Where do the New Orleans Saints rank among their peers after two weeks of free agency signings and departures? To find out, we took a look at the initial NFL Unit Grades for the 2023 season from ESPN’s Mike Clay, which grade each position group and weights them based on importance and quality on a scale from 0.1 to 4.0.
The biggest vulnerability for the Saints is clear: the defensive interior, graded a 0.4, fourth-worst around the league. They also have vulnerabilities to address at wide receiver (1.8) and tight end (1.8). And Clay isn’t sold on their status at quarterback (1.9), offensive line (1.9), and defensive end (1.9).
And the strength of the Saints’ roster is built on their depth at safety (3.9) and linebacker (3.5), as well as running back (3.3), where Jamaal Williams forms a nice tandem with Alvin Kamara. That’s helped the Saints assemble the 9th-ranked defense, but their 20th-ranked offense holds them back a bit with an overall score ranking 14th around the league. Hopefully a strong draft class propels them further.
Here is the complete first run of 2023 NFL Unit Grades!
Each of the 10 units are ranked 1-32 based on current rosters (assuming Rodgers on NYJ for now) and weighted based on positional importance pic.twitter.com/tphWfvU1x7
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) March 24, 2023
