Sportsnaut
The New Orleans Saints ranked middle of the pack in most offensive categories for 2024. However, they were 1st in the NFL in goal-to-go percentage and 11th in the red zone. Due to the mediocrity in other areas, they finished tied for 24th in points per game.
The Saints hired Kellen Moore as their new head coach, and the offense has a solid foundation built through drafting offensive linemen in the 1st round in 4 of the last 6 drafts, including drafting their left and right tackles the last 2 years. The year prior to that run (2019), they used a 2nd round pick on their current starting center.
The Saints have drafted a QB in each of the last 3 drafts, with Jake Haener in the 4th round (2023), Spencer Rattler in the 5th round (2024), and most recently, Shough in the 2nd round of this year’s draft. Shough spent 7 years at 3 different colleges and suffered multiple injuries. Last year was the first time that he played in more than 7 games in a single season.
He throws a nice “go” ball and can drive it into tight windows when his feet are set. Oddly, he’s better rolling to his left than his right. He recoils in the face of pressure, opting to sling it and rely solely on arm talent, which often gets him into trouble. Rather than take a sack, he chooses to toss the ball up, giving the defense ample opportunities to create turnovers.
Rattler’s been an afterthought to many after losing his starting job to future #1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, at Oklahoma in 2021, before both parted ways to go to different USC’s. Some are writing Rattler off again due to a newcomer to his current roster, in Shough. As a rookie in 2024, Rattler’s stat line was less than desirable
To be fair to Rattler in his 6 starts last year, he was without Taysom Hill and Rashid Shaheed for 5 games, Chris Olave for 4 games, Alvin Kamara for 3 games, and Kendre Miller for 2 games. Despite only 6 starts, he was the QB when these players had their best game for receiving yards in 2024: Olave, Johnson, Wilson, Means, Moreau, Miller, Pettis, and Tipton.
Alvin Kamara has missed at least 1 game each season since he played in all 16 as a rookie. Over the last 4 years, he has missed an average of 3 games per season.
Despite the increase in missed games, Kamara has been tasked with carrying more of the load on the ground over the last 4 seasons, with an average of 218 carries per year, which is up from 168 per year over his first 4 NFL seasons. He did less with more as he averaged 5.0 ypc over the first 4 years, which has dropped to 3.9 ypc over the last 4 years.
Through 2 NFL...
