Who are the New Orleans Saints’ top three players going into 2024? Just ask Pro Football Focus. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema highlighted the three best players for all 32 teams, and his choices for the Saints were pretty clear-cut. Sikkema pointed to a pair of experienced defenders when making his picks, but he says the team’s best player is on offense.
Here’s why Chris Olave, Demario Davis, and Tyrann Mathieu stand apart from the crowd:
Chris Olave has established himself as the go-to player on offense with back-to-back receiving grades above 82.0 to start his career.
Demario Davis continues to perform at a very high level despite entering Year 13. He posted the best overall grade on either side of the ball in New Orleans, at 89.6, which was the second-highest mark of his career.
Tyrann Mathieu got the nod for the third spot here after earning an 81.3 overall grade while logging more than 1,000 snaps at age 31.
Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and defensive end Carl Granderson were also considered, but Ramczyk’s recent inconsistencies while dealing with a career-threatening injury kept him on the outside. Granderson needs to repeat his performance from last season if he’s going to elbow Davis or Mathieu out of these rankings.
Who else should be considered? You could make the case for center Erik McCoy (who earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2023) or cornerback Paulson Adebo (whose four interceptions tied Mathieu for the team lead), though we’re past the days when defensive end Cameron Jordan would have taken first-place. We may be past the peaks for running back Alvin Kamara and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, too, which is concerning given how important they’ve been to the team in the past. Quarterbacks are evaluated differently, which is true — but we aren’t ready to argue in Derek Carr’s favor just yet. He needs to show he can beat a couple of teams with winning records first.
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