As I’ve mentioned many times over the past two years – including last week when I broke down the inside linebacker position – the Saints' defense would benefit greatly from a player in the mold of Lavonte David of the NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Technically, the Saints could fill that role with an outside linebacker or inside linebacker since they rotate between 4-3 and 3-4 fronts so often.

For instance, Haralson is listed as an outside linebacker and David Hawthorne an inside linebacker. But they’re very similar players who are better against the run than the pass and who have a lot of miles on them. Both are decent assets, but the Saints need to replace at least one of them with an athlete who can cover more ground.