Between now and the end of August, TGS will offer up a quick snapshot of every NFL team heading into the 2015 regular season. Today, the New Orleans Saints.
2014 in a nutshell: Drew Brees leads the league in passing yardage but the defense ranks 31st in football and they have the second-worst turnover margin in the NFL (minus-13). As a result, they finish 7-9 for the second time in three years.
Why 2015 could be different: Brees is still Brees, but he’s getting older and they’ve now been forced to part with Jimmy Graham and controversial sack leader Junior Galette.
Major additions: Veteran defenders Anthony Spencer, Brandon Browner and Kyle Wilson. Oh and they got center Max Unger in exchange for Graham while bringing in electric running back C.J. Spiller.
Major losses: Graham, young wide receiver Kenny Stills, veterans Ben Grubbs and Pierre Thomas and defenders Galette, Curtis Lofton and Patrick Robinson.
Breakout watch: First-round rookie receiver Brandin Cooks was on pace to push for 1,000 yards before a broken thumb ended his 2014 campaign early. Now, he’ll likely be Brees’ top target from the get-go.
Position to watch: On offense, it’s gotta be Brees’ receivers. They traded Stills and Graham and Marques Colston has been having injury issues, so there’s a lot of pressure on guys like Cooks, Josh Morgan and Benjamin Watson. On defense, they’ll hope for better play at safety with 2013 first-round pick Kenny Vaccaro looking to finally live up to expectations and superstar Jairus Byrd simply hoping to stay healthy.
Prediction: The Panthers should continue to be competitive, the Buccaneers should be better and the Falcons should also push the Saints, who have taken steps backward in back-to-back offseasons. This is probably an eight-win team at best.
