The New Orleans Saints’ passing attack has been heavily concentrated on three weapons: Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. That trio has been the recipients of 29 of Derek Carr’s 44 completions this year. That’s 65.9% of his completions. They also make up 81.9% of Carr’s yards.
They’ve been essentially the entire passing offense. Foster Moreau is the next most productive receiving threat, and he only has five catches. Juwan Johnson has been less existent in the offense than projected.
Carr explains why this has been the case. Carr kept the explanation simple. The Saints haven’t passed the ball much. They are a run-first team.
The Saints were up big, early in Weeks 1 and 2. That leads to, “some guys maybe don’t get as many attempts as they normally would have.”
“We really haven’t thrown the ball a lot, just in attempts,” Carr said. Thee Saints quarterback ranks 28th in the NFL in attempts. Names like Tua Tagoviloa and Bryce Young are less than 10 attempts behind Carr despite playing one less game. Green Bay’s two starters this season combine for more than Carr.
“When there’s not as many attempts, targets for guys who aren’t first or second in the read go down,” Carr stated. Getting the ball out quickly has also been a point of emphasis given the state of his offensive line, so naturally players at the top of the read are going to get the ball more often.
He maintains it’s important to get others involved because it keeps the defense on their toes. They have to respect other players. Carr wants to make sure he’s walking the fine line of dispersing the ball and getting the top players the ball. Hopefully that strategy continues to do well against the Falcons this Sunday.
