How the Saints can go from good to great this offseason

The New Orleans Saints are going to be good next season, but how can they make their team great with a restricted salary cap in the coming months?

There are going to be quite a bit of moving parts for the New Orleans Saints this offseason. With players like Alex Anzalone, Marcus Williams and Trey Hendrickson hitting the open market, the team will be in an interesting situation.

They won’t be able to sign them all back. They may barely be able to get Hendrickson back. As I laid out recently, the Saints prepared for this with their 2020 draft class, and they’ll be asked to step up in a big way this next season.

We know the positions that they’ll have comfort in. But, given that the unknown is with these free agents and then Drew Brees, the Saints may not be able to move forward till they get answers, especially from the future Hall of Famer Brees.

The Saints have Jameis Winston in the “driver’s seat” if Brees doesn’t return. That should be seen as a positive for New Orleans. It’s far better than drafting a quarterback in the late first round that has a high probability of being a turnover machine.

Winston threw for the most yards in the NFL in 2019, and there should be hope that Sean Payton will have the tools and has already started working on how to make him less turnover-prone if he is going to return as the starter.

Having Winston is a step in the right direction. The next move is to replace the talent that they’ll inevitably lose. That’s where the Saints will really make the bulk of their impact, especially since they won’t have much influence on Brees’ decision.

Replacing Marcus Williams and re-signing Hendrickson will be the big moves New Orleans must make.

The Saints let Vonn Bell go last offseason, and Williams will likely be next. They’ll have an elite option in the first round, and as we saw with the Bucs and Winfield Jr., there’s potential for a rookie safety to come in and make a huge difference.

Maintaining their dominant defense on both the line and secondary, putting a competent quarterback with a history of individual success in the captain’s chair, and navigating a tough budget is how the Saints can go from good to great.

Hopefully, the changes will lead to a more dynamic offense and a strong defensive secondary with a consistently impressive run defense already being a given.