Three Saints that are best suited for a bounce-back season

Paulson Adebo

The New Orleans Saints needed Paulson Adebo in a big way last season after star cornerback Marshon Lattimore went down in week five. He wasn’t awful, but he surely could have done better.

Last year was Adebo’s second season in the league. He was surprisingly better in his rookie year compared to last year. In 2021, Abebo recorded 55 solo tackles, three interceptions, and allowed a 62% completion rate. In 2022, he recorded 55 solo tackles, no interceptions, and allowed a 66% completion rate.

It’s most likely that Adebo will be CB3 this season behind Lattimore and Alontae Taylor; however, he still has a massive role to play this season. There is a good chance that we will often see Taylor at slot corner this year, leaving Adebo and Lattimore on the outside.

The turmoil of last season, which consisted of new coaching, Lattimore’s injury, and the hard arrival of Taylor, combined for a strange year for Adebo. 2023 could be a huge bounce-back for Adebo, a corner that was seriously impressive during his rookie season.

Alvin Kamara

2022 was a strange season for Kamara. He was not at his best, but most Saints fans agreed it was probably not his fault.

He recorded 223 carries last year, the second-most in his career, but he only recorded 57 receptions, the second-least receptions per game in his career. It seemed like Dennis Allen and Pete Carmichael did not know what to do with Kamara. When he ran, it was often right up the gut, which contrasts with his typical outside running style. The screens designed for him were few and far between. Carmichael’s use (or lack thereof) of Kamara was probably the most frustrating part of the 2022 Saints offense.

Re-discovering Alvin Kamara might be the most crucial element this season. Hopefully, years of coaching under Sean Payton will inspire Carmichael to be a better play caller for Kamara. This team needs a solid receiving running back. Hopefully, Kamara’s suspension will be light, and he can return to being an elite NFL running back.

Will Lutz

After missing the entirety of 2021 with a groin injury, Will Lutz was expected to be in premiere form in 2022. Unfortunately, he was far from it.

He finished the season with a 74.2 field goal percentage, the lowest in his six-year career. He was not even in the top 30 for FGP amongst all NFL kickers in 2022. Last season was not the Lutz we had come to know in New Orleans.

However, Lutz was coming back after an entire year on injury reserve. Returning from injury to a starting kicker role must have been extremely difficult physically and mentally for Lutz. Hopefully, the rust has shaken off, and Lutz can return to the clutch kicks that earned him a five-year contract in 2019. A confident Lutz could elevate this offense to a new level of danger.

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