The Saints are coming off their third straight 7-9 season and a third straight season with a defense that ranked at the bottom of the league, which doesn’t make for much suspense when it comes to discussing areas of focus for the offseason.
New Orleans needs to get better on defense and coach Sean Payton knows where he wants to start that process. Payton wants more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
“It’s a must. We’ve got to find a pass rusher,” Payton said, via the team’s website. “Now, whether that comes from free agency or that comes from the draft, we have to be better at affecting the quarterback. Last year if you took hurries, sacks, pressures -- a study of all three things that can happen with a rush -- we were in the bottom third of the league and that has to get better.”
With Chandler Jones and Melvin Ingram looking like strong candidates for the franchise tag, defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Mario Addison could be the top free agent options coming off the edge. The draft will likely offer several possibilities for New Orleans to consider with the 11th overall pick and using both routes might be the best approach for a team in serious need of a defensive upgrade.