One of the biggest needs the New Orleans Saints must address this offseason is the wide receiver room. The Saints have two talented wideouts in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, but they aren’t enough— that was emphasized last season when both were sidelined with injuries. During that time, Marquez Valdes-Scantling was signed, and he pretty much carried the wide receiver production during the second half of the season.
On Wednesday, Valdes-Scantling agreed to a deal with the Seattle Seahawks, reuniting with former Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. That reunion eliminates the chance of Valdes-Scantling playing alongside Shaheed and Olave, when both are healthy. New Orleans must now look elsewhere to add a WR3.
Many draft analysts have argued the Saints could select Tetairoa McMillian with the ninth-overall pick, and that would definitely be ideal. However, New Orleans could still find the bigger possession receiver that it needs on the free agent market.
Saints reporter Jeff Nowak recently pointed that out, highlighting four free free agent receivers that also have connections to New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore.
Saints have several free agent options at wide receiver
Nowak named Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Amari Cooper, and Noah Brown as options for New Orleans. All four guys previously played under Kellen Moore, provide a different build and skillset than Olave and Shaheed, and are currently free agents. It’d greatly benefit the Saints if one of those guys wanted to reunite with Moore.
Fans could have some hesitations when it comes to Allen, Williams, and Cooper, because they’re all over 30, and past their peaks, but they can still offer a needed level of productivity, and the Saints haven’t completely shifted to a future state of mind yet. Trading for Davon Godchaux, signing Justin Reid, and keeping all of the core veterans on the roster is proof the team hopes to compete in 2025.
Adding one of these veteran wideouts, on a reasonable deal, to a wide receiver room that already has a speedster in Rashid Shaheed, and a crisp route runner in Chris Olave, would help the Saints offense get closer to contender status.