The New Orleans Saints' goal every year is to make the playoffs. They put their chips in the middle of the table every year and eschew any concerns regarding the salary cap to be competitive and make the playoffs each year. It's an aggressive approach but one worth applauding when it works. It didn't work last year. They did go 9-8 but missed out on the postseason after losing the tiebreaker for the NFC South to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On the bright side, it's pretty clear where the Saints have to improve this offseason: In the trenches on both offense and defense. New Orleans finished last season ranked 31st in pass rush win rate and 28th in pass block win rate according to ESPN.com. Luckily, the 14th overall pick in this year's draft should help address at least one of those areas of weakness. They can help their pass rush by drafting either Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner or Florida State's Jared Verse. If they want to protect Derek Carr better, Penn State's Olu Fashunu should do just that. The Saints can't go wrong with either player.
Dallas Turner, Edge Rusher, Alabama
The Saints may never even get the chance to draft Dallas Turner, but if they do, they absolutely should. Turner can fix New Orleans' scarce pass rush from a year ago. Not only were they at the bottom of the league in pass rush win rate, but they also flat-out did not get great production from that unit a year ago. Carl Granderson led the way with 8.5 sacks, but they didn't get more than four sacks from any other primary pass rusher a year ago. Demario Davis and Bryan Bresee exceeded that number, but they play middle linebacker and defensive tackle, respectively. Rushing the passer isn't their number one objective.
The Saints need players who excel with that being their primary role, and that's what Turner does. He got busy rushing the passer from the very moment he stepped foot at the University of Alabama.
To put that in context, Will Anderson Jr. just racked up seven sacks in 15 games as a rookie despite playing through an ankle injury for some of those games. He also finished third among edge rushers in individual pass rush win rate. The only two players ahead of him were Micah Parsons and Myles Garrett.
Turner was even better than Anderson Jr. was as a freshman. Not only that, but Turner was able to sustain that excellence all throughout his career in college.
The Saints better hope that Turner falls to them at 14th overall. He'd be a tremendous get for them.
Jared Verse, Edge Rusher, Florida State
If Turner doesn't make it to 14, Florida State's Jared Verse should be there when the Saints are on the clock. Verse is regarded by most as the second-best pass rusher in this class, and evidenced by that previous tweet, he isn't that far off from Turner. Looking strictly at sacks over the last two seasons, the Florida State product actually has been more productive than Turner. He has 18 sacks in the previous two years to Turner's 14 after transferring to Florida State from the University of Albany.
The offensive line class this year is deeper than the edge rusher group. If one of Verse or Turner is on the board for New Orleans, they should snag one of them and look for an offensive lineman later. Verse is the most likely to be available when the Saints pick. If he's there, they should take him.
Olu Fashunu, Offensive Tackle, Penn State
As bad as New Orleans' pass rush was last season, their offensive line wasn't much better. They tried to bolster that group in the 2022 draft by selecting Northern Iowa left tackle Trevor Penning, but that move hasn't worked out so far. Penn State's Olu Fashunu could make up for that miss on Penning. When it comes to protecting the quarterback, there aren't many better in this year's class than Fashunu.
It's no guarantee Fashunu lasts that long either, but if he does, he'd be a home run selection for the Saints. They need to be better at protecting their quarterback, and the Penn State tackle would do just that.
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