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New Orleans Saints' Top 25 Players: Intro

An introduction and explanation to a series in which I will be ranking my top 25 Saints' players heading into the 2013 season.

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You can probably guess where Brees will rank, but what about Ingram?
You can probably guess where Brees will rank, but what about Ingram?
USA TODAY Sports

To coincide with the list of the top 25 Saints' players that the Times-Picayune is currently running, as well as the top 25 NFC South players that ESPN's NFC South blog is doing, I figured I'd join the party and make a list for CSC. Now, before I actually start the list I wanted to explain the terms on which I am basing my rankings. Here are a few things to take into consideration before you yell at me when reading my rankings:

  1. My rankings are based on my expectations for which players will have the most positive impact on the 2013 season. This encompasses their 2012 performance, their progression/regression in recent years as well as external factors that will impact their individual performance. This could mean the change in defensive coordinator/scheme, an injury to a player at their position, immense depth at their position, etc. Additionally, I am making this list as if all players that are currently healthy will remain so for the duration of the 2013 season.
  2. I am a firm believer in the work that PFF (Pro Football Focus) does. Those guys look at how every player performs on every single play they partake in, so I find their results hard to refute. PFF has received lots of praise from reputable sources and it's for good reason. That said, I will not be creating my rankings based solely on the PFF grades of the Saints' players.
  3. While I am taking the players' position into consideration to a certain extent, I am constructing this list based on how much I expect them to contribute as an individual. A certain position like center or guard may not be very sexy, but if a player dominates at that position it doesn't make him a worse player than a safety who has 10 bone-crushing hits per year but often gets lost in coverage. *cough* Roman Harper *cough*
  4. Despite the fact that some rookies may outplay certain members of this list I will not be including any of them simply because, well, I just don't think I should. There is no NFL film to base it on, and we know how Sean Payton likes to bring rookies along slowly. I am also not including any players that are purely special teams guys, even though Thomas Morstead probably deserves a spot for his booming punts and frequency of touchbacks. It's just too difficult to compare him to offensive and defense players in my mind.

That about covers it. I will be kicking off the list with #25 within the next day or two, and I look forward the assortment of love and hate for my picks. Enjoy!