Today the Saints placed seventh-round draft choice Adrian Arrington on injured reserve Friday and released seven other players. New Orleans also terminated the contract of recently acquired veteran safety Lance Schulters and waived defensive end Jeremy Geathers, tight end Ronnie Ghent, defensive end Marcus Pittman, safety David Roach, guard Isaiah Ross and tackle Brian Stamper.
From what I have seen so far this year the Saints have the deepest roster in the NFL. For non Saints fans this may seem like blasphemy but hear me out. I literally looked at the depth chart for an hour yesterday and at several positions had no clue who the team would want to cut. There is not a position on the field that they can lose a starter in and be out of playoff contention.
You can argue the QB position but that goes for any team. Even Mark Brunell is better than lots if not most backups in this league. The Saints main focus this year has been heavy competition at every position which increases the level of play. Even with 9 projected starters held out of the first pre-season game you could still see how solid and crisp the play was from 3rd and 4th string players in a 24-10 win.
I will start with defense and then work my way over to offense specifically the WR position. The Saints have all of the starters on the defensive side off the ball back this year. That is a huge statement considering four of them are projected to NOT be starting this year. New Orleans may not have the very best starters at every position but do not have a significant drop off at any position either.
After the Saints found two nearly pro-bowl caliber starters in the 2006 draft with WR Marques Colston and OG Jahri Evans, the Saints found another rising star in UDFA Pierre Thomas in the 2007 TC. This year’s surprise gem maybe another 7th round wide receiver, like Colston. The Saints traded with Green bay to get back into the 2008 draft in the 7th round to select Adrian Arrington, Mario Manningham’s wide receiver partner at Michigan.
Arrington has been impressing not only the fans and the media, but Coach Sean Payton and Drew Brees have been giving high praises to the receiver as he has been working hard and making some waves at Saints training camp in Jackson, MS.
While it’s unlikely that Arrington will be able to crack the Saints wide receiver starting line up with Marques Colston, David Patten and 2007 1st round pick Robert Meachem all having good camps themselves, it seems that Arrington is setting himself up to secure a roster spot. That maybe all Arrington needs to get some regular season game time in an offense that spreads the ball around to many receivers throughout the year.
The Saints have often even rotated receivers around, with four and five receivers getting thrown to in just a single game.
All eyes will be on Arrington in the pre-season games to see if he can do in real games what he seems to be doing in Jackson, MS. Making plays and impressing people.
The Times Picayune has reported that the New Orleans Saints have signed their 7th round pick (273rd overall) Adrian Arrington. They aquired the pick with a trade from Green Bay in which they traded their 6th round pick in 2009. Arrington, a 6-3 193 pound receiver out of Michigan has been compared to Marquis Colston in OTA’s this Spring.
