Saints Free Agency: Grading Taco Charlton and Justin Evans signings

Saints free agency has been pretty slow but the New Orleans Saints added two names earlier in the week. What grade does each of those signings deserve? 

The Saints have continued to build up their defense with some depth signings. First, Taco Charlton signed with the team and a few hours later, Justin Evans joined the black and gold for the 2022 season.

Charlton is a former first-round pick out of Michigan. He went late in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft to the Dallas Cowboys and disappointed in Big D not even making it to year three with the team that drafted him.

Since leaving Dallas, Charlton has spent time with the Dolphins, Chiefs, and Steelers, and never carving out a starting role during that time. He had five sacks with Miami in the 2019 season but that’s been about it when it comes to highlights for the former Michigan product.

As for Evans, he’s also a disappointing prospect from the 2017 NFL Draft. Evans, a second-round pick that year out of Texas A&M, hasn’t played in an NFL game since the 2018 season. He spent his two NFL seasons with the Buccaneers and had over 50 tackles in both years.

Saints Free Agency: What grades do these signings deserve?

Both of these signings feel like training camp depth. Charlton could fit the Saints’ defensive line quite well as they like to have plenty of options to rotate in and wreak havoc. It wouldn’t surprise me, however, if he didn’t make it onto the final roster and was simply a camp body.

As for Evans, an Achilles injury is what derailed his career. He was drafted close to former Saints safety Marcus Williams and current Saint Marcus Maye but the injury has made it tough for Evans to get back on the field. This is clearly the Saints throwing a dart and hoping to hit a bullseye or close to it.

I’ll give the Charlton signing a C because he provides possible depth but has proven that he isn’t a consistent enough player. New Orleans has clearly been focusing on beefing up their offensive line and Charlton is another example of that. It’s not a bad signing but it’s not one that fans are going to jump for joy over.

I’ll give the Evans signing a D+ because he hasn’t seen the field since 2018. He might have been a decent player when he was healthy and while sometimes players can still perform at a high level after injuries, we haven’t seen Evans in regular-season action in over three years. It’s hard to get excited about this signing.

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What grades are you giving these free-agent signings?