2014 New Orleans Saints Offseason Preview
Notable Free Agents
TE - Jimmy Graham
S- Malcolm Jenkins
2014 Draft Picks
Round 1 Pick 27
Round 2 Pick 59
Round 3 Pick 91
Round 4 Pick 123
Round 5 Pick 155
Round 6 Pick 187
Draft Prospects: One guy I really like for the Saints is Florida State receiver Kelvin Benjamin. They desperately need a number one target that can take the heat off of Graham and Benjamin is a big athletic receiver that can instantly contribute.
Biggest Offseason Needs
Cornerback: They might lose a couple of their veterans and none of their young guys look like good replacements at this time. They will probably have to look in the draft and free agency.
Wide Receiver: They need to look to improve the wide out position this offseason. Last year teams were able to focus in on Jimmy Graham and eliminate him from the game. Another go to target will help that.
Outside Linebacker: Definitely a position that can be improved this offseason. I’m not a big fan of any of their outside backers so they might need to look in the draft and free agency.
One Player New Orleans Should Target
Brian Orakpo is a good young outside backer with the ability to get to the quarterback. He also has the ability to put his hand in the dirt and play defensive end. He’s also still a little raw so any team that picks him up can finish molding him into a whatever position they need him at really.
One Player New Orleans Must Retain
This isn’t a question is it? Jimmy Graham 12 out of 10 times is the most valuable player not only on this team but also on the free agent marked. If the Saints can’t bring him back it would drastically hurt their championship hopes.
Players In Need Of Extensions
Malcolm Jenkins is a veteran and a versatile defensive back, they should really bring him back.
Cameron Jordan: the teams sack leader and one of their top young talents. It would be best to not let him even think about testing free agency.
Darren Sproles aka the most dangerous weapon in the NFL. He can do it all and it doesn’t look like age is slowing him down either because he does such a good job of avoiding those bone crushing hits. I don’t see him take a lot of big hits even at the running back position.
Overall Offseason Outlook
The Saints have reached the point where they are going to need to rebuild without tearing everything down, so this offseason should be focused on renovating certain parts of the team. They need help more so on defense, at the corner and outside linebacker positions. Luckily for them there are a couple routes they can take to fill these needs. They can go the Orakpo route in free agency and get a good young player they can work in at outside backer and defensive end. There’s also good corners out there in free agency like Alterraun Verner who can sure up the Saints cornerback group.
They also need to find some more weapons on offense to take the pressure off Jimmy Graham. Teams have been able to focus on him all year and it hurt them in the playoffs when he was the only option. If they can add another target in the draft that would help them a lot.