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3 Takeaways from the 2021 New Orleans Saints Offense

Three takeaways from the 2021-22 New Orleans Saints offense.

BRENDAN BOYLAN23 HOURS AGO

The New Orleans Saints have consistently ranked among the best in the league offensively under head coach Sean Payton. However, 2021 may end up serving as an outlier on Payton's resume. The Saints had a revolving door of linemen, quarterbacks, and wide receivers. This recipe resulted in one of the league's worst-rated offenses of the season.

However, there were some bright spots for New Orleans throughout the year. Before Jameis Winston's injury, he looked like the real deal behind a stellar offensive line, and Alvin Kamara played at a Pro-Bowl level yet again.

So how do we access this season for the Saints Offense? Was it a success? Far from it... But Sean Payton and the company learned some valuable lessons and proved this team is still set up for success when healthy.

Here are three takeaways from the Saints' Offense during the 2021-22 NFL Season.

Failing to Address the Wide Receiver Position Proved to be the Wrong Decision

Headed into the 2021 NFL Offseason, New Orleans faced a mountain of negative cap space, and though they were able to erase the $100M figure to get under the Salary Cap, it came at a price. A price that included the team's leading receiver from 2020, Emmanuel Sanders.

The veteran wide-out would sign with the Bills and left New Orleans with a significant hole at WR 2. The Black and Gold ultimately opted to stick with the guys already on the roster (Callaway, Smith, Harris) to fill that need, including Michael Thomas, rehabbing an ankle injury.

Unfortunately for the Saints, Thomas' rehab resulted in a shut-down season, and Tre'Quan Smith missed multiple weeks with a preseason injury. Vaulting Callaway and Harris (Now Harty) into starting roles, a big ask for two UDFAs.

Overall, the pairing put together a modest season considering their expected role to the one they played (I expect both to be big parts of the Saints offense for years to come). But throughout the season, New Orleans receivers could not create separation, dropped passes, and could never find a steady dose of consistency to help manufacture points.

Sean Payton consistently told the media he "liked" the guys they have in the locker room, and though he may have liked them, they did not produce what the Saints needed. A steady veteran may not have solved all the problems for the receiving corps this year, but it could have given them a nice boost.

Injuries to the O-Line Hurt More than the Injuries at Quarterback

With multiple Pro-Bowl selections across the offensive line, the Saints have one of the best O-lines in the NFL.... well, when they are healthy, that was the team's Achilles heel in 2021. It is now well documented that the Saints set a new NFL record this season, starting 58 different players. Still, the offensive line was the one unit ...

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill