Welcome to the inaugural installment of NOLA MW – New Orleans Most Wanted. Each week I will focus on areas of concern that I feel the Saints need filled in this 2014 off-season. First up: Cornerbacks.
/’Kor ner bak – noun – American Football, member of defensive backfield or secondary, who defends against the pass offense.
This position is the most crucial for New Orleans to fill at this point. With the release of Jabari Greer, the sheer uselessness of Patrick Robinson and the inconsistency of Corey White, the Saints only have one solid, reliable corner back in Keenan Lewis. A one-man show of sorts after the season ending injury to Greer, Lewis had a good year with 47 tackles and four interceptions on the season. It may not be a year for the record books but in the big scheme of things, it was not bad at all.
With the current limited salary cap space and a low first round draft pick, New Orleans has a lot to consider and spreading the money around to fill the voids is no easy task. How much is New Orleans willing to spend and how much can they afford to? With teams like the Miami Dolphins recently resigning Brent Grimes to a five-year contract worth $32 million and Tampa Bay’s Darrelle Revis being the highest paid corner in the NFL at $16 million per season, we can see the emphasis that teams have put back into quality cornerbacks. They are paid so much because of how vital they are to a team’s defense. Let’s look at this position and the who, what, where and why behind its importance.
There are a lot of quality draft prospects at the corner position. I’m sure that New Orleans has had their scouts out looking at these players with wide eyes and bushy tails. The top three corners available are Darqueze Dennard from Michigan State, Justin Gilbert from Oklahoma State and Jason Verrett from Texas Christian University.
I believe The Saints should give a second, harder look at the valuable players who have just hit the free agency market. What I mean by this is New Orleans currently has listed on their roster a total of eight, yes eight, cornerbacks, with only two of those having four or more years of NFL experience. Keenan Lewis is their most experienced corner with five years in the NFL. He is a keeper with endless possibilities ahead of him at this position and one to watch in season ahead.
The other veteran corner is Patrick Robinson who has four years of experience but zero helpfulness to New Orleans in any of those years. The Saints should cut the dead weight with Robinson and look to invest in the future with a solid, quality, already knows-the-ropes-type of corner.
There has been plenty of excitement on the free agency market as of late, especially at this position. Champ Bailey of the AFC Champion Denver Broncos and a perennial Pro Bowl corner was recently released. However given Bailey’s age (he’ll be 36 next season) and his recent injury issues, I don’t think he is the right fit for the Saints.
Charles Tillman of Chicago Bears is 33-years-old and he does not seem to exactly fit into Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan’s plan of attack. However, he does have some of the most impressive stats we’ve seen: the two-time Pro Bowl player has 848 career tackles 36 interceptions and 42 forced fumbles. Tillman would be the man – if only he were six years younger.
Then there is the other corner from Denver, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. At just 27 years of age he’s already been to the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl. He has racked up 246 career tackles 19 interceptions and five touchdowns. However, I don’t think Denver will be so quick to set him free and he may be re-signed before ever hitting the market next week..
Other quality corners on the maket include Seattle Seahawks Walter Thurmond, San Francisco 49ers Tarell Brown, Carolina Panthers Captain Munnerlyn, Tennessee Titans Alterraun Verner, New England Patriots Aqib Talib and Indianapolis Colts Vontae Davis. All of these players are good in their own right and would make a great pickup for the Saints.
Defense is going to have to be key this year for New Orleans. With not only releasing cornerback Jabrai Greer, the Saints also released linebacker Jonatha Vilma, safety Roman Harper and linebacker/defensive end Will Smith (not to be confused with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – just a little humor there). But what is not a laughing matter are the huge gaps the Saints need to fill defensively this year.
Until next time,
-Who Dat
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