The Derek Carr era is officially underway for the New Orleans Saints. The ex-Las Vegas Raiders quarterback joined the Saints on a four-year, $150 million — including $100 million guaranteed.
He inherits a roster that looks very similar skill-wise to what his predecessor Andy Dalton had last year: a strong defense, a weak wide receiver corps, and an offense with considerable question marks.
The Saints lost David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle, and Marcus Davenport across the defensive front through free agency, replacing them with Nathan Shepherd (New York Jets), Khalen Saunders (Kansas City Chiefs), and Bryan Breese (first-round pick from Clemson).
The defense can still use more depth, but the biggest gap is at wide receiver.
Chris Olave was the star, totaling over 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, but outside of him, the production was minimal. No other receiver exceeded 500 yards and Michael Thomas has played three games over the last two campaigns.
And surprisingly, the franchise did not make any impactful additions at the position.
A.T. Perry — a sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest — was the only wideout the Saints drafted, while Bryan Edwards comes off a disappointing season in Atlanta in which he had three receptions in seven games before being released.
With the draft complete and minicamp quickly approaching, here are some players the Saints must sign to booster their roster.
4 Free Agents Targets for Saints
Kenny Golladay (WR), New York Giants
At this point in the free agency window, the wide receiver market, like many other positions, is significantly picked over.
The most prominent wideouts still available are notable names — Julio Jones and Kenny Golladay, to highlight a couple — who are past their peak.
Golladay certainly fits into this category. The Northern Illinois product is four years removed from his last 1,000-yard campaign and totaled just 602 yards receiving across his two seasons with the Giants.
Lack of production seems to be a common theme for receivers playing with Daniel Jones, and a change of scenery could restart Golladay's career.
Demarcus Robinson (WR), Baltimore Ravens
While Kenny Golladay was somewhat suppressed by the New York Giants' offense, the question around Demarcus Robinson was whether playing five seasons under Patrick Mahomes inflated his stats.
In his lone season with the Ravens, Robinson's numbers remained in line with his previous production with the Chiefs — an encouraging fact given his transition to a run-heavy offense.
Robinson has demonstrated ability as a downfield and underneath target and would be a valuable third or fourth wideout in a Saints team desperate for pass catchers.
Adrian Amos (S), Green Bay Packers
The Saints have two solid starting safeties in Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye but could use more depth at this position.
Marcus Maye is also currently dealing with legal troubles and is injury-prone, leaving him in limbo to begin the season.
Adrian Amos provides more of a run-stopping option to the ball-hawking Mathieu — as shown by his 102 total tackles last year (including seven for a loss).
Al-Quadin Muhammad (DL/OLB), Chicago Bears
The Saints added prolific edge rusher Isaiah Foskey from Notre Dame in the second round of the NFL Draft, but they could still use another pass rusher.
At 6-4 and 250 pounds, Muhammad is the perfect player to fit Rob Ryan's hybrid 3-4 scheme that often plays in a 4-3 front — where Muhammad can slot in as a 3-4 outside linebacker or 4-3 defensive end.