The New Orleans Saints are on bye this week, so it’s a good opportunity to take a look back at the first half of their season — well, the first 10 games. Honestly we’re past the midpoint on their schedule, but there are still seven games left to play (plus the postseason, hopefully), and the bye week is a great time to practice a little retrospection.
With that in mind, here are our staff picks for the Saints’ 2023 midseason awards:
- Most Valuable Player
- Breakout Player of the Year
- Most Improved Player
- Comeback Player of the Year
- Rookie of the Year.
Most Valuable Player
Alvin Kamara. It’s difficult to find a player currently deserving of MVP solely based off on-field productions. Inconsistencies are the reason my MVP isn’t solely based on the on field production. Alvin Kamara’s leadership has been exactly what the Saints needed in the locker room. His emergence as the true leader who calls out players, in the correct manner, and isn’t afraid to speak on issue deserves to be highlighted. It feels as if his vocal nature was partially responsible for some of the improved offensive performances. On the field he has the second-most catches despite missing three games. That’s how much Derek Carr has gotten him involved. — Darrion Gray
Tayson Hill. There are a lot of solid players on the Saints, but defining one who has impacted the team immensely is difficult considering where they stand. My team MVP for the season is Taysom Hill. Few players are able to impact the game in the way he does, if any. It feels like whenever we have a game where he is given a chance to do what he does, the Saints win, and when he’s left out, the Saints lose. He is only 6 yards away from his third-highest scrimmage yards total in a season, and we still have seven games left. — Jeremy Trottier
Demario Davis. Demario Davis might be a boring choice, but I think he’s the only choice. He has a huge lead on the team in tackles, second in sacks and a true leader. He’s been one of the best free agent pick ups in franchise history and is a key player on this team both on and off the field. — Dylan Sanders
Demario Davis. I have to agree on Davis — he’s been the most reliable defender throughout the season and he’s a critically-important leader for this team. The Saints are very fortunate that he’s still playing at such a high level so late into his career. We haven’t seen them win without him. — John Sigler
Breakout Player of the Year
Rashid Shaheed. Shaheed has an argument to be the offensive MVP, however, not leading the team in any receiving statistics might make that a hard sell. He might not have the most catches but he’s had some of the most impactful catches of the year. He’s been the guy to close out games with his deep catches. Those moments have led to his breakout year though. He’s become more involved in the offense this season. 10 games into his second year, he’s already topped all of his receiving numbers from a year ago. — Darrion Gray
Carl Granderson. Carl Granderson is my candidate for breakout player of the year. Picking between him and Paulson Adebo is tough, but on a defensive line where pressure is hard to come by, Granderson has been able to make plays constantly in essentially every game this season. While we knew he would eventually step up and show his talent, it hadn’t happened at this level until this season. — Jeremy Trottier
Rashid Shaheed. I’ve got a need, a need for Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed has come into this season and silenced the doubters after his solid undrafted rookie season. He’s one of the most fun players to watch on the team and has become a solid option outside of just gadget plays. — Dylan Sanders
Rashid Shaheed. Shaheed is my pick here, too. He’s already surpassed his rookie numbers in two fewer games. He’s a threat to score every time he touches the ball and he’s someone the Saints badly need to utilize more creatively than they have been. He leads the league in all-purpose yards (1,154) and has made great strides as a returner while developing into a legitimate weapon offensively. — John Sigler
Comeback Player of the Year
Michael Thomas. Thomas has spent the majority of the last 3 seasons away from the game. He’s returned to a completely different role than he had three years ago. He’s played well in the Saints offense and physically looks ready for more targets. — Darrion Gray
Michael Thomas. This award is difficult to find many candidates for, as the Saints really only had a couple of players that were injured to a major extent last season. Michael Thomas is the only one who missed substantial time and has played to a high level this season, so we will go with him. With Rashid Shaheed taking up more of a role in the offense, Thomas has had less statistical production than usual. However, he has been getting double teamed on various occasions, and taking on the No. 1 or 2 cornerback on opposing teams to make the life of the other receivers easier. With 400-plus yards and a touchdown to his name, he has been a quality receiver so far. — Jeremy Trottier
Michael Thomas. Michael Thomas is the obvious choice, even though he is injured once again. I don’t need to explain that choice, but I do also want to shoutout Paulson Adebo as another deserving player. After battling injuries and not playing at 100% of much of last year, struggles came. He’s finally healthy and balling out. — Dylan Sanders
Michael Thomas. I’ve got to go with Thomas, and he’s rightfully a unanimous choice here. He’s had to overcome so much adversity between the injuries, dustups with Sean Payton, and the fanbase turning on him and he’s come out of it an even more outspoken team leader than he was before. And he’s still making plays and getting open against blue-chip cornerbacks. A better quarterback would be getting more out of him. — John Sigler
Most Improved Player
Paulson Adebo. Adebo has come in really strong lately, but his coverage was good before they started leading to turnovers. In addition to that, he has been penalized in coverage less in recent games. His four interceptions and 13 pass deflections both lead the team. Coming into the season, it was unsure if Adebo would even be a starter. — Darrion Gray
Malcolm Roach. Malcolm Roach has been extremely overlooked this season in terms of his level of play. He boasted the best run-stop rate of any player this season (17.9%) prior to the Saints’ game against Minnesota and he has continually been a force to be reckoned with. — Jeremy Trottier
Carl Granderson. Carl Granderson has taken the increase in workload and earned a second paycheck. He’s by far the best pass rusher on the team and it shows on the stat sheets. He leads the team in sacks and has double the QB hits as the next guy (Demario Davis). The Saints desperately needed someone to emerge at defensive end and Granderson certainly has. — Dylan Sanders
Paulson Adebo. I’ll eat some crow here: I was calling for Alontae Taylor to start instead of Adebo all summer, and I’ve been critical of his penalty-prone style of football, and he’s made me eat those words. He’s practiced clean pass coverage in recent weeks while showcasing terrific ball skills. Adebo suddenly looks like someone who should stay in New Orleans for the long haul. — John Sigler
Rookie of the Year
Bryan Bresee. This is obviously Bryan Bresee. Bresee has flashed the talent that made him a first round pick. He’s pushed the pocket and got into the backfield on running plays. His most impressive attribute might be his knack for getting pass deflections. Bresee’s five pass deflections are good for second most as a rookie in Saints history and the most by a non-cornerback in 2023. — Darrion Gray
Bryan Bresee. Only a couple Saints rookies have seen playing time this season, as all of them except Bryan Bresee and Jordan Howden have not started any games for the Saints. While Howden has been very good when he has had chances, he has also not played enough to determine that he is better than Bresee so far. As someone who was extremely excited for the Bresee draft pick, he has lived up to what the Saints needed on the interior defensive line to date. He has drawn an exorbitant amount of double teams considering the weak pressure from the defensive line, and has made plays to show he has value on this team long term. A boost in defensive line talent would do him well, as it would take all the focus off him, Granderson, and Roach. — Jeremy Trottier
Bryan Bresee. No rookie has been exceptional this year, but Bryan Bresee is certainly off to a promising start. He has flashes of talent and seems to be building back to his pre-injury college self, which is what the Saints were banking on when drafting him. He’s ultra-athletic and is looking like he can grow into a premiere interior defender. — Dylan Sanders
Bryan Bresee. Bresee’s impressive play through the first ten weeks is another loss for my preseason takes, but it’s good for the Saints, and that’s a trade I’m comfortable making seven days a week. The biggest question about Bresee coming out of school was his health, and he’s done a great job staying healthy and being available each week. And he’s already demanding double-team blocks and making plays on passing downs. He’s on pace to shatter the team record for pass deflections by a rookie defensive lineman (7; he’s already up to 5). — John Sigler
