The New Orleans Saints' hopes for another Super Bowl trip will have to wait a year, and whether Drew Brees is the quarterback or not remains to be seen. The Saints were among the favorites to come out of the NFC, but Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their hopes in the divisional round by a score of 30-20 and a game in which Brees tossed three picks.

The Saints have a lot to figure out in free agency, and it starts with the return or retirement of Brees, who left many questions unanswered and played through a world of pain the last two seasons.

Alvin Kamara and Micheal Thomas should be back next season, and this Saints defense has some solid playmakers, but a huge factor is whether Brees returns to New Orleans or if the future Hall of Famer calls it quits.

The Saints swept the NFC South and won the division with a 12-4 record, but that third victory against the Bucs escaped Sean Payton's team.

Nonetheless, here are three early free agent targets for the Saints in 2021.

Mark Ingram, Saints

3. RB Mark Ingram

A former Saint returns to New Orleans and gives them much-needed depth in the backfield. Yes, Latavius Murray is there, but he seems like a guy they would release to save some money.

Enter Ingram. He had his best seasons in New Orleans with back-to-back 1,000-yard years in 2016 and 2017, and he would provide depth to Kamara, and a bruiser the Saints could use in a short-yardage situation.

Ingram had a disappointing year with the Baltimore Ravens rushing for just 299 yards on 72 carries—both career-lows—and he got out-touched by JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards before being released by the Ravens.

However, he's just a year removed from a 1,000-yard season where he scored 10 times for the Ravens, so the talent is still there.

He could be cheaper than Murray and would love the chance to compete and potentially make a trip to the Super Bowl, and this move would make a lot of sense for both sides of the equation.

2. WR Corey Davis

This seems like a bit of a luxury choice, but let's think about it for a second.

The Saints leading receiver in 2020 was Kamara with 756 yards and Emmanuel Sanders was second with 726 yards, which was a problem. Thomas missed a bunch of games with a nagging injury, and he will be the lead guy unless they decide to trade him for some reason.

Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harris were the other receivers to whom Brees and Taysom Hill had to throw, and that isn't a group that can lead you into the Super Bowl. Tight end Adam Trautman seems like a guy that will contribute more in 2021, but the depth of this wide receiver group needs to be addressed in the offseason.

Davis would immediately step in as a starting receiver and can do wonders for an offense with a lot of talent and potential. He had a career-high in yards with 984 and touchdowns with five and added 65 catches in 2020.

The former first-round pick never panned out as the Tennessee Titans had hoped, and with the emergence of AJ Brown, the Titans and Davis seem destined to part ways in the offseason as he hits the open market.

Davis is only 26 years old and the duo of him and Thomas would be formidable for whoever throws passes in New Orleans next year, whether it's Brees, Hill, Jameis Winston, or somebody else.

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1. DE Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson needs to be priority No. 1 in New Orleans, especially after having a career-season in 2020 for the Saints. He was an absolute force on the defensive line and should stay in a Saints uniform at all costs.

He set career-highs in sacks with 13.5 and played 15 games in the regular season for New Orleans but missed both playoff games due to injury, which was a huge blow for this team with Super Bowl hopes.  He is a huge problem to deal with and a tough matchup for any offensive lineman.

His speed off the line is among the best in the league and his size is tough to contain.

Hendrickson finished tied for second in the NFL in sacks with Aaron Donald, and just 1.5 behind TJ Watt for the league lead.

The Saints' defense improved and he was a huge reason why and he's only 26 years old for the majority of the 2021 season, so a young staple on the defensive line can help this Saints defense as they push forward to try and make another run at the Super Bowl.