Been right the last two seasons Ithink. Not a fan and they could be wrong, but I'd put my money on them before any analyst. We are getting close though

Why would it be higher than 8.5? We lost a top 10 receiver and in the draft we added 2 offensive positions we really didn't need.
Each NFC south team added a true difference maker, and although we might have one in Lattimore, we probably won't see that this year.
We will be underdogs in our first three games, got an an early bye, and are in a very competitive division. 8.5 seems high to me.

We got rid of a receiver whose value to the Saints offense was diminished by the emergence of a BETTER receiver in Michael Thomas. There are only so many balls to go around. What we received for that player was a pick that could very well turn into a starting RT. With the addition of Larry Warford at RG and Peat entering his second full season at LG our offensive line should be improved over last season and arguably one of the very best in the NFL.

We also added arguably the best free agent RB (Adrian Peterson) and an explosive component in Alvin Kamara that should take the offense to even higher levels. Do not underestimate the importance of an offensive tool like Kamara in Payton's offense. You called it a player that wasn't needed. I beg to differ. It may have been the MOST important addition to be able to bring the offense back to the days of Reggie and Sproles.

As for Lattimore and the defense, it cannot help be VASTLY improved over last year with the return of Breaux, P.J. Williams, Sheldon Rankins, Kikaha and Vacarro who all missed significant portions, or all of last season. Add in veteran defensive players like A.J. Klein, Manti Te'o, Raphael Bush, and Alex Okafor; and highly regarded rookies like Alex Anzalone, Trey Hendrickson and Marcus Williams, not to mention the aforementioned Marshon Lattimore ...

And don't forget the new and improved coaching staff for the LB's, DL and special teams. Those additions can very well be bigger difference makers than any player added to our division rival's rosters.

You cannot discount the fact that Cooks had top 10 numbers last year that we have not replaced. Thomas is an absolute star, but will he get as many open looks with Snead on the other side instead of Cooks? Of course not.

As for the RB's, in your own words there are only so many balls to go around. I can see making one of those moves, but why both when we had and still have defensive needs?

Ramczyk might be a probowler this year, but if so that means we have a very good tackle (Strief) making $5,100,000 on the bench. I'd rather have that money on the field, specifically the defensive side.

We have great potential for improvement defensively, but most of our upgrades other than Lattimore fall under the IF category: If our DB's stay healthy, If the two backups we signed to start pan out, If the new coaches get max results from the younger players.
I would just feel a hell of a lot more optimistic if we had drafted someone to start opposite Jordan and not an OT, safety, or RB