Throughout the 2022 offseason it became increasingly clear that the New Orleans Saints were headed in a different direction at premium positions than in the past. Since 2017, the Saints had owned a total of 21 top-100 draft selections. Of those, only 10 had been invested in what are defined as “premium” positions. That designation applies to positions that have the greatest opportunity to affect the ball on any given play: quarterback, wide receiver, offensive tackle, edge rusher and cornerback.
Wide receiver was a highlighted focus for the team this offseason, coming off of a 2021 campaign wherein the Saints were ranked last in the NFL in passing yardage and third-lowest across the league when it came to passing attempts. It’s clear there’s a different mentality in New Orleans now, however.
Headlined by the return of All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas, the Saints added a top-100 draft selection from 2014 in Jarvis Landry and invested a hefty amount of assets from this year’s draft in first-round pick Chris Olave. These investments at wide receiver were expected to have a growing impact throughout the 2022 NFL season. But it took until only the fourth quarter of Week 1 to see the potential of the revamped group.
The three receivers combined for 212 receiving yards against the Atlanta Falcons. The Saints’ wide receiving corps never surpassed mark once in 2021. The new trio nearly did so in one quarter alone. To Thomas, it’s just the top of the iceberg for the unit. “I feel like that was just just a little taste,” Thomas told us after the win. “If you ask me and the guys from the receiver group, we’d probably say we didn’t get started until the second half.”
The group’s additions didn’t stop at the players on the field, either. The Saints moved on from long-time wide receiver coach Curtis “CJ” Johnson. To fill the void, they hired Kodi Burns from the college ranks. After spending years helping to develop several drafted receivers with Auburn and Tennessee, Burns has been highly praised within the Saints facility.
Landry, a nine-year NFL pro, told me what he believes makes Burns a unique talent: “Kodi’s definitely been taking me back to the details, to the fundamentals of the position,” the receiver said. “Back to the releases, things to work on as a player. He’s been picking up things in my game that I can improve on.”
That’s high praise from an experienced receiver like Landry. And it’s not exclusive. Thomas and Olave have also spoken highly of him as well. I spoke with practice squad receiver Rashid Shaheed who praised Burns for his relatability and approachability. Burns being only 33 years old and a former player himself has made it easy for receivers to communicate with him and learn from him.
Wideouts have also highlighted Burns’ process. He’s introduced new drills for the group, has put a major focus on balance and ball security and has even taken time to emphasize togetherness among the pass-catchers. Third-year receiver Marquez Callaway shared that Burns asked all of the receivers to share their personal stories with the group.
“We got up and just talked about us,” Callaway said. “Talked about where we came from, basically our life journey. How we got here, all the adversity we went through, just tell your story. So, I think he wanted us to realize that if we know each other rather than coming out on the field [as] just somebody to come to work with, [we’ll] get to know the person instead of the player.”
It’s clear the approach has worked. There are a lot of mouths for the Saints to feed with several talented pass-catchers across the offense. But for New Orleans, approaches like Burns’ which merge the personal with the professional can go a long way. Each wideout is taught the responsibilities across alignment. Whether X-receiver, flanker, slot or otherwise. This allows everyone to understand not only their individual role, but the roles of those around them as well.
With the Saints increased attention and investment in their wide receiver room, games like this weekend’s are impacted as well. With running back Alvin Kamara looking like a long-shot to see the field, a talented receiving corps goes a long way. Not only does it allow you to produce efficiently through the passing game, it also keeps defenses from being able to load up the box with eight or more players. Last week, Kamara saw only one such defensive look, which was the 2-point conversion picked up on a pass from Jameis Winston to Olave.
Being able to challenge defenses at all three levels vertically while continues to stretch them horizontally and force them into smaller nickel packages is a unique challenge to present. One that New Orleans is will appreciate throughout the 2022 season. It hasn’t taken long for all of the investments to pay off. And if Thomas is correct, there’s much more on the way.
