2014 Record: 7-9
2015 Non Division Opponents: NFC East, AFC South, Arizona, & Detroit
2014 in review: New Orleans was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season, and they still barely missed the playoffs. Yes, the NFC South was terrible, but the Saints were inconsistent all year long. Their offense continued to shine, ranking 9th in the NFL (3rd in passing). The defense was their downfall, ranking 28th. Only Atlanta gave up more yards than the Saints’ 6,144.
2015 offseason: There’s a lot to get to here. First, the offense will look totally different. Pierre Thomas was released, although Thomas isn’t the same player he was three years ago. Jimmy Graham was traded to Seattle in the shocker of the offseason. It wasn’t topped three days later, but many eyebrows were raised when Kenny Stills was traded to Miami. The Saints did get plenty in return for those players, not just draft picks. C Max Unger came back in the Jimmy Graham deal, and Unger is regarded as a top 3 center in the NFL. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe was acquired for Stills and will be an upgrade to the Saints defense. New Orleans also signed Brandon Browner away from New England, Anthony Spencer from Dallas, and Kevin Williams from Seattle. All three are starters, all three are major upgrades. New Orleans also nabbed CJ Spiller, who became available after the LeSean McCoy trade. Spiller will fill the Reggie Bush role that the Saints have been missing since, well, Reggie Bush left.
2015 draft: The Saints drafted for depth as they are retooling on the fly. Offensive Tackle Andrus Peat from Stanford was their first pick. They took Linebacker Stephone Anthony out of Clemson with the pick they got for Jimmy Graham. They also took another linebacker, Hau’Oli Kikaha out of Washington. All three are expected to contribute this season, but growing pains are expected.
Player on the hot seat: Not a player. Rob Ryan is on the hot seat. Ryan has one job, to make the defense competent. Even with all the turnover on the offensive side of the ball, the Saints will put up points. If the defense can get the PPG down (it was 26.5 last season) even by 3 points, then New Orleans will show considerable improvement in the standings. Drew Brees can’t be expected to win shootouts every week.
Players you want on your fantasy team: It won’t be the juggernaut of years past, but there’s a lot of viable fantasy talent. If you’re in a PPR league (and everyone should be at this point) both running backs are viable starters. Spiller will catch more out of the backfield, and Ingram should carry the load between the tackles. New Orleans wants to run more, so both will get plenty of carries as well. Brees will be a top five quarterback again, and you might be able to get him at a bit of a discount this year since the hype train has passed him and Peyton by for Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. Marques Colston will continue to be old reliable, and the Saints have high hopes for Brandin Cooks, so that means we should too. Benjamin Watson can be a sleeper at tight end, but will not be Jimmy Graham. So temper your expectations for him and for Josh Hill.
Season Prediction: A lot of people are down on the Saints this year, especially after their so-called “fire sale” in the offseason. But what they actually did was shed some salary cap and remake their team so Drew Brees’ last years aren’t wasted. You heard it here first. The Saints are your 2015 NFC South Champions at 10-6.