Change in the air for Saints
NEW ORLEANS — As counterintuitive as it may seem, the first Saints draft since the retirement of all-time leading NFL passer Drew Brees might not include a quarterback at all.
A cornerback, however, could very well be in the cards.
Saints coach Sean Payton has made it clear that two QBs under contract for next season — Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill — have potential to become part of the club’s long-term future.
“I don’t think it’s a ‘must’ position,” Payton said this week when asked about how high a priority finding a QB of the future would be in the 2021 NFL draft. “We’ve got two real good candidates under contract and we feel strongly about those guys.”
Hill, a former BYU standout who went undrafted because of his injury-plagued college career, went 3-1 filling in as starter while Brees was out with rib and lung injuries last season.
Winston won the 2013 Heisman Trophy with Florida State and was the draft’s first overall pick by Tampa Bay in 2015. He spent last season as an understudy to Brees, trying to learn how to improve his reads and decision making in the hope of maintaining prolific passing numbers while cutting down on errant throws and turnovers.
If quarterback isn’t a need, cornerback is. The Saints had to release a slew of prominent veterans in order to get player payroll under the NFL’s 2021 salary cap.
Among those trimmed from the roster was starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
“Corner is an area that we have to address here between now and the start of the season,” Payton said. “We lost some good players we knew we might have to to get our numbers below.
“I think that’s part of operating in the salary-cap era.”
“We knew there was going to be this post-Brees period of the time and I think overall I’m kind of pleased with how we’ve been able to manage the numbers,” Payton added. “When the process is complete and you’re dealing with training camp, you’re hopefully pleased with what you’ve been able to do with some of the losses.”
Immediate help: Expect the Saints to seek players ready to contribute right away.
New Orleans may have lost a record-setting QB and a host of front-line players, but many top stars remain, including dynamic running back Alvin Kamara, two-time All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas, and defensive l eaders such as linebacker Demario Davis, end Cameron Jordan and top cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
So the Saints are approaching the draft and ongoing free agency with the attempt to round out a roster that they still see making them a playoff contender.
“We’ve got a good core group of young talented players that have won a lot of games and that have experienced that taste of the postseason and I think you build your team around that,” Payton said. “You owe it to that roster to work hard and to put them in the best position to have success and that’s our responsibility.”