New Orleans Saints

Saints Who Could And Should Take A Step Forward In 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:01 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ty Anania/FanSided via Who Dat Dish

The New Orleans Saints were a young team in 2017. A number of rookies contributed in major roles, and across the roster, youth held the team together.

But if the New Orleans Saints want to compete for the playoffs and, dare I say, a championship, they’ll need a number of their young players to step up. Obviously, not every player is going to live up to their potential. But fortunately for the Saints, they have more than a few players slated for big years in 2017.

Hopefully there will be some development in the backend of the roster. In particular, I’d like to see growth from the crop of UDFAs the Saints brought in last offseason. If Ken Crawley can become the player that Sean Payton see in him, the Saints will have one more promising contributor in the secondary. And if Landon Turner and Jack Allen can emerge as potential competitors at guard, thats one more need the Saints may be able to do away with.

But there’s no banking on an UDFA developing. Every young player on an NFL roster has potential. But those who seem most poised to meet that potential get drafted. If any of these guys emerge as contributors next season, I wouldn’t call it a miracle, but it will be a surprise.

So let’s take a look at those players that do look poised to step forward as players and add talent and depth to this roster. Obviously a number of drafted rookies are on this list, but there’s more youth on this team than just the rooks.

P.J. Williams

P.J. Williams was slated for a big year in 2016. He was the projected starter across from Delvin Breaux, and besides a few mental errors in coverage during the preseason he very much looked the part of an NFL starter.

Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, Williams’s season was cut short by injury. He took a nasty blow to the head in Week 2 that landed him in IR with a concussion. Sean Payton described it as “one of the more severe concussions that [he’s] seen.” This after Williams missed his first year with a hamstring tear.

Unfortunately for Williams, with two years missed due to injury, 2017 will be something of a sink-or-swim season for the third-year player. Fortunately, there’s every reason to believe that Williams will swim.

According to Dennis Allen, since returning from his concussion Williams has been a big part of the gameplanning process each week during the season. He has been watching tape and giving reports to players. And he says he’s ready to go for 2017.

Williams has all the physical tools to be a dominant corner in this league. He fell to to third round in the 2014 draft because of character concerns, but based on Allen’s and others’ reports those character concerns seem meaningless. Williams has the mental makeup and commitment of a starter. He just needs to put a full season together.

It wouldn’t make sense for the Saints to bank on Williams’s return to form, so expect them to make some depth signings at CB. But they’re certainly hoping to see Williams on the field in 2017.

Jun 14, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (99) during the first day of minicamp sessions at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Sheldon Rankins

Talking about mental makeup, Saints players and coaches all along the roster have gushed over rookie Sheldon Rankins. He seems to have the perfect mentality to the NFL.

Cam Jordan said that he’s the best rookie he’s seen, since Cam himself. Dannell Ellerbe said that he’s ahead of his time. Sean Payton says that he’s done “exceptionally well” as a rookie, and Payton is typically very measured with his praise. There’s every reason to believe that Rankins will emerge as a top DT in this league. Maybe on par with guys like Aaron Donald. Maybe.

But Rankins had a relatively pedestrian rookie season, considering how highly the team spoke of him. Yes, he suffered a broken fibula that forced him into an early-return IR position. And even when he returned, there’s no doubt that he was still recovering from the injury.

But still, he seemed to disappear at times during games. He flashed in run support, and occasionally as a rusher, but he never put it together. He was never a truly disruptive force. His sacks were often the product of solid down-field coverage, or of penetration from others along the DL forcing quarterbacks into Rankins’ area.

But by all accounts, Rankins should take a huge step forward in 2017. He obviously has the mental makeup. But in all the talk of his maturity and focus, it’s easy to forget that he’s also a physical specimen. He’s a rare blend of power and quickness, a bit undersized but more than able to compensate for that with technique and flexibility.

If Rankins can become the player he has the potential to be, than more so than anyone on this list he can help this team emerge as a powerhouse.

Vonn Bell

I’m not as high on Vonn Bell’s rookie season as others around the Saints camp are. I think he’s a great prospect, who can be a strong player in the league. But he hurt the Saints more than he helped in 2016.

Yes, Bell was around the ball often. And for a safety, that’s a welcome trait. He generally played well in run support, and again, by all accounts, has the right mental makeup. But for all the things that Vonn Bell does well, he does a lot wrong.

Bell was a liability in coverage. There’s no way around it. He doesn’t have elite speed, so for him to cover well he needs to read and react well. And in his rookie season, he failed to do that. More than a few times a more experienced player would turn to Bell after a play to berate him for or correct a mistake he’d made in coverage. And as a safety, you can’t be making mental mistakes game after game.

But in Bell’s defense, he’s a rookie. And more so than on the D-Line, or at WR, a rookie safety will have a steep learning curve. So I’m not doubting Bell’s potential or the Saints decision to trade up into the second round to grab him. I have full confidence that Bell can find space for those exceptional instincts that he displayed in college, and put it together at the next level.

More than any player on this list, I believe Bell should take a step forward next year. If only because he has so far forward still to go. But as the game slows down and he becomes more familiar with his role, he might really shine.

Stephone Anthony

Most Saints fans are ready to write Anthony off as a bust. And at this point, even if he turns it around, it’ll be hard for him to escape that label.

For all of Anthony’s physical tools, he really struggles with the mental aspect of the sport. And as a MLB, that is a compromising flaw.

To mitigate his poor instincts, the Saints have tried to move Anthony over to SLB. As Dennis Allen said, he’s a player that can “run and hit.” And the team’s focus will be putting him in a position to do just that.

But if Anthony is going to really take that step forward and become a contributor on this team, he’ll need to do more than just run and hit. He’ll need to start to process the game better. And naturally, that sort of thing comes with time. But since Anthony has been such a liability, he’s not getting the time of the field to really learn from his mistakes.

Hopefully, whoever the Saints bring in as a LB coach can help develop Anthony’s football IQ. And he’ll get plenty of opportunity in the preseason to show that he can grow. But this will truly be a make-or-break season for the soon to be third-year vet. If Anthony can’t see the field, his time in Black and Gold will be over all too soon.

Hau’oli Kikaha

If I’d been writing this article last year, Hau’oli Kikaha would be at the top of the list. Without a doubt.

Kikaha had a very solid rookie year. He typically played LB, but was essentially a defensive lineman, rushing the passer and setting the edge against the run. He’s not an explosive athlete, by any measure. He particulalry struggles to move laterally. But he plays with great technique, leverage, and power. He has a very high football IQ, and has one of the most consistent motors out of any player I’ve seen.

An ankle injury derailed his season, yet he finished with four sacks, four forced fumbles, and 56 tackles despite the injury.

Unfortunately, Kikaha tore his knee in this past offseason. He’d torn the same knee twice in college, so there’s reason for concern with his durability.

But Sean Payton went on record to say that Kikaha was doing “outstanding” in his recovery. The Saints were badly missing his pass rushing ability from the edge. No doubt they’ll look to add some more talent at his position. But you can be sure that the team will do what they can to keep Kikaha on the field in 2017. Especially if his recovery is going as well as reported.

David Onyemata

It’s hard to believe, after watching Onyemata’s 2016 tape, that the Canadian DT had only ever played 12-man football. And only ever lined up a yard off the ball. But that’s how they play the sport in Canada, and Onyemata had only ever played there.

More from Who Dat Dish

So there was some learning curve to be expected. And for sure, there was a degree of learning that had to take place. But Onyemata blew everyone away with how quickly he was able to pick up the sport.

His physical measurements are off the charts. Onyemata was drafted as a project player who totally lacked technique and familiarity with the sport based solely on those measurements. He’s strong as an ox, as Cam Jordan said, and moves exceptionally well for a player his size.

When Sheldon Rankins went down with the fibula injury, Onyemata was thrust into a more prominent role than expected. But he played admirably well for someone so raw to the game.

He was pretty consistently a disruptive force in the backfield, who’s power and speed were hard to block even if his technique was negligible. If Onyemata had made a few more tackles when he had the quarterback in his hands, he would have walked away with an impressive stat line on the year. Unfortunately, the rookie missed more sacks than he made.

But there’s every reason to believe that he’ll take a big step forward in 2017. If he continues to grow at the rate that he has, he’ll be a force in the coming years. The Saints are suddenly looking very deep at DT.

Aug 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Javorius Allen (37) carries the ball as New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison (95) defends during the second quarter in a preseason NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

Tyeler Davison

In Davison’s second year, he looked poised to take a huge step forward.

All throughout training camp and the preseason, Davison looked like a disruptive force that no one saw coming. He was explosive off the line of scrimmage, a terror in run defense, and got into the backfield consistently. Like Onyemata, he has a rare combination of explosive speed and power.

Unfortunately, Davison suffered a shoulder injury in the early weeks that really limited what he was able to do throughout the season. He didn’t miss many snaps for the injury, but looked noticeably less disruptive. Still, he was able to anchor the defense in run support and contributed heavily to their improved rush defense.

His injury wasn’t disclosed until after the season. He needed surgery. But assuming he doesn’t aggravate the injury, he’s slated to be a big player in 2017.

Wil Lutz

Wil Lutz had a very impressive rookie season as an UDFA.

After watching Kai Forbath and Connor Barth compete for the kicker spot all through the offseason, the Saints elected to go with UDFA Wil Lutz just before the season began.

Lutz had spent the offseason trying to crack the Ravens roster. But he wasn’t going to beat out arguably the best kicker in the league, Justin Tucker.

Lutz had a tryout with the Saints, which Sean Payton called “the best kicking workout” that he’d ever seen.

Wil Lutz proceeded to put together a very solid rookie season, which was marred only by a series of low kicks that were blocked. Some of those blocked kicks still made it through. Others were returned for touchdowns, and cost the Saints games.

But as the season progressed, and after the Saints brought in kicking specialist Kevin O’Dea, Lutz seemed to overcome those trajectory issues. And if that’s the case, then the Saints will have finally found their kicker.

Lutz showed clutch nerves, an accurate leg, and an impressive distance on his kicks. Sean Payton has been looking for a solid kicker for his whole career with New Orleans. And he may finally have found his guy in Lutz.

It’ll be nice if the Saints can finally rely on their kicking game.