As the 2011 NFL draft approaches, it is important to understand where the Saints stand at each major position group. We will continue this examination by looking at one of the Saints biggest areas of strength: the receiving corps.
While I firmly believe that the running game was a huge part of the Saints Super Bowl run in 2009, the fuel that makes this offense go is the connection between Drew Brees and his outstanding set of wide receivers.
When it comes to wide receivers, the Saints really have it all, with dynamic playmakers filling all of the necessary roles that a team hopes to address with its receiving corps.
The Possession Receiver: Marques Colston. Colston is the prototypical big target. At 6’4″, 225 lb., Colston is absolutely not afraid to run routes over the middle and up to 30 yards down the field with free safeties bearing down. For Saints fans, seeing Colston take a massive hit between the hashes, hang onto the ball, and pop right back up ready for the next play has become commonplace.
The Deep Threat: Devery Henderson. At only 200 lbs., Henderson isn’t going to make his living going toe to toe with hard-hitting safeties. He uses sub-4.4 40-speed to routinely get behind defenses and has been on the receiving end of a seemingly endless number of beautiful downfield strikes from Drew Brees. His ability to pull safeties back toward the end zone is a big reason why Colston is so often open over the middle, and he creates a soft cushion behind the linebackers for Lance Moore to work out of the slot.
The Slot Receiver: Lance Moore. The smallest and quickest of Drew Brees’ targets, Moore makes his living in the quick passing game, primarily working off of slants and quick outs against larger players who are unable to turn back to the ball as quickly as he is. This makes Moore an excellent target on third and short, which gives the Saints offense another dimension in situations where conventional wisdom would call for a running play. This is reflected in that Moore trailed only Colston in receptions and receiving yards in 2011, but had the lowest yards per reception of the four primary Saints receivers.
The Hybrid: Robert Meachem. Meachem can do a little of everything. At 6’2″, he presents himself as a target nearly the size of Colston, and yet at his combine in 2007, he clocked in at 4.4 in the 40, which is only 0.1-0.3 seconds slower than Henderson. Despite his first-round pedigree, most would agree that Meachem has produced less than these other three receivers as a member of the Saints to this point in his career. That seems likely to change, however, as he has really begun coming out of his shell over the last two years.
Yes, the Saints have it all at WR, and they have it for relatively cheap. Ironically, the value that the Saints get from each of their wide receivers is virtually the exact opposite of the expectation placed on each of them coming into the NFL. The two more statistically productive receivers, Colston and Moore, are a seventh round choice out of Hofstra (Colston, 252nd overall in 2006), and an undrafted free agent out of Toledo, respectively. Henderson was a second round pick out of LSU, and Meachem, arguably the least productive to date, was the 27th overall pick in the first round out of Tennessee in 2007.
One final note–do not sleep on fifth option Adrian Arrington, the former Michigan standout who showed distinct flashes in the preseason of 2010. It’s tough to crack the gameday lineup when the four guys ahead of you make up such a star-studded cast, but if he gets a chance to get into some games in 2011, it will be interesting to see what he is able to do.
The bottom line is this: don’t expect to see the Saints putting too much emphasis on the WR position this offseason. The chemistry Brees has with these receivers is unmatched in the NFL, and his ability to spread the ball around makes one just as dangerous as the next.
