1 crucial offensive adjustment the Saints need to make in 2024

The New Orleans Saints made a big offensive change this offseason, moving on from longtime offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr., and hiring Klint Kubiak as the replacement. The Saints offense wasn’t really bad, averaging 337.2 yards a game and 23.6 points a game last season, but it was clear a change needed to happen for the unit to go to the next level.

As productive as New Orleans was offensively, the team had clear room for improvement in several areas. One area the Saints really needed to be better in was in the red zone. They had a 53.33% touchdown scoring percentage in the red zone last season— that ranked New Orleans 18th in the NFL.

What didn’t make sense, though, was the fact that the Saints had one of the best red-zone running backs in the NFL, and rarely used him. That would be Jamaal Williams, who finished his first season in New Orleans with just 106 carries for one touchdown. New Orleans needs to get Williams the ball more in the red zone in 2024.

Saints need to give Jamaal Williams more red-zone carries in 2024

In 2022, the season before Williams signed with New Orleans, he led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns for the Detroit Lions. He also had 1,066 rushing yards, leading to a three-year contract worth $12 million with the Saints. Of those 17 touchdowns in 2022, 16 came in the red zone.

The Lions recognized that Williams had a nose for the end zone, so they made sure to feed him inside the 20, giving him 58 red-zone carries. Compare that to Williams only receiving 14 red-zone rushes with New Orleans, and it’s easy to see the problem.

Bringing Jamaal Williams to the Saints and not giving him the ball in the red zone is like having a prime Randy Moss and not sending him on go routes; it makes absolutely zero sense. If the Saints are going to take their offense to a new level in 2024, they have to be better in the red zone. Giving the ball to Jamaal Williams is a great start to that process.

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