Tag: Zack Baun

Saints trade candidates ahead of NFL trade deadline

The New Orleans Saints figure to be buyers, not sellers, but they do have a few trade candidates ahead of the NFL trade deadline:

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It would be a surprise to see the New Orleans Saints trade away players at the NFL trade deadline, but that could help facilitate new pickups. Whether it’s a player-for-player swap or a salary cap-minded move to free up resources to spend at a different position, we can’t rule out anything in the days ahead.

Still, I’d rather see the Saints pursue improvement on offense (especially in the receiving corps). But it’s tough to ignore the quality depth they’ve built up on defense, which could prove useful. Here are a few names on my radar before the Nov. 2 trade deadline:

4 most disappointing Saints through 3 games

Which Saints have been the most underwhelming so far this season?

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The New Orleans Saints have achieved a 2-1 record through the season’s first three weeks, but it wasn’t easy getting here. At times it’s been ugly and frustrating. Expectations were high — too high — for some players, and the team is worse off for it. But these four players have just been disappointing, and need to turn it around in a hurry:

Analysis: Keys to Saints’ Week 2 loss vs. Panthers

Analysis: Keys to New Orleans Saints’ Week 2 loss vs. Panthers, via @MaddyHudak_94:

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The New Orleans Saints may be one of the NFL’s most resilient teams, but Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers proved adversity can eventually become insurmountable. That’s not to say the team’s lamentable performance was remotely excusable. After two consecutive season sweeps against their divisional rival, the Saints recorded their lowest net offensive yards in Sean Payton’s tenure and were plainly outplayed in all phases.

Was their deafening 38-3 Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers a fluke? Would last year’s 2-0 sweep stand if Christian McCaffrey had been healthy? This game unfortunately opened a Pandora’s Box worth of questions that may not all have immediate answers. It did, however, illuminate the keys to last week’s victory; a positive spin implies most blunders as fixable. That doesn’t erase the emergence of some concerning trends and entirely right the ship.

Here’s what went wrong that requires a critical look in the mirror for this team’s identity moving forward:

Saints PFF grades: Highest and lowest graded players in Week 2 vs. Panthers

Saints PFF grades: Highest and lowest graded players in Week 2 vs. Panthers

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Things were rough for the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. There wasn’t much to write home about in their loss to the Carolina Panthers, but the bright spots were there if you went looking for them. Here are the highest and lowed graded players on offense and defense from Pro Football Focus:

Short-handed Saints must contain fully armed and operational Christian McCaffrey

Suddenly short-handed Saints must contain fully armed and operational Christian McCaffrey:

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It’s been a while since the New Orleans Saints got a good look at Christian McCaffrey. The superstar running back missed both games with the black and gold last season due to injury, and he only touched the ball 16 times in the previous season finale before getting pulled from the game with most of Carolina’s starters. The Saints haven’t seen McCaffrey at full strength in a meaningful game since before Thanksgiving 2019.

That’s far from the case this time. McCaffrey is back in good health after missing 13 games last year with a high-ankle sprain plus shoulder and quadriceps issues, and the Panthers quickly got back up to speed by handing him 30 touches in Week 1. He converted that workload (21 carries, 9 receptions) into 187 yards from scrimmage. He’s a special player, maybe the closest thing to Alvin Kamara than the man himself, able to separate easily as a receiver while running strong between the tackles.

The Saints defense has their work cut out for them in slowing him down. They’ve limited McCaffrey to just 103.4 total yards per game (as a runner, receiver, and passer) in seven matchups, including the playoffs. They know how to defend him. They’re just suddenly looking short handed.

If he were healthy, linebacker Kwon Alexander would be the go-to option to defend McCaffrey; he’s the most athletic player at his level of the field, and he’s held his own against similar players before. But Alexander is on injured reserve, meaning the Saints must put Zack Baun against the Panthers’ dynamo on most of his snaps. Baun had a great summer and played well (sparingly) in Week 1. Still, the jump in competition is going to challenge him.

But look for containing McCaffrey to be a team effort from New Orleans. In that meeting in Week 12 of 2019, the Saints saw six different defenders targeted in coverage against McCaffrey. In that year’s rematch, the number climbed to seven different defenders. They’ll get creative and tailor their personnel to slowing down Carolina’s best weapon. With so many injuries across the board (top slot defender C.J. Gardner-Johnson is questionable to play, too) it’s going to be tough. Let’s see how they handle it.

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WATCH: Saints sophomore Zack Baun on his first 2021 preseason performance

Zack Baun has an excellent preseason debut in year two:

Saturday night in Baltimore saw two former Badgers lead the way for the New Orleans Saints in a 17-14 loss to the Ravens.

Preseason opened up with Eric Burrell and Zack Baun each making significant impacts for the Saints defense. Burrell had a monster strip sack to open his rookie campaign, while Baun began his sophomore season at a new position.

The former Wisconsin LB was lauded for his versatility coming into the draft, and the Saints have been moving him around early in his career. On Saturday, he played at middle linebacker, a position that Baun admits is “completely knew” to him.

It was an excellent debut for Baun in his second season, and he finished with the highest PFF grade on the team.

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Stock up, stock down following the Saints’ preseason loss to Ravens

Stock up, stock down following the Saints’ preseason loss to Ravens

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The New Orleans Saints held the lead late into their preseason matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, but a fourth-quarter touchdown run by backup quarterback Tyler Huntley (and successful two-point conversion) put a win out of reach in their 17-14 loss.

But the scoreboard isn’t the most important factor here. Who impressed? Who didn’t? Here’s your first preseason Saints stock report:

Saints snaps counts notes and observations from Week 1 of preseason

New Orleans Saints snaps counts notes and observations from Week 1 of preseason

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The New Orleans Saints fell short in their preseason game with the Baltimore Ravens, but winning wasn’t really the point. These exhibition matchups are all about self-scouting and evaluating players in different roles and situations to see how they respond. And there’s a lot to like if you view the game from that perspective.

To that end, I reviewed snaps counts and took them all in context of what the vision may be for various players up and down the depth chart. Check out each position group and my notes below. All snaps via Pro Football Focus play-by-play charting (and rookies are italicized):

Saints vs. Ravens: 11 storylines fans should watch for

New Orleans Saints vs. Baltimore Ravens: 11 things fans should watch for

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It’s been too long since our last New Orleans Saints gameday, even if it’s only a preseason matchup. Welcome to where everything’s made up and points don’t matter, and nobody cares about who wins (except maybe the Baltimore Ravens, riding a 17-game win streak in exhibition).

But that isn’t really the case. There are dozens of players fighting for their jobs on Saturday night. Plenty of rookies are taking the field for the first time as professionals. Some older veterans are hoping to play well enough so that this isn’t the last time to lace up their cleats. With an unsettled depth chart and so many storylines to keep track of, almost every minute of the game should carry some level of intrigue.

So here is a quick look at 11 things that Saints fans should be watching for:

Saints training camp: Roster locks and long shots at linebacker

The Saints linebackers corps is kind of in flux, with a lot of change flowing around Demario Davis as the unit’s anchor. Who has the best shot at staying around in 2021?

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Who starts next to Demario Davis in the New Orleans Saints linebacker corps? That’s the most pressing question going into training camp, and the calls for Kwon Alexander to be re-signed were boosted when he visited New Orleans for an evaluation on his surgically-repaired Achilles tendon. While the Saints have invested high draft picks in Pete Werner and Zack Baun recently, it doesn’t seem like many fans are eager to see them playing heavy minutes.

So how does the unit look on the eve of training camp? Let’s scout it out: