As we kick off the 2024 NFL postseason, we also head into the 2024 offseason for the New Orleans Saints.
It was an up-and-down season for the Black and Gold, starting with wins against the Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers. New Orleans proceeded to drop four out of their next five games with their lone win being a road game against the Patriots.
The Saints improved to 5-4 as they beat the Colts in Indianapolis 38-27 and the Bears in the Caesars Superdome but dropped the next three games. Head coach Dennis Allen attempted to salvage the season and make the playoffs as they won four out of their last five games, including three division wins to finish the season 9-8. The late-season run wasn’t enough however as the Black and Gold missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
2023 was a two-game improvement from last season but due to losses earlier in the season to the Packers and Buccaneers, the Saints will be watching the 2024 playoffs on their couches like the rest of us.
The extra time off can be a great opportunity for the organization to do some self-scouting and address issues that held the team back this past season. There are multiple questions the Saints will have to answer to take that next step forward in 2024.
IS IT TIME FOR A NEW OC?
There were high expectations for the New Orleans Saints offense as players like Michael Thomas were returning, Derek Carr signing with the team over the offseason, and other young players like Trevor Penning would take that next step forward.
The season didn’t start as planned and looked much like it did in 2022 as the offensive line struggled to keep Carr upright and consistently open holes in the run game. Carr had growing pains trying to learn the playbook and get on the same page as new and young receivers such as Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael didn’t have it easy either as he often made questionable play calls in critical moments in the early part of the season. Those coaching decisions led to a terrible redzone efficiency and forced the team to rely on a rookie kicker too often to keep them in games.
Despite having three wins, the Black and Gold had four blemishes on their record after a Thursday Night home loss to the Jaguars. In that game, you saw signs of life from the offense that could be built upon and put up 38 points on a good Colts team the following week. The issue was the next two weeks when the unit only put up two touchdowns and 34 total points in those losses to the Vikings and Falcons (Both coming from backup quarterback Jameis Winston against Minnesota).
Once New Orleans went down by 21 points early in the Lions game, there was evidence of life from the Saints. The red zone became a friend instead of a foe and it carried over in their wins over the Panthers and Giants. The 30-22 loss to the Rams was a tough game to watch with it being a short week and the team traveling across the country but Carmichael and company concluded the season on a high note with a win over the Bucs to stay alive in the division and Saints saved their best for last in the 48-17 thumping of Atlanta to finish the season with an above .500 record.
The Black and Gold offense looked much better toward the end against inferior opponents but held themselves back against better competition, which resulted in another playoff absence.
WHO STAYS ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE?
Diving deeper into one of the factors to the offense’s issues early on, the offensive line was one of if not the weakest part of the New Orleans Saints 2023 roster.
Second-year player Trevor Penning and All-Pro Ryan Ramczyk struggled to set the edges while recently extended Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz had trouble holding up the interior.
In the first six games, the offensive line allowed Carr and Hill to get sacked a combined 19 times for 125 yards lost. Over the remaining 11 games, you witnessed Saints quarterbacks get sacked just 16 times for a loss of 110 yards. Much of the improvement was due to a move made on the left side of the line.
Andrus Peat for most of his career lined up as the team’s left guard but found himself as a backup after dreadful play and lost the job to James Hurst right before the season. Peat had another opportunity to start and showed he could still be a competent blocker as he replaced Penning at his natural left tackle position.
Peat’s help on the offensive line, Penning’s benching, and the recent news that Ramczyk’s career is in serious jeopardy puts the Saints in a precarious position regarding how they address the line in free agency and the draft. The contracts of Hurst, Max Garcia, and Trai Turner who didn’t play a snap because of a torn ACL are also up. General manager Mickey Loomis will have to decide if the team will re-sign any of the veterans and how he wants this offensive line to be constructed for the 2024 season.
DOES MICHAEL THOMAS GET RELEASED?
In his first few years in the NFL, Michael Thomas played phenomenally and had the numbers to back up the argument that he was one of the best receivers in the league. His peak was the season after receiving a five-year, $96.3 million extension. In that 2019 season, Thomas broke the single-season reception record with 149 catches for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns.
It’s been downhill ever since the former Ohio State Buckeye sprained his ankle in a blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the start of the 2020 season. The injury limited his play that year and Thomas delayed surgery until the end of the 2021 offseason. The poor timing kept him off the field the entirety of that year and he only played in three games in 2022 due to a toe injury that eventually required surgery the following offseason.
Thomas and the Saints reworked the receiver’s contract over the summer and were willing to give this one shot to make things work. The 30-year-old wasn’t as explosive as he once was but was the consistent guy for newly signed Derek Carr to go to as a security blanket.
Everything was looking fine as Thomas played in the first 10 games of the season as he had at least three catches in each of the first eight games. The veteran pass catcher didn’t finish the game in week nine versus the Bears yet found his way back on the field the following week against the Vikings even after being arrested earlier in the week.
That Minnesota game however ended the season for Thomas as he suffered a knee injury early in the contest. The mixed bag of multiple injuries, inadequately timed decisions off the field, and a poorly aged contract has opened the door to both sides mutually going their separate ways.
WHERE WILL YOUTH BE ADDED?
New Orleans has hit on some draft picks and uncovered some diamonds in the rough in the last few years that can become cornerstones for the organization to build around.
Young pass catchers such as Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and even A.T. Perry have shown evidence of being dynamic playmakers while there is still a heavy investment in the offensive line with McCoy at center and Ruiz at right guard.
On defense, Carl Granderson has stepped up as the team’s best edge rusher, and Zach Baun may have saved his career with coach Allen giving him a chance to be a change-of-pace speed rusher. Cornerbacks Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor have even stepped up in Marshon Lattimore’s absence the last two years while fifth-round pick Jordan Howden has shown promise at safety with significant playing time in his rookie season.
The big issue comes from the age of some of the veteran leaders on the defense. Cam Jordan and Demario Davis are 34 years old while safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye are 31 and 30 respectively. The defense showed signs of slowing down at points throughout the season and has had tough matchups with athletic quarterbacks.
Loomis and his staff need to find replacements for these players soon whether it’s in free agency or via the draft. Time is running out on key contributors to the Saints having one of the better defenses in the league in recent history. A few of them will have an expiring contract within the next offseason or two and by that point, they’ll all be in their mid-to-late 30’s.
WILL THERE BE A PROTOTYPE CHANGE?
For a while now, the Black and Gold have had a certain type of player that have their eyes on when it comes to the defensive line. Players like Jordan, Payton Turner, and others. Big, physical, athletic power rushers that can stop the run.
We’ve seen this philosophy work for them when it comes to slowing down opposing running backs. In contrast, it’s led to athletic quarterbacks, whether they are known for their mobility or not to have free running lanes on originally called pass plays. Coach Allen is also known for calling man-to-man defenses and that leads to linebackers and defensive backs focusing on their assignments and not knowing where the quarterback is.
Zack Baun coming out of college was known for his athletic ability to rush the passer but was forced to try and mold his game into being an off-ball linebacker in coverage when the defensive formations weren’t nickel and dime sets. Baun was never able to show off what he did best until the back half of the 2023 season when there were multiple injuries to the defensive line.
The former Wisconsin Badger was given a chance to rush off the edge and finished the season with a couple of sacks and was often in the opponent’s backfield. That raised the questions “Is Zack Baun the answer?” and “Will Dennis Allen change his ideology?” when it comes to the defensive line. Allen mentioned that he was more open to the idea of using someone like Baun as a change-of-pace speed rusher but wasn’t going to completely flip the script of what he’s been doing.
If the Saints do commit to more speed rushers, that gives Baun and other potential players a chance of returning and making the roster next year. The only worry about Baun is if he’s shown too much on tape and will offered more money elsewhere. It happened last offseason when Kaden Ellis was lured to play for the Falcons.