On Sunday, December 8 at noon on Fox, the New Orleans Saints will play the New York Giants in Week 14. The Saints prevailed 24-6 in their most recent meeting, which was in December 2023. The Giants’ 6-11 record at the end of the 2023 season put them in third place in the NFC East and prevented them from making the postseason.
But first, let’s examine the Saints’
The Giants were third in the NFC East with a 6-11 record. In 2024, New York will try to bounce back from losing its quarterback to an injury during the second part of 2023 and establish itself in a difficult division. The Giants will have to perform above expectations in an NFC East that includes the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles in order to make the playoffs once more.
ESPN+ published their rankings of every NFL roster yesterday. The San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Detroit Lions had the top 5 rosters in the league. Despite being in the lower half of the league, the New Orleans Saints were ranked second in their division and came in at number twenty on this list. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were ranked 22nd, and the Carolina Panthers were ranked 29th. The Atlanta Falcons, who were ranked 19th, were the only NFC South team to finish higher than the Saints.
This ranking seems quite accurate to me. If you were making your decision only on the basis of the roster without taking injuries into account, I might rank them one or two higher, but as of right now, I believe they belong in the 16–20 bracket in the NFL.
The article lists the biggest strength, weakness, X-factor, and non-starter to know. For the Saints, the biggest strength was defensive end, with Cameron Jordan, Chase Young, and Carl Granderson listed as standouts. I would maybe say the secondary is a bigger strength than defensive end given that there are more questions at defensive end than secondary, but the pass rushers should be a strong part of the defense this year. The biggest weakness was listed as the interior defensive line as they have not had a lot of production from that area since David Onyemata departed after 2022. They should hope to get production out of first round pick Bryan Bresee however, which should give the Saints one of the better defensive lines in the NFL.
The offensive tackles are predicted to be the X factors for this season. I concur that the success of the offensive this year should depend on Ryan Ramczyk’s health as well as the progress of Trevor Penning and Taliese Fuaga. Derek Carr should have a stronger season than the previous one if the offensive line holds up, which will benefit the offense as a whole. Wide receiver A.T. Perry was the one to keep an eye on. Perry, a sixth-round selection in the previous draft, scored three touchdowns in the final three weeks of the 2023 season. With hardly much on the depth chart behind him, Perry, who is projected to be the Saints’ third wide receiver, has the chance to establish a niche for himself in the system.
Health will be the main concern for the Saints roster in 2024. For the most of the last three to four seasons, it appears that the Saints have struggled to maintain a healthy roster. Of course, injuries affect every NFL club, but lately, the Saints have had particular difficulty completing the home stretch with a healthy squad.
