Saints Need to Take Care of Business in Their Own Backyard

Offensive Guard

Jun 10, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints guard Tim Lelito (68) during minicamp at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

There are four on the list for this position, and offensive guard is a position that the Saints will probably address in the draft as well as free agency.

Tim Lelito, Senio Kelemete, Mike McGlynn, and Ryan Seymour all are headed to free agency; with only two that will likely be back with the team.

Cyril Lemon signed a reserve/future contract a few weeks back, and I’d suspect that Lelito and McGlynn will join him to add some depth for the offseason.

Notice I used the word “depth” and not “starter” — because the Saints have yet to find that true “anchor” after Lelito was bounced around during the season and McGlynn was mainly a backup.

Truthfully the whole offensive line was banged up in 2015, and the ‘Monte Carlo shell game’ of shuffling everyone around by head coach Sean Payton, looked genius one week and total remediation the next.

While there are some targets the Saints could go after in the NFL Draft, it may be too late to pick a true Day 1 starter since they could use their first few selections on defense.

Nov 29, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is sacked by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) during the second half of a game at NRG Stadium. The Texans defeated the Saints 24-6. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Of course after seeing the way the offensive line was mangled this past year, I don’t know if anyone would truly complain if  a first round pick was used to guarantee quarterback Drew Brees stayed upright.

Big Easy Believer Editor Barry Hirstius named Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster as a possible target in free agency and after playing out his contract of 3-year, $5.5 million, the Saints could very well afford his services.

While Lelito was gambled on to be a starter with not so great results, he can definitely provide depth in a scheme he is familiar with and should be an option the Saints look at with McGlynn following.

Next: No More Drinking the Kool-Aid