(Not So) Stranger Than Fiction: Ochocinco in New Orleans?

On June 7, the news broke that wide receiver Chad Ochocinco had been released by the New England Patriots, and you may find it hard to swallow, but I believe this news has interesting implications for the New Orleans Saints.

Throughout the year there was constant talk that Chad could never "grasp" Belichick's playbook and he that he was constantly asking what to do on certain plays, so this should come as no surprise to anyone.

Upon first glance this may seem like an alarming piece of information and might hint that he is dumb, but I'm here to tell you that is completely false. I feel confident that Chad has a lot left in the tank and would be a wonderful fit in the black and gold next year.

While with New England, Ochocinco put up his worst statistical year: 276 receiving yards and one touchdown on only had 15 receptions.

Although Chad did not have a very good season last year, he is still a tremendous receiver. In his career, he has totaled 11,059 receiving yards, which is good enough for 26th place in NFL history. His number of career touchdowns, 67, is tied for 39th on the all-time list. Arguably, he is putting up Hall of Fame numbers.

Due to his low production last year, you can say that about 98% of his stats came from his time in Cincinnati as a Bengal. On the Bengals, he caught passes from quarterback Carson Palmer, who is a considerably lesser passer than Saints quarterback Drew Brees, so just think about what he could do with Brees.

Now, you may say, "Chad had a chance to play with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady and look at what happened." While that statement does prove to be a valid argument, ultimately Chad was underused over the course of the season. That is largely due to the fact that Tom Brady doesn't spread the ball around as much as Drew does. Drew completed over 30 passes to seven different receivers during the season while Tom only completed over 30 passes to four receivers. Drew also completed a touchdown pass to nine different targets while Tom only did this to five different receivers. The fact that Brees passes to so many different players only increases the chance of Chad having a great statistical year. The stats support that.

If the Saints were to acquire Chad Ochocinco, I think it would be a win-win situation.

Yes, he is getting getting to be old for an NFL receiver at the age of 34, but what's the harm in signing him for maybe just a one-year contract?

The least he would be doing is to serve as a stopgap to give them time to acquire a younger receiver next offseason. If he had another sub-par season, they could cut ties with him. If he had a pretty good statistical year, then they could offer him a new contract. Either way, it would just add one more explosive weapon to the Saints' offensive juggernaut for at least one more season.