Linebacker feels like an overlooked need for the Saints. Is this the year they look at a Demario Davis replacement? What's the plan here?
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00:00 Now I think one of the areas defensively that again we don't talk about because we talked
00:04 about pass rusher.
00:05 We talked about the interior.
00:06 Talk about the secondary.
00:08 Let's talk about linebacker.
00:09 I think that when you look at it, you know a guy that Zach Bond's a free agent.
00:15 That's a possible re-signing that they could have and he plays more that strong side.
00:20 But right now they're not going to have one there.
00:21 Nefi Sewell, he's got the ACL injury.
00:24 So really you have DeMario, you have Pete Warner and you got a couple other guys behind
00:28 him.
00:29 You got some future guys like Anthony Ori and such.
00:32 And so DeMarco Jackson.
00:33 Yeah, DeMarco Jackson, the other one.
00:35 And so yeah, I can't forget DeMarco.
00:38 He's somebody that is really good on special teams and he's learning a lot more too.
00:42 Again I think looking at that position, I think that might be the weakest one on the
00:47 roster in terms of depth and outlook.
00:50 And you know, do you think that they may look at free agency?
00:53 I mean guys like Andrew Dowell, they could re-sign him.
00:56 Ty Summers, they could re-sign them.
00:58 I wouldn't rule that out.
00:59 Ryan Connelly is a free street for agents.
01:01 They could get depth, but do you think that's quite the impact they need or do they need
01:05 to try to get some upgrades there?
01:07 And then here's the other question.
01:09 Is it time to look at a DeMario replacement?
01:12 Yeah, the thing that makes this so tricky is like you kind of, for the way the Saints
01:19 build out their linebackers, you kind of have to go to free agency this year.
01:24 You can go to the draft and maybe take a late swing at a guy or something like that.
01:28 Or if you really wanted to, I mean, you know, look, if you feel really good about your offensive
01:32 line, let's say you address possession receiver in the first round, like let's say that's
01:36 the route they decide to go.
01:38 And then comes around a 45 and a Peyton Wilson from North Carolina State is on the board
01:43 or an Edrin Cooper.
01:44 I love that guy.
01:45 He's my top guy.
01:46 He's my top guy at the position.
01:48 An Edrin Cooper out of Texas A&M is on the board or something like that.
01:51 Then yeah, maybe you find yourself your future DeMario.
01:54 I do think you have to start looking for that unless you think it's Pete Werner, then you're
01:58 looking for your future Pete Werner, right?
02:00 In either case, you're still looking for somebody to be your future starting linebacker.
02:05 But the problem right now is that linebackers are getting smaller and smaller and smaller
02:11 and smaller in the NFL draft.
02:13 NextGenStats put out this great graph showing you that like pass rushers and linebackers
02:19 have just shrunk over the course of the past four years.
02:22 And a lot of that has to do with players getting moved to the offensive side of the football.
02:25 If they show a little bit of athleticism in size, they get moved to tight end or something
02:30 like that.
02:32 Or good coverage linebackers get moved to be these big old safeties like James Williams
02:36 over in Miami and all that.
02:38 So there's a lot of these examples out there.
02:40 But I think the thing that I, the reason why I highlight that is that like the Saints like
02:44 big linebackers.
02:45 They want their six, three, 240, 250 pound, you know, downhill thumpers, like those types
02:54 of guys that they want.
02:55 And I don't know that you're going to find that many, there's like less than a handful
02:59 in this year's draft.
03:00 So you got to go early there.
03:01 So if you're looking for like your strong side linebacker, that is even got to be kind
03:05 of bigger, quicker, all these other things.
03:07 And you probably have to go free agency for that.
03:09 I think you'd love to keep Zach Vaughn here in new Orleans, but I think teams like the
03:13 Viking and not the Vikings, I'm sorry, the Eagles in particular, and some other teams
03:17 might be like super ready to pay a guy like him.
03:21 You know, the, the, the Eagles just lost, you know, Hassan Reddick and all that.
03:24 So I think that that's a guy that fits that mold.
03:27 And so it's going to be tough to keep them here in new Orleans, but that would certainly
03:30 make everything better, you know, but this feels like this could be another Caden Ellis
03:33 situation.
03:34 You want to keep them, but he's going to get better money to play a larger role somewhere
03:38 else.
03:39 And that's hard to pass up if you're the player.
03:40 Yeah.
03:41 I think that's kind of something I've been talking about is three, four teams going to
03:43 look at them and say, Hey, look, I'm in here.
03:45 You know, what you can do as a pass rusher and stuff and be able to use that.
03:48 I think that's a possibility distinct one.
03:51 And I think the saints, obviously they're not going to stick to prototypes when they
03:54 look at this pass rusher.
03:55 I think the evolution with bond is going to make them think a little bit more when it
03:59 comes to free agency and look at that.
04:01 And so I, I, I think with DeMario looking at that, it almost reminds me of the Drew
04:07 talk.
04:08 It's like, this is the last year for Drew.
04:09 This is the last year for Drew.
04:11 This is the last year for Drew.
04:12 And he kept playing pretty well.
04:14 I mean, you know, towards the end, obviously he was, he wasn't playing as effective, but
04:17 DeMario is still playing at a really high level.
04:20 And look guys, I, I don't want to play favorites in anything, but if you haven't checked out
04:26 in a West, uh, you know, expose on, on DeMario Davis and the way he takes care of his body,
04:31 go check that out.
04:32 Because you think about how a player is able to play long and DeMario wants to play long
04:38 the way he goes through a routine to get ready to play on the field and all the things that
04:42 he does is insane.
04:45 I mean, I, I never, I went up to him afterwards and I saw it and I was like, man, I had no
04:49 idea.
04:50 He's like, man, not many do.
04:51 And it's just a testament to what he's able to do on the field.
04:55 And I think he's still making plays and obviously he's the heart and soul of this defense.
05:00 Again, he is.
05:01 And I just don't see this year being where you say it, this is his last year, maybe,
05:08 but I think that you start looking at that conversation and say, okay, have we identified
05:13 somebody on the roster?
05:15 If not, can we look at somebody, maybe one of those day three picks you can mold them
05:19 because coach Hodges, Michael Hodges, he's instrumental to this too.
05:23 You know, he got quartered a little bit this off season.
05:26 I think he's another one that you look at from a defensive staff perspective.
05:30 I don't know if he's going to survive this next off season as you know, not getting a
05:36 bump in a coaching position.
05:37 Yeah.
05:38 I don't know.
05:39 It's so interesting too, because we saw this happen for years and years and years with
05:42 Sean Payton too, to where, you know, the offense looked incredible and everybody kind of went,
05:47 oh, well, you know, CJ coach, CJ might be heading somewhere else or he's getting interest
05:51 from this player that that place JT coach JT, Joel Thomas, before he went to the giants,
05:56 he was up for the head coaching job at his alma mater in Idaho and all these other things.
06:00 And then those hirings just never happened.
06:02 So maybe there's another situation like that that goes down, but certainly, you know, you
06:06 hope for advancement for these guys, Michael Hodges, Mike Marcus Robertson, and there's
06:09 going to be more of that along the way.
06:11 Andrew Janoco has the new quarterbacks coach in new Orleans.
06:14 Like he could be a guy that ends up becoming a candidate somewhere in the coming years
06:18 and all that.
06:19 Like, I think we're finally about to see kind of the, the coaching tree thing really finally
06:23 starts to branch from the new Orleans Saints in a way that we haven't seen before, based
06:27 upon just the talent elevation that we've seen from these players, especially if it
06:30 starts to happen on the offensive side, which is what everybody wants at the NFL, but on
06:34 the defensive side, like it's absolutely there.
06:37 Yeah.
06:38 And you hope that it translates to wins, right?
06:42 Like that's all people in new Orleans care about.
06:45 Just put a winning season together.
06:47 Just get back in the post season, start there.
06:50 And I think this is a potential to do it.
06:53 I like the moves and of course on paper, it looks good.
06:56 It still has to be executed.
06:57 It still has to come together and we don't know what free agency is, but again, it is
07:01 super exciting at the concept, the thought of them not really doing the same thing, if
07:06 you will.
07:07 And so again, we'll find out sooner rather than later, I guess you could say.
07:12 And then next week when we talk about on the show, we're going to talk about free agency
07:16 because it's going to be right there and stuff.