The Saints have too many needs to address in the draft alone
This offseason has had a completely different storyline to the offseason that the Saints encountered last year. They had to release more players before the start of the new league year than I have ever seen before.
As a result of that though, the team was left with handfuls of holes on the roster that they will need to address. With the cap situation the way it is, most people are pushing for the team to fill their needs in the upcoming NFL Draft to save as much money as possible.
I would venture to say that the team has so many holes still on the roster that the six or seven draft picks the team has will not work.
Even trading back for more picks wouldn’t work. We are talking about nine maybe 10 holes the team needs to fill when considering depth issues that could arise. Let’s also consider only a few of those picks will result in an instant-starter-worthy player.
With a laundry list of holes and gaps that need to be filled before the beginning of the season, the draft won’t be enough for the Saints.
The top five needs in New Orleans include cornerback, linebacker, defensive tackle, wide receiver, and tight end. Most of the foremost positions are left empty from players that the black and gold had to release due to the cap situations.
Those players included Janoris Jenkins, Kwon Alexander, Sheldon Rankins, Malcom Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Josh Hill, and Jared Cook. These players will sorely be missed and not easily replaced — at least in one NFL Draft.
On top of those five needs, the Saints also could use, maybe not immediately, help at the defensive end, quarterback, running back, and safety. After losing Trey Hendrickson and Drew Brees, it left some depth issues that need to be addressed.
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While Sean Payton and his scouting team have been notoriously great at selecting talented players at all rounds of the draft, even this feat might be out of their reach. The team must turn to cheap free agents to fill holes and depth and they need to do it sooner rather than later.