Could the New Orleans Saints still be on the hunt for a free agent tight end? Terrible news of a cancer diagnosis for Foster Moreau during a routine physical with the Saints medical staff has prompted the 25-year-old to step away from football, and it’s unclear whether the team’s interest in him was opportunistic — in getting a good player at at reasonable price — or part of their offseason plan to upgrade at tight end.
Look at the players under contract. Juwan Johnson is an ascending talent, having broken out last season as a pass-catcher while continuing to improve as a blocker. But Adam Trautman has not developed as hoped after the Saints traded up for him in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. Backups like Lucas Krull and Miller Forristall are likely just training camp bodies. Taysom Hill might be listed at tight end but he played more snaps at quarterback and receiver than in that alignment, and he shouldn’t be slotted into the depth chart there.
Clearly this is a spot New Orleans can improve. If they still want to sign a free agent after Moreau was taken off the board, Irv Smith Jr. might be their best option. The former Minnesota Vikings second-round pick prided himself on his two-way ability as a blocker and receiver coming out of Alabama (and before that, Brother Martin High School in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood), much like his father, who played tight end for the Saints from 1993 to 1997 as a first-round draft pick from Notre Dame. There’s a legacy he could live up to here.
But that skill as a pass-catcher and run-blocker is exactly what the Saints could use to complement Johnson as a receiving threat. Trautman doesn’t offer much in that phase of the game, so Smith could be an upgrade if he can continue to block well. He opened some wide lanes for Dalvin Cook the last few years, and it’s easy to see him making headway for running backs Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams.
But Smith needs to make more of an impact in the passing game. He has an unearned reputation for poor hands, having dropped just 5 passes on 126 career targets and catching 75.4% of the balls thrown his way at an average depth of target of 6.9 yards. He’s also caught 10 of his 20 contested targets. Maybe he can take a step forward with a better quarterback than Kirk Cousins throwing to him. Derek Carr has a history of maximizing receiving production from his tight ends.
Injuries have also been a concern for him. Smith played just 8 games in 2022 due to a midseason ankle injury. He lost the entire 2021 season to a torn meniscus. Groin and back issues limited him to 13 appearances in 2020’s first 17-game season. It would be worth signing him at the right price, and having Trautman in the fold as a backup with some experience is nice, but expecting him to endure a full workload as the No. 2 tight end behind Johnson might be tall ask. Additionally, signing Smith would likely jeopardize one of the 2024 compensatory draft picks the Saints are projected to get for losing so many free agents this spring.
So that’s why a lot of attention is going towards the 2023 NFL draft class. It’s said to be the strongest group of tight end prospects coming out of the college game in years, and the Saints are well-positioned to find a good one with picks at Nos. 29 (in the first round), 40 (in the second round), and 71 (in the third round). But, again, it’s worth asking how big of a priority an upgrade at tight end would be to them. The Saints might have bigger fish to fry before looking for an excuse to cut bait with Trautman.
