The New Orleans Saints are entering their first season in recent memory without Drew Brees, but they're still well represented in elite player rankings.
The Saints landed five players in Pro Football Focus' top-50 rankings, put out this week. That number was more than any other NFL team. The Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers were tied with four apiece.
But while the Saints littered the rankings, they were largely toward the bottom. Here's how they broke down:
- No. 28: Ryan Ramczyk, RT
- No. 39: Alvin Kamara, RB
- No. 43: Terron Armstead, LT
- No. 44: Michael Thomas, WR
- No. 48: Marcus Williams, S
In fact, the Saints' five representatives were more than the rest out of the NFC South, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers landing two (Tom Brady, 7; Lavonte David, 49), while the Panthers (Christian McCaffrey, 30) and Falcons (Grady Jarrett, 42) had just one each.
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The Saints enter the 2021 season with questions to answer along the roster, particularly at quarterback where Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston will compete for the starting job. But another position not represented in the top 50 represents uncertainty and potential depth concerns. Entrenched starter Marshon Lattimore, though not in the top 50, will likely continue to lock down on the outside. But who will be across from him is a question mark heading into training camp.
The Saints selected Stanford cornerback Paulson Adebo in the third round of this year's draft, and have veteran options such as Patrick Robinson and PJ Williams should they choose not to bring in another veteran player. The team has hosted former Bengals and Cardinals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick thus far, and GM Mickey Loomis indicated last week the team was still looking for potential depth at the position with training camp set to begin in July.
Click here for the full top-50 rankings
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Follow Jeff Nowak on Twitter @Jeff_Nowak or contact him by email at jeffrey.nowak@audacy.com