Should the New Orleans Saints find a wide receiver in the draft or free agency?
The New Orleans Saints have a wide receiver problem. Is it better to fix that problem in the NFL Draft or the free agency period?
One of the biggest problems that the New Orleans Saints have to address this offseason is the lack of a wide receiving core behind Michael Thomas. The historic season Thomas had does not shadow the fact that the Saints need receiving help.
Michael Thomas alone caught almost half of the completions thrown by Drew Brees this entire season. That means that the other half went to a pitiful group of other players that boast as wide receivers on the Saints team.
Jared Cook and Taysom Hill made up for most of the other completions when healthy. However, Ted Ginn and TreQuan Smith needed to step up when the Saints needed them and they weren’t there to answer the call.
Therefore, there needs to be someone new come in and run that No. 2 receiver role. The only question that remains is, “Should the Saints target a receiver in free agency or with their 24th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft?”
There is no clear cut answer to this, but let’s break down the argument for both sides.
In free agency, you are bound to get a more experienced and talented player.
The market right now includes players like Amari Cooper, AJ Green, Emmanuel Sanders, and Devin Funchess. All of those players could come in and make an immediate impact at a cost. Even low-hanging veterans like Demaryius Thomas could still be on the board.
They are likely to put up close to No. 1 wide receiver numbers, but they are also going to be paid like it and right now, the New Orleans Saints don’t have much cap space to play within the free agency pool especially after they re-sign who they need to.
In the draft, you are going to get a younger, less-experienced player with a drive to try and get better. Rookie contracts also work to the advantage of teams that are stuck in a salary cap situation that they need to resolve.
The Saints could target Henry Ruggs from Alabama, Jalen Reagor from TCU, or even Tee Higgins from Clemson. All those players could come in and make an immediate impact as a clear No. 2 wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints.
Fortunately, they will also be paid like it. The first-round pick would work on a salary of around a million dollars for the first three years of his contract until he is eligible for an extension.
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This option works in favor of the salary cap the Saints need to stay under.