Top 10 Saints for the Upcoming Season

Who didn’t make the cut?

By Lucas Loffredo Jul 13, 2023, 8:00am CDT

New Orleans Saints v Philadelphia Eagles

Many of us have been in tune with NOF Network’s series of the top-20 New Orleans Saints players for this upcoming season. Having seen it myself, I thought that it would be a great idea to come up with my own, including an explanation on why I think certain players should be ranked where they are. I chose to only due ten players here since I didn’t think many would want to hear twenty explanations of each guy.

When making this list though, the group of players I chose in the top ten was sort of easy to rank but it was hard leaving a few guys off that I felt could be deserving of it. I’ll further explain this in my rankings of the players.

I’d like to also give you guys the criteria in which I ranked the players with. I took into consideration talent, accomplishments and level of consistency throughout their career, as well as potential production for this upcoming season.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

10. Erik McCoy

NFL: New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles

At this spot I chose Erik McCoy. I was stuck between McCoy and Pete Werner, who are two young players who I personally view as ascending. The only difference is that one has been healthy for a greater portion of his career. Which is why I gave the edge to McCoy here.

9. Chris Olave

NFL: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

I have Olave at number nine here but let me make this clear. I fully expect Olave to shoot up this list as soon as next season ends. Olave’s talent is unquestionable. His route running is super clean and has effortless speed. From what we heard in minicamp, it seemed like Olave was the team’s MVP during that short period of time which is another reason for optimism. The only reason I placed him here is the simple fact that he only has one year under his belt but I truly believe that he has the capability of being a top ten wide receiver in the NFL at the conclusion of this upcoming season.

8. Tyrann Mathieu

NFL: New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals

Mathieu’s career has been one most players dream of. A 3x First Team All-Pro, selected multiple Pro Bowls, an All-Decade player and a Super Bowl winner. At this point in Tyrann’s career, he’s not the same player he once was but he’s for damn sure still a good one. The second half of last season Mathieu was able to settle in and really started to find himself in this defense. With another year in the system and with the help of Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye who are back in the fold, Mathieu should be able to thrive this season.

7. Cam Jordan

New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Putting Cam here sort of hurts my heart a little because of how I feel about him as a player. The most available and consistent player in Saints history probably deserves a little higher of a ranking but Cam hasn’t had a lot of help as of recently and his production has just been down because of it. He’s also getting older which doesn’t help either. Cam is still the stronghold of the Saints front seven and will continue to make an impact even with this being said which is why I have him here.

6. Demario Davis

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New Orleans Saints

Demario Davis is in a similar space as Cam Jordan in that their best days are probably behind him but Davis seems like he has a little more left in the tank. Davis’ tenacity continues to stand out even with things like coverage ability and open field tackling have maybe diminished. All in all, I think Demario is still incredibly important to this team and to this defense if they want to stay atop of the pack in the NFC.

5. Michael Thomas

Yes... I still fully believe in Michael Thomas.

Thomas’ first four years were so spectacular that I probably will never leave him out of my top ten. With the addition of Derek Carr, I expect Thomas to have a really good year, especially with all of the talent that they have around him now. I think he’ll be able to silence all of his critics this season and get back to true Mike form.

4. Derek Carr

I’ll admit that I am a huge believer in Derek Carr mostly because of what he now has around him. We’ve seen quarterbacks find new situations and flourish in new systems. I think Carr has the natural ability of a top ten quarterback in terms of arm talent, I just don’t believe he was able to live up to that during his tenure with Las Vegas. With the supporting cast offensively and defensively in New Orleans, Carr could and should have one of the best seasons of his career this year.

3. Ryan Ramczyk

Ramczyk was once one of, if not the top player at his position his first few seasons in the league. Since then, he’s not been as consistent and maybe has even lost a step. Ramcyzk’s been dealing with a knee injury that is supposedly going to be a problem for the rest of his career. I do not know exactly how much it will affect him going forward but I still believe in the talent that he brings. There’s is still room for improvement with being relatively young and having stability at quarterback now will make everything a lot easier.

2. Alvin Kamara

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

AK is still incredibly gifted and is deserving of this spot regardless of the past couple seasons and where his career might be trending. He doesn’t miss a ton of games and even when he may not be as productive, he still somehow puts up numbers. Since 2017, Kamara ranks second in all-purpose yards and touchdowns only behind Derrick Henry who is a complete workhouse. Again, with Carr at the helm, Kamara’s ability in the receiving game should come back to life. Even if Kamara gets suspended, he should be able to come in and be who we know him to be.

1. Marshon Lattimore

This one is probably the easiest for everyone. Lattimore is the most talented player on this team, and we’ve known that since the moment he was drafted. Granted he hasn’t had the most consistent seasons but when he’s on, I don’t think there’s many corners in the league that are better. Lattimore should come in extremely motivated and healthy this year; I expect big things from him.

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