By Isaac Kushner
The Saints finished last season 9-8, which is where they were projected to finish. They missed the playoffs by just one game. The Saints haven’t been to the playoffs in three years which is a little disappointing for the organization considering its winning history. They need to make some big moves in the offseason to move up to that playoff team or even maybe super bowl contenders. The playoffs have been very disappointing to the Saints and the fans as they’ve really only lost in heartbreaking fashion. I believe they can make a deep playoff run next year and here’s how they will do it.
First they need to get rid of Derek Carr. They did recently reconstruct his contract so he isn’t getting overpaid anymore, but he just can’t win football games. They need to trade Derek Carr for picks and trade up in this year’s draft to take a quarterback. Either Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye, whoever they can get. If that doesn’t work out, they can keep Carr and take edge rusher Jared Verse at their original 14th pick and trade up in the second round to select quarterback Michael Penix out of Washington. That way, if Carr isn’t performing up to the standard they can put in Penix who is a little older so he won’t take too long to adjust. The only thing wrong with Penix is he has been riddled with injuries. He tore his ACL twice and is very injury prone. They then need to go and get an offensive lineman to help protect him. If they can keep their original second rounder they can draft Dominick Puni out of Kansas who can play anywhere on the line. They can use the rest of the draft to fill holes that need to be filled.
Another huge problem is Dennis Allen. Allen filled in for Sean Payton as head coach when he retired and ever since, hasn’t been to the playoffs. He replaced the offensive and defensive coordinators but they weren’t the problem. The problem is him. We need to fire him and hire a head coach like Mike Vrabel. He has a pretty strong resume making the playoffs four times in his six year tenure with the Titans. Now obviously more holes need to be filled, but I do believe the Saints are one big move away from being Super Bowl contenders.