Saints 2018 Year in Review: Tommylee Lewis

For reasons that I’m sure you could guess, I’ve been putting this one off for a bit.

Tommylee Lewis had a memorable season. I’m just not sure it was memorable for any reason he’d prefer. Lewis was placed on Injured Reserve early in the season, but came back - supposedly - to provide a boost to the Saints offense that was struggling with the absence of Cameron Meredith and the underwhelming Keith Kirkwood and Tre’Quan Smith. Lewis went on to appear in seven regular season games, starting three, hauling in all three of his targets for 60 total yards and a touchdown. Lewis also added two rushes for ten yards, eight punt returns for 60 yards, and three kick returns for 26 yards.

In the playoffs, Lewis appeared. That’s it. He just appeared.

Tommylee Lewis - At a Glance

• Approximate Value: 1
• Offensive Grade: 57.5
• Receiving Grade: 62.3
• Rushing Grade: 44.1
• Total Snaps: 70 snaps on defense and 36 on special teams

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Lewis caught all three of his targets in the 2018 regular season, and was only targeted once in the 2018 postseason. We all know how that target ended up:

To all the noise around the no-call defensive pass interference that cost the Saints a shot at the Super Bowl, it is curious that Sean Payton elects to use a play designed for Tommylee Lewis when there are players like Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and even Ted Ginn Jr. on the team.

With the little that Lewis provides in the return game, Bill Parcells notwithstanding, it would not be a surprise for that no-call to be one of the last times we see Lewis suit up for the Fleur-de-lis.