What will the New Orleans Saints’ offense look like in 2021?
Whenever a team gets a new quarterback, it’s only natural that the direction of the offense will change. The New Orleans Saints are in this boat entering the 2021 season, as Drew Brees is no longer their quarterback.
During Brees’ tenure, he was the offense a lot of the time, especially in the 7-9 seasons that took place in 2012 and 2014-2016. Over the past few seasons, however, Brees has been banged up more and that’s allowed the Saints to figure out what life without him looks like.
The Saints currently have two quarterbacks duking it out for the starting gig and the offense will look different depending on who wins it.
If Jameis Winston — the perennial favorite — wins the job, the Saints offense will throw the football more, as Winston is no stranger to doing just that. The problem there is that aside from Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara, there aren’t many proven pass-catchers in the Saints’ offense.
Taysom Hill winning the Saints’ quarterback job, however, would turn the offense into more of a running unit. He and Kamara would be the main breadwinners on offense while guys like Thomas might get frustrated at the lack of attention they’re getting.
The New Orleans Saints offense is a mystery at this point.
Jared Dubin of CBS Sports listed three questions the Saints need to answer and what their offense is going to look like was included on the list.
"Without Brees delivering the ball with pinpoint precision, how is this team going to actually move the ball downfield? Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas made their reputations working with Brees on swing passes and slants, respectively, and it’s tough to count on Winston or Hill firing the ball to them with the same degree of accuracy. The Saints could lean into a run-based offense due to the strength of their line, plus Kamara and Latavius Murray, but that’s much more viable with Hill under center than with Winston."
The offensive line makes it easier for the Saints to be a run-first team but as mentioned earlier, Winston is good at firing the football deep. Kamara is going to get his both on the ground and through the air no matter which quarterback wins the starting job.
Next. 3 Trade Targets Who Would Make Saints Super Bowl-Ready. dark
Winston and Hill will determine what the Saints’ offense looks like in 2021 and it’ll be interesting to see what this unit can turn into without Brees at the helm.