The Saints were aggressive in making sure to add a playmaker at wide receiver with the No. 11 overall pick. But that's not the only weapon they'll soon be adding to the offense.
Michael Thomas' return from an injury that cost him the entirety of the 2021 season, along with former Ohio State star Chris Olave, will double down on the additions in the passing attack that will be led again by Jameis Winston.
"It’s almost like we had two first round draft choices at wide receiver," Dennis Allen said this week in an interview with Rich Eisen, "so I feel really good about that."
The new Saints coach said the team has been encouraged by the rehab work undertaken by both Thomas and Winston, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Week 8 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs. The "plan" would be for that connection to re-debut in Week 1, though there's a long time to go before that hope can become reality.
"There’s still a few hurdles that we’ve got to climb with any of our guys that had any injuries they’re trying to get back from," Allen said.
Those hurdles, however, are much shorter when it comes in the vision for the passing game, particularly with new weapons in store. Allen has said repeatedly this offseason that he was encouraged by the progress Winston showed in the passing game last season, particularly in the turnover department as he lobbed 14 touchdowns against just 3 interceptions.
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The Saints opted against adding a quarterback in the draft, though they did their "due diligence," Allen said. The team also made an unsuccessful run at a Deshaun Watson trade before re-signing Jameis Winston on a 3-year deal.
"There was just really good stuff that you see [from Winston]," Allen said. "My vision, my hope is that he continues to progress on the same level as he gets another year in the system.”
MORE FROM DENNIS ALLEN'S INTERVIEW
ON SIGNING TYRANN MATHIEU IN FA
“I think he brings an emotion, an energy, a leadership aspect to our football team. And he’s been one of the best playmakers in the NFL over the last 7-8-9 years. And so we felt like he was a perfect fit for what we needed and what we like to do. It gives him a chance to come back home. There’s an excitement that comes along with that, with bringing him back here. We’re just really excited about having him and think he’s going to bring a lot to our team in terms of just playmaking ability, leadership and energy."
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ON DECISION TO TRADE UP TO 11
“We explored what options were there. But I think that we felt comfortable with — we felt like there was going to be a run on these receivers and that was an area that we wanted to try to address. We felt like there was going to be a run on them kind of in that 8-9-10-11 area. So I think that was kind of the position that we were looking to see if we needed to get into that area to be able to get one of these receivers. And as we started seeing them come off the board a little bit, we felt like at 11 with Washington the value was there for what we were going to be able to go and get.”
ON TREVOR PENNING
“Kind of a raw, tough, nasty, athletic talent. And there’s certainly some development that we’ve got to do with the player, but really like the potential of this player a lot.”
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“I think my defensive mentality kind of came out a bit in that pick.”