A fairly low-profile free agent signing came early in free agency when the Saints added Emmanuel Sanders. Not a big-money deal, but Sanders is a capable player who fills a need in New Orleans. Michael Thomas has been a target monster for the team, but maybe part of that is the lack of a quality No. 2.
They have a capable tight end in Jared Cook. But they had about weakest wide receiver situation behind Thomas a year ago. Ted Ginn didn’t bring much to the table, and it doesn't look like TreQuan Smith is going to be a significant player.
Last year, only six teams had a lower producing No. 2 wideout than New Orleans did.
| NO. 2 WIDE RECEIVERS, 2019 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 67 | 1157 | 17.3 | 8 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 90 | 1134 | 12.6 | 2 |
| Michael Gallup, Dall. | 66 | 1107 | 16.8 | 6 |
| Odell Beckham, Clev. | 74 | 1035 | 14.0 | 4 |
| Mike Williams, LAC | 49 | 1001 | 20.4 | 2 |
| DK Metcalf, Sea. | 58 | 900 | 15.5 | 7 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, tot. | 66 | 869 | 13.2 | 5 |
| Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 63 | 866 | 13.7 | 7 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 52 | 779 | 15.0 | 5 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 62 | 779 | 12.6 | 9 |
| Cole Beasley, Buff. | 67 | 778 | 11.6 | 6 |
| Chris Conley, Jac. | 47 | 775 | 16.5 | 5 |
| Christian Kirk, Ariz. | 68 | 709 | 10.4 | 3 |
| Diontae Johnson, Pitt. | 59 | 680 | 11.5 | 5 |
| Golden Tate, NYG | 49 | 676 | 13.8 | 6 |
| Sammy Watkins, K.C. | 52 | 673 | 12.9 | 3 |
| Will Fuller, Hou. | 49 | 670 | 13.7 | 3 |
| Anthony Miller, Chi. | 52 | 656 | 12.6 | 2 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 54 | 627 | 11.6 | 6 |
| Hunter Renfrow, Oak. | 49 | 605 | 12.3 | 4 |
| Corey Davis, Ten. | 43 | 601 | 14.0 | 2 |
| Auden Tate, Cin. | 40 | 575 | 14.4 | 1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, S.F. | 36 | 502 | 13.9 | 3 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 45 | 501 | 11.1 | 5 |
| Allen Lazard, G.B. | 35 | 477 | 13.6 | 3 |
| Preston Williams, Mia. | 32 | 428 | 13.4 | 3 |
| Ted Ginn, N.O. | 30 | 421 | 14.0 | 2 |
| Adam Thielen, Min. | 30 | 418 | 13.9 | 6 |
| Phillip Dorsett, N.E. | 29 | 397 | 13.7 | 5 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 30 | 367 | 12.2 | 2 |
| Kelvin Harmon, Was. | 30 | 365 | 12.2 | 0 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 39 | 363 | 9.3 | 3 |
| Willie Snead, Balt. | 31 | 339 | 10.9 | 5 |
Table lists the No. 2 performing wideout for each team last year, with the Saints representative, Ginn, down near the bottom (sorted by yards). Sanders actually shows up on the list twice, having spent half the season with Denver and half with San Francisco. His total numbers, presented in bold, would slot him up in the top 10.
Nice signing, I think, for both the Saints and Sanders himself. Maybe a question that will be asked is, Does this hurt Thomas? Not unreasonable to think he'll see fewer targets. But that was a possibility anyway. Definitely still the No. 1 wideout (and by a large margin).
--Andy Richardson