited with the biggest free agent signings and the NFL draft behind us.

According to Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall, the Saints’ biggest remaining weakness is safety. Here’s why:

As we stand today, 2023 fifth-round pick Jordan Howden is in line to start alongside Tyrann Mathieu. That’s because the New Orleans Saints didn’t find any better players in free agency or during the draft.

They need to start planning for the future at this position.

It’s a little late to start planning for the future after the draft, and it’s not like the Saints haven’t signed anyone. They brought in veteran defensive back Will Harris while re-signing other experienced backups like Johnathan Abram (who started ahead of Howden to close out the 2023 season) and Ugo Amadi to round out the depth chart.

Sure, they don’t have many proven options who could confidently replace Marcus Maye next to Mathieu. It’s going to be Howden, Abram, or Harris filling that void in the fall. Hopefully Howden has learned enough after his rookie year to earn that job. But the Saints won games last year with both him and Abram starting in the secondary, so it’s not like this is a major priority.

At least not to the degree that the offensive line is a serious problem. The Saints don’t have a starting left guard right now. James Hurst retired and Andrus Peat signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, meaning their best options  on the roster are Nick Saldiveri (a college right tackle who the coaches didn’t want to play as a rookie), Oli Udoh (a career right guard with some experience at left tackle, but not left guard), and a journeyman free agent in Shane Lemieux. A couple of rookie free agents are also in the mix.

And that’s not getting into the depth issues at left tackle. Trevor Penning is about to jump out of the plane without a parachute if the Saints can’t sign a free agent who could fill in for him in a pinch, if not push him during camp. He was benched after just six starts last season for poor performance. Maybe he’s turned it around with hard work this offseason, but the only players behind him are Landon Young and Justin Herron, with 18 combined NFL starts between the two of them. It’s a dicey situation. Hopefully the Saints can improve things along the line (and, sure, at safety) before training camp starts in July.

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Left tackle labeled the Saints’ biggest weakness after NFL draft

The Saints entered and left the draft with Trevor Penning as the starter at left tackle, but B/R says left tackle is the team’s biggest weakness:

The New Orleans Saints addressed a few holes in the NFL draft, most notably selecting Oregon State right tackle Taliese Fuaga in the first round. There’s no team without a weakness, and some teams have more than others. The Saints find themselves in the latter position.

New Orleans entered the draft with too many holes to fill with their premium draft picks. You could argue they chose to not fill prominent voids for players who may have their largest impact in future seasons. Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder assessed the condition of all 32 teams’ rosters after the NFL draft. He feels left tackle is the biggest weakness on the Saints’ roster, shared with the division-rival Carolina Panthers, but his logic is a bit shaky:

On a similar note, while Taliese Fuaga ranked within the top-25 prospects on B/R’s final big board, he was listed as a guard due to concerns about his ability to hold up in pass protection on the edge.

However, the Saints spent a first-round pick on Fuaga to replace Trevor Penning.

Essentially, all New Orleans did was swap out one tackle prospect who is a great run-blocker but better suited on the inside since he’ll likely struggle with NFL speed rushers for another one. Also, the Oregon State product exclusively lined up at right tackle in college, so he’ll be switching positions this season.

Left tackle was the second-biggest need heading into the draft. Trevor Penning and Ryan Ramczyk both come with their own set of significant question marks, so it was clear the Saints would address the offensive line early on. Fuaga was the only tackle drafted until their final pick, when they added Eastern Kentucky right tackle Josiah Ezirim in the seventh round. Penning struggled last year, so left tackle could is one their biggest weakness entering the year until proven otherwise.

Holder just came to the conclusion in an odd way. The biggest problem is that Fuaga was not drafted to replace Penning. By all intents and purposes, Fuaga is the heir apparent for Ramczyk at right tackle. Holder clearly doesn’t have faith in Penning either. The Saints’ draft strategy says they believe in Penning to a certain extent. That’s a gamble that must pay off.

Another issue is the Saints don’t view Fuaga as a guard, either. Fuaga projected high as a tackle prospect. This is simply a difference in scouting opinions, but it shouldn’t concern Saints fans. Bleacher Report scouting likely views Fuaga as best suited on the interior due to his arm length. We’ll find out whether that matters when pads come on later this summer.

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Adding TE Brock Wright would dramatically change 49ers draft needs

The #49ers may be able to cross something off their NFL draft needs.

The 49ers made an intriguing free agency play by signing Lions restricted free agent TE Brock Wright to an offer sheet. It was a signal that the team not only recognizes its obvious need on their TE depth chart. but that they’re also hopeful to fill it with a veteran they trust to take TE2 snaps right away. Doing so would alter their needs in this year’s draft, where adding a TE was relatively high on the priority list.

San Francisco is in a little bit of a strange spot with their tight end room. George Kittle is coming off an All-Pro campaign and didn’t shown a ton of signs of slowing down in his Age 30 season. They don’t really need a starter, so typically they’d be able to wait later in the draft to find a player they like.

However, with only 2023 third-round pick Cameron Latu and 2023 seventh-round pick Brayden Willis on the roster, it stands to reason San Francisco might want to find a player they trust more to take between 25-30 percent of the snaps in 2024. That’s where a higher draft pick would come in, since an earlier selection could net them a more pro-ready prospect.

Wright changes the calculus on all of that if the 49ers are able to secure him in restricted free agency.

With Wright backing up Kittle, the 49ers’ need at TE in the draft only goes as far as they believe (or don’t believe) Latu and Willis can develop into contributors. Given that Latu didn’t play his rookie year because of an injury and Willis played only sparingly on offense, it stands to reason San Francisco would give them both opportunities to compete in their second seasons. Wright’s experience and production as a blocker and pass catcher would open the door for the 49ers to give that duo some runway they may not have without a veteran above them on the depth chart.

If the Lions choose to match San Francisco’s offer sheet for Wright, it would make sense for the 49ers to head back into the free agent TE market. If they don’t go the free agent route though, we can put TE right back up near the top of the 49ers’ positional needs heading into the 2024 draft.

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Saints shouldn’t let signing Chase Young stop them from drafting another pass rusher

The Saints shouldn’t let signing Chase Young stop them from drafting another pass rusher. They need more firepower regardless of Young’s health:

Even if Chase Young was fully healthy, the New Orleans Saints should still consider drafting more pass-rush help in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. Young’s uncertain health status ahead of neck surgery only makes the statement more true. The signing allows you to not reach for an edge rusher, but it shouldn’t keep you from drafting one if an impact player is there.

There are enough talented pass-rushing defensive ends on this roster to make the sentiment questionable, however, the room isn’t quite set up for the future. Chase Young is on a one-year contract. Tanoh Kpassagnon is a free agent next year. Payton Turner will be as well unless the team picks up his fifth year option. As a matter of fact, an impactful rookie could make Turner expendable during camp. Alabama’s Dallas Turner and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu have been popular picks for the Saints in recent mock drafts.

Carl Granderson, Isaiah Foskey, and Cameron Jordan are the only core edge rushers under contract for 2025. There’s questions within that triumvirate moving forward as well given each player’s age, past production, and injury outlook. There are bodies at the position, but the position shouldn’t be considered stable. Signing Young makes you feel satisfied with your 2024 outlook, so drafting an edge rusher at No. 14 isn’t a must-have, but it should be seen as a priority. It could still be a huge benefit for this year and moving forward if the right guy falls to New Orleans.

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Video: Breaking down the Lions’ top 5 offseason needs with Ourlads Scouting

Video: Breaking down the Lions’ top 5 offseason needs with Ourlads Scouting

What are the biggest needs for the Detroit Lions heading into the 2024 offseason?

With the NFL’s free agency about to hit and the NFL Scouting Combine on tap for next week, there’s going to be a lot of attention on what the Lions need to fill out their roster. What will help Detroit remain as legitimate Super Bowl contenders and even augment their chances to bring home the team’s first title since 1957?

In this video, in conjunction with OurLads Scouting, I went through the top five Lion’s needs entering the offseason. The biggest need is self-obvious, but beyond that, there is some flexibility in the need flow chart.

Thanks to Greg DePalma and Ourlads Scouting for the fun, informative video and the invite to join them to break it all down.

Saints must address these 4 positions this offseason

In order to be better than 9-8 and make the playoffs, the Saints must improve at these 4 positions:

The New Orleans Saints ended last season with a 9-8 record with an easy schedule. Obviously, the team has a lot of room to improve. The first step was adding Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator. His addition should help New Orleans win with scheme as well as talent instead of relying strictly on the players.

There need to be improvements to the roster as well. There is a lot of uncertainty along the offensive line at a couple of positions. That is the paramount concern as it has the ability to cripple the offense. What are the other biggest positions of need?

10 positions of need for the Broncos in 2024

Here is our list of 10 positions the Broncos should address this offseason.

Denver Broncos general manager George Paton and coach Sean Payton are about to have a busy offseason.

The Broncos are projected to be about $24 million over the salary cap and the team only holds six picks to use in the 2024 NFL draft. Those circumstances could make it difficult for Denver to improve a roster that has plenty of holes going into Payton’s second season.

The Broncos will likely acquire a few more draft picks via trades this spring, and the team can also cut select players and make contract adjustments to create more cap space. It will be a big task, but Denver can add draft capital and create enough cap space to make some key moves this offseason.

So, once the Broncos have the resources required to add players, what positions should Denver target? We’ve put together a list of ten team needs, five on offense and five on defense. Between free agency the draft, the Broncos should address these positions this offseason.

Ranking the Lions offseason needs for 2024

Here’s an early look at the Lions’ biggest needs in free agency and the 2024 NFL draft.

It’s officially the offseason for the Detroit Lions after the disspiriting loss to the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. The offseason focus is on how to take the next step to potentially host that NFC title game after the 2024 season and win it, too.

The Lions will look different in 2024. All teams suffer some roster turnover, and the Lions are no different. Detroit has 19 unrestricted free agents who are coming off the roster, as well as some who are under contract but might not make the cut into the next year, for either performance or salary purposes.

What do the Lions need to make that next step? Here’s an early look at the biggest needs in free agency and the 2024 NFL draft.

 

Plenty of options at positions of need for the Saints at the 2024 Senior Bowl

Plenty of options at positions of need for the Saints at the 2024 Senior Bowl

The Senior Bowl is always a big step for the New Orleans Saints in their pre-draft process — they drafted three players from the event last year and signed a couple more as undrafted free agents. And this year’s Senior Bowl has plenty of talent. The Saints will have scouts and coaches in attendance evaluating the upcoming 2024 draft prospects through a week of interviews and three days of practices leading up to the all-star game itself.

We’ve highlighted some players to watch at positions of need for the Saints as all eyes turn to the Senior Bowl: