The 2023 offseason is rolling, and we grow ever closer to the beginning of training camps for many NFL teams. Each offseason the Saints seem to bring in two or three good to great quality free agents, such as Tyrann Mathieu, Derek Carr, and Jamaal Williams lately.
One such addition last offseason makes our top 25 players list for the 2023 season, ranking at number 18. This player is safety Marcus Maye, who signed with the Saints last offseason from the New York Jets. This series has a few sections to look at when creating an analysis of players, which are:
- Recap of their 2022 season
- Projecting their 2023 success
- What is the biggest question mark for them in 2023?
So, without further ado, let’s start off with some background of Marcus Maye’s career:
Background
Position: Free safety
Age: 30
Experience: 7th season
2023 cap hit: $3,641,059
2022 Recap
Coming off a 2021 season in which Maye dealt with injury, he also lost seven games of his 2022 campaign to a shoulder issue. His effectiveness on the field was somewhat of a mixed bag. In terms of counting stats, he was not exceptionally effective, posting no interceptions, only two pass deflections, no tackles for loss, and 60 total tackles on the year. He also allowed a 66.7% completion rate when targeted (12 of 18 passes completed).
On the other hand, he allowed no touchdowns, and only 98 total yards when targeted (5.4 per target). He also only had one missed tackle among his 60 total, which ends up being only 1.6%. He was also playing much lower than typical, averaging 6.3 yards as an average depth of target, which is by far the lowest of his career since at least 2018 (has always remained at 10-plus yards in the last five seasons). This change in play could explain some of his struggles in counting stats and making plays to break up the ball. While he primarily lined up at free safety (456 of 670 snaps), he also took 97 snaps in the box and 70 as a slot defender, so he did get some versatile usage.
2023 Outlook
In terms of outlook, we should likely expect a strong resurgence from Maye in 2023 barring any injuries. It takes time to get used to a new defensive system after spending five seasons in another, and for Maye he only had 10 games played for New Orleans to really settle in. With another full offseason under his belt, Maye should have the ability to really find his place in the Saints system and make a significant impact.
In terms of potential players who could steal some of his snaps, there are a few options who may be up to that task. Jordan Howden and Smoke Monday both come into their first true seasons with the Saints, Howden as a drafted rookie and Monday as a UDFA last offseason who missed the year with injury. On top of that, Jonathan Abram also was signed this offseason, who could look to take some snaps in the box and play a hard hitting across the middle type role. This leads into our “big question” for Maye:
Big question: Can Maye hold off the other safeties in the room?
The big question for Maye is does he have the ability to hold off the other safeties being added to the room, or will he lose snaps to them this season? While we know Maye likely has the starting free safety spot locked up at this moment, there is also the question of his injuries, which have seemingly been piling up the last few seasons. He could also be suspended once his 2021 DUI case in Florida is concluded.
With fresh legs coming in, specifically Jordan Howden, there may be a good chance at Maye losing snaps either due to injury or just natural positional swaps. Howden has been getting some recognition as a potentially impactful young addition for the Saints, either as a safety or as a slot cornerback. We will see how this pans out, but there are definitely a couple players looking to get reps at DB, will Maye be able to hold them off?
