Not going to lie, this is a bit of a shock. Despite boasting young speedsters like Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, the New Orleans Saints fielded one of the slower wide receiver corps in the NFL in 2022. While Olave and Shaheed have comfortably timed in the 4.3-to-4.4-second range in the 40-yard dash, as a group New Orleans was weighted down by players like Jarvis Landry (4.77), Marquez Callaway (4.55), Tre’Quan Smith (4.49), Michael Thomas (4.57), and Keith Kirkwood (4.50), with dynamic athletes like Kevin White, Deonte Harty, and Kirk Merritt only running a handful of routes over the course of the season.
So it’s clear the Saints need to get faster. Per research from Arjun Menon of Pro Football Focus, New Orleans ranked right around the middle of the pack with the 14th-slowest wide receiver room, based on average 40-yard dash time weighted by routes run. Teams’ leaders in routes run factored heavier than backups and reserves, and the Saints’ top route-runners included Olave (431 routes), Landry (207), Callaway and Shaheed (188 each), and Smith (178).
