Saints still viewed as a bottom-third team in the NFL

There’s a reason they play the games.

After a decade-plus of being viewed as an immediate contender in the NFL due solely to the duo of Drew Brees and Sean Payton at the top, the New Orleans Saints are now faced with uncertainty moving forward. This uncertainty has trickled into the NFL media and fans, with many pundits questioning the legitimacy of the Saints chances in 2022.

For instance, in CBS Sports’ latest power rankings, the Saints came in as a bottom-third team in the NFL:

21. Saints

New head coach Dennis Allen has some big names at his disposal; the questions are mostly regarding their availability. Consider Jameis Winston, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, the big three at QB, RB and WR. Winston is coming off an injury, Kamara is due for a suspension, and Thomas has barely played in two years. Rookies like Chris Olave and Trevor Penning may offset the uncertainties out wide and up front, where Terron Armstead departed, but even then, Winston’s proven to be a rather mercurial arm. The “D,” even with notable losses like that of Malcolm Jenkins and Marcus Williams, still has trusty regulars in Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, but how much do Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye have left in the tank?

This sentiment was echoed by the Walter Football, who have the Saints in a similar spot:

22. New Orleans Saints (9-8) - Previously: 20.Sean Payton and Drew Brees are gone. Terron Armstead and Marcus Williams, too. The Saints had a chance to win what we thought was an absolutely terrible NFC South, but Tom Brady ruined that by canceling his retirement plans. New Orleans will now be in mediocre (or slightly better) purgatory until the front office finally decides to blow up the entire operation and begin from square zero, as one Hall of Fame running back once said.

Same for NBC Sports:

22. New Orleans Saints: Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landy, and Chris Olave make a nice receiving trio, but the Saints are banking on Jameis Winston not morphing back into the turnover machine he was in Tampa. Best of luck.

What do you think? Do you agree with these rankings? Let us know in the comments. Send me presents.