EJW reacts to Nick and Mike discussing Tyler Shough's impact on the Saints draft.
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- Ellias J Williams
- Feb 7
Finally, someone not on the "draft a receiver or running back" train.
I don't know, I'm an 80's kid so I remember the movie Rudy. It basically told the story of a kid who worked his asthma off for years to get in on one play for Notre Dame at the end of the season.
Cool story, but here's the zit in that logic that I can't help but pop.
We all come into this life with a special skill in one area, and in other area's we are typically lacking. It is infinitely far more productive to put your focus into honing your talent, than trying to balance out your skillset by working hard on something that you're not good at.
You'll never be as good at your worse skill than you would be at your gift if you put the same amount of effort!
Get it?
The strength of this Saints team was the secondary. Stacking a strength is always good business and Mansoor Delane would max out that unit. Kool-Aid was cool, but he allowed a passer rating of 101.1 when targeted. He's profiling as a solid #2 while the receiving talent in this division screams for a shutdown corner.
And so does Staley's scheme.
The things Staley can do with the coverages when he's got a Jalen Ramsey level talent are absurd and would free up McKinstry to play with more safety help, maximizing his ball skills in the process.
The Saints offense won't magically fix its slow starts because they add a rookie running back or receiver, but they can easily lean into a strength by building a defense that can keep games close until they figure out the formula.
- Ellias J Williams
- Feb 6
Updated: Feb 7
There was a time when the Wes Welker's and Julian Edelman's of the NFL ruled the slot. The league was filled with 400-500 yard passers weekly and the 4000-5000 yard season
That time has passed.
10 out of 32 NFL teams had a Tight-end lead the team in slot snaps, while the other 22 were lead by a wide receiver.
Dig deeper and you'll find that of those 22 only 11 were smaller than 6'1 210 or didn't meet the full bench mark. I broke them down into criteria undersized, Hybrid, and Big slot WR
Undersized
Malik Washington 5'8 194
Khalil Shakir 6'0 190
Matthew Golden 6'0 195
Christian Kirk 5'11 200
Josh Downs - 5'9 171
Ladd McConkey 6'0 185
Jalen Nailor - 6'0 190
Stefon Diggs - 6'0 191
Wandale Robinson - 5'8 185
Isaiah Williams 5'10 180
Devonta Smith 6'0 170
Hybrid
DJ Moore 5'11 210
Troy Franklin 6'3 187
Amon Ra St Brown 6'1 202
Parker Washington 5'10 212
Puka Nacua 6'2 205
Cooper Kupp 6'2 208
Chimere Dike 6'1 195
Deebo Samuel 6'0 215
Big Slots
Jalen Coker 6'3 212
Andrei Iosivas 6'3 212
Jauan Jennings 6'3 212
Only 34% of the league uses undersized receivers primarily out of the slot.
Within context this makes sense as the league is moving towards run centric offenses, and having a bigger body type not only aids in mismatches vs smaller DB's but it obviously helps in the blocking department to spring the run game.
To counter this a few defenses like Baltimore, Seattle, and Philadelphia have adjusted by putting a safety, or safety sized player in the slot but most haven't and are still playing traditional corners in the slot.
Nick Emanworri at 6'3 220 has been a revelation in Seattle, same for the 6'4 220 Kyle Hamilton 6'4 220, and the impact Cooper Dejean has had at 6'0 205 has been undeniable.
It's nothing new under the sun, fans around these parts in 2013 should also remember Kenny Vaccaro.
The Saints have used Alontae Taylor here since 2024, and while impactful in his role, he wants to be paid like a corner and arguably plays like one. However, those hybrid LB,S,DB defenders can be found using cheaper resources and the Saints have an opportunity to get ahead of the curve with Taylor testing free agency.
Watch Seattle Seahawks Leslie Frazier discuss how the hybrid safety has become more prevalent over the years.
SAINTS SPILL
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