Ok, with all the talk about losing our Director of Player Personnel, I wanted to try my hand at a GM job. I have drawn out a path for the Saints to return to glory. And quickly...
I start off with our current depth chart:
OFFENSE
WR Marques Colston Nick Toon Brandon Coleman Willie Snead
WR Kenny Stills Brandin Cooks Jaelen Saunders
TE Jimmy Graham Ben Watson Josh Hill Orson Charles
OT Terron Armstead Bryce Harris
OG Ben Grubbs Senio Kelemete
C Tim Lelito Mike Brewster Andrew Miller
OG Jahri Evans
OT Zach Strief Nick Becton
FB Erik Lorig Austin Johnson Toben Opurum Edwin Baker (RB)
RB Pierre Thomas Khiry Robinson Travaris Cadet Tim Hightower
DEFENSE
DE Akiem Hicks Tyrunn Walker
NT Broderick Bunkley John Jenkins Lawrence Virgil
DE Cam Jordan. Glenn Foster
OLB Junior Galette Kasim Edebali
ILB David Hawthorne. Kyle Knox
ILB Curtis Lofton Jerry Franklin
OLB Ronald Powell
CB Keenan Lewis Brian Dixon AJ Davis
CB Corey White Terrance Frederick. Stanley Jean-Baptiste
SS Kenny Vaccaro Vinnie Sunseri Marcus Ball Ty Zimmerman
FS Jairus Byrd Rafael Bush Pierre Warren. Kenny Phillips
So we begin the offseason an Estimated $21mil OVER the Cap.
Resign
Restructure
Drew Brees – 2 year extension, lower cap hit from 26mil to 14mil. He does it because we just went 7-9. We can't compete with the roster as is, and he knows it. He also won't get another contract after this one, so extension is in his best interest.
Marques Colston – Restructure, lower cap hit from 9.7mil to 3.7mil. Think, Vilma and Will Smith. It's a similar situation. The restructure should follow similar lines of Vilma. Colston risks being cut or play for less money.
Jahri Evans – Extension, lower cap hit from 11mil to 6mil. This is a bit trickier. It really could be he or Grubbs, whoever you want longer term. Regardless of what we want, they cost too much to cut, this year... next year is fair game as we save a ton of money by cutting them, but this year we just have to hope they play up to the size of their contract.
We are now an estimated $2mil UNDER the Cap.
Release
David Hawthorne – Saves 3mil
Brodrick Bunkley – Saves 3mil
We are now an estimated $8mil UNDER the cap.
Free Agency
Brandon Flowers – 4 yr/$25mil. 3.5mil cap hit in 2015
Larry Foote – 1 yr/$1mil
Kenrick Ellis – 1 yr/$1mil
Our CB woes can't be answered through the draft. We need this. Flowers is the key, and I think we could make it happen for slightly more than we signed Keenan Lewis. Foote steps in as a stopgap until our new guy takes over (keep reading). Ellis provides depth at NT.
We are now an estimated $2.5mil UNDER the Cap.
Draft
1st – Vic Beasley
2nd – Denzel Perryman
3rd – Reese Dismukes
4th – Senquez Golson
5th – Jeremy Langford
6th – BPA
7th – BPA
We end up with a top notch pass rush to immediately upgrade the defense. We get a future starter with great instincts and plays with passion at ILB. We get our starting C for years. We get depth/slot cover guy at CB. Depth pickup at RB.
Our depth chart now looks like this...
OFFENSE
WR Marques Colston Nick Toon Brandon Coleman
WR Kenny Stills Brandin Cooks. Jaelen Saunders
TE Jimmy Graham Ben Watson Josh Hill
OT Terron Armstead. Bryce Harris
OG Ben Grubbs Senio Kelemete
C Reese Dismukes. Tim Lelito
OG Jahri Evans
OT Zach Strief
FB Erik Lorig Austin Johnson
RB Khiry Robinson Pierre Thomas Travaris Cadet Jeremy Langford
QB Drew Brees Ryan Griffin
DEFENSE
DE Akiem Hicks Tyrunn Walker Brandon Deaderick
NT John Jenkins Kenrick Ellis
DE Cam Jordan Glenn Foster
OLB Junior Galette Kasim Edebali
ILB Denzel Perryman Larry Foote Kyle Knox
ILB Curtis Lofton Ramon Humber
OLB Vic Beasley Ronald Powell
CB Keenan Lewis Senquez Golson Brian Dixon
CB Brandon Flowers. Corey White Stanley Jean-Baptiste
SS Kenny Vaccaro Vinnie Sunseri Marcus Ball
FS Jairus Byrd Rafael Bush Pierre Warren
Now this won't impress everyone, but I love this roster. Solid veteran talent mixed with a jolt of youth and athleticism. I think these moves also set us up to have a good team in the future when Brees decides to hang em up. I feel like all these moves are realistic and within reach. I just hope we make a few of them. What do yall think of these moves and potential roster?