New Orleans Saints making underrated free agency moves

The New Orleans Saints certainly needed to add toughness to their defense, and they have been making some interesting moves…

It certainly won’t be the easiest task, but New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is going to be tasked with strengthening a unit that has been one of the worst in the NFL in recent years.

In 2016, the Saints ranked 31st in the NFL in points allowed, 27th in total yards allowed, and 32nd against the pass. They were a respectable 14th against the run, but that’s likely due in part to the fact that teams didn’t have to run much on them. They were able to throw at will.

The Saints needed to add toughness to the defensive side of the football, and they’ve identified some players that I think can really help them out right away.

The first key move that was made was to extend defensive tackle Nick Fairley, one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Fairley started 16 games for the first time in his NFL career this past year with New Orleans, and posted a career-high 6.5 sacks.

That type of pressure from the inside is exactly what the Saints need as they continue to bring along 2016 first round pick Sheldon Richardson, who will benefit from seeing more one-on-one opportunities with Fairley next to him in the formation.

It also helps to have Cameron Jordan, one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL. But behind the talented defensive line, the Saints were seriously lacking. Dennis Allen will run a hybrid defense, as most NFL coordinators do, but his base scheme will likely be a 4-3 alignment and the Saints needed more traditional linebackers and players that will push former first rounder Stephone Anthony.

Dannell Ellerbe and Craig Robertson remain from last year’s group as well, but the Saints made a couple of very intriguing moves that I think deserve some attention. They signed former Iowa State star linebacker A.J. Klein, who has been a part-time starter for the Carolina Panthers in his four years in the NFL, and is still only 25 years old.

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Klein has always struck me as the type of player that could be a tackling machine in the NFL, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him flourish in Dennis Allen’s defense as an outside linebacker.

The 6-1, 240 pound Klein had 31 total tackles this past season, and two forced fumbles.

The Saints also signed Manti Te’o, who was once a second round pick of the San Diego Chargers. Te’o wasn’t retained by the Chargers after injuries plagued his career and limited him to just three games this past season. When healthy, I think Te’o has a chance to be a very good middle linebacker in Allen’s defense. He’s always had the type of toughness you look for in a middle linebacker, but he’s underrated in coverage and has great instincts as a football player.

With Allen’s tendencies, we could see a lot of different fronts and alignments of the linebackers he now has at his disposal, but don’t discount Klein and Te’o as two depth pickups for this Saints team. Coupled with the return of pass rusher Hau’oli Kikaha, the Saints have made some moves that could resurrect their defense.

If and when they take advantage of the crazy depth at defensive back in this year’s draft (and perhaps bring in Malcolm Butler from New England), they will at least have a respectable unit on paper that could make a major leap in 2017.

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