SmashMouth

Last year, the Saints traded Jimmy Graham, opting instead for a patchwork collection of tight ends. After one season of that, the Saints made a beeline for another potentially dominant pass-catching tight end.

On Wednesday, Saints quarterback Drew Brees explained what attracted the team to former Colts tight end Coby Fleener.



“We watched a lot of film on him last year, just because we played the AFC South,” Brees told reporters. “It felt like every time we turned on the film to watch an opponent that we were about to play, I’m watching Colts film or Fleener film. It was like, ‘Man, this guy has an uncanny ability to separate.’ He is always open. There’s always a place to throw the ball where he can get it. It gets you excited about a guy who has that type of range and that type of feel.

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darksoul35

I think Drew is going to make him a pro bowl TE.

dizzle88

No drew, you just throw most people open.

Cruize

Well heck. Let's just not run the ball at all.

K Major

Ok.

I'll be interested to see him "separate" & hopefully Drew doesn't force it into triple coverage. I'm sure Fleener is a nice player but he is no Jimmy.

CheramieIII

I agree no Jimmy yet but all of us hope he becomes better than a Jimmy!

darksoul35

He will definitely be a better all around player but he will never be the receiving tight end Jimmy is.

jnormand

Fleener isn't going to be a JG. He probably runs better routes and blocks better though. Let's hope all this talk about the dropsies is either bs or it gets fixed.

AsylumGuido

As far as we know, Fleener may be better than Graham. I doubt anyone would say that either Andrew Luck or Russell Wilson are better passers of the ball than Brees. How much impact does the QB have on the success of either Graham or Fleener? We all know that Graham was great with Brees delivering the ball. He has had noticeably less success in Seattle to this point. While he has made some plays with Wilson, he hasn't been targeted with anywhere near the frequency as he was in New Orleans. Is that on him or the QB?

On the other hand, Fleener has had his moments with Luck, but has yet to show what he can do with Brees' uncanny ability to find the open man. And if Fleener can show the defense that he is even moderately able to block it could make play calling far less predictable with him on the field than with Graham.

QBREES9

Drew will make him great!