New Orleans Saints

Wide Receivers: Contract breakdown for the New Orleans Saints

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Drew Brees can make a lot of average receivers look better than they are. Who Dat Dish looks at the contracts of the Saints’ receiving corps and sees who brings the value.

Sep 26, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) carries the ball against the Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints’ wide receiver group currently consists of five players. None are what could be considered household names. Part of that is due to Sean Payton and Drew Brees favoring spreading the ball around. There’s rarely one “go to” guy.

One thing about the Saints crew that stands out is that only two of the players are draft picks. The remaining three were undrafted rookies coming out of college.

It’s not hard to calculate the receiver that brings the Saints the most bang for their buck and we’ll start with him and go from there.

Oct 2, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Willie Snead (83) catches a pass before the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

An undrafted rookie free agent out of Ball State, Willie Snead IV was signed by the Saints following the 2015 NFL Draft. In that time he’s become, easily, Drew Brees’ favorite target.

In his rookie season Snead caught 69 passes for 984 yards and 3 TDs. To date in 2016, he has 15 catches for 249 yards and 2 TDs but has been limited due to a toe injury.

Those numbers would be solid for a highly paid first round pick. The highly paid part will likely come in 2017 when Snead will become a free agent.

His current contract is for 2 years and a measly $960,000. He’s looking at a very generous increase for next year.

Oct 2, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) celebrates after a touchdown during the second half of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. New Orleans won 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints’ 2nd round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Ohio State’s Michael Thomas is quickly making an impression. He got rave reviews from quarterback Drew Brees in training camp and is starting to show up in games at opportune times.

In his rookie season so far Thomas has 21 receptions for 229 yards and 2 TDs.

He’s locked up with the Black and Gold through 2019 on a 4-year $5,118,971 contract and only looks to get better as he develops.

Were it not for his fellow former Buckeye Ezekiel Elliott he’d be in discussions about NFL Rookie of the Year.

Oct 2, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) is hit by San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett (22) near the sideline during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Brandin Cooks only ranks third on this list because of how expensive he is. Since coming into the league out of Oregon State in the 2014 NFL Draft, where the Saints selected him in the first round he’s beginning to become a marquee name.

Following a rather pedestrian rookie season, the third year pro broke out in 2015. He finished that season with 84 receptions for 1,138 yards and 9 TDs.

While still a valid deep threat, Cooks has been limited to a degree in 2016, as teams focus coverage on him, and Brees has seemed to have less time in the pocket than is required for those deep routes to develop.

To date, he has 18 receptions for 255 yards and 2 TDs. His contract runs through next season and pays out a total of $8,383,452. The Black and Gold will need to work on locking him down long-term sometime next year.

Sep 26, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandon Coleman (16) is tackled by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Robert Alford (23) after a catch in the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Coleman was signed by the Saints as and undrafted rookie free agent out of Rutgers in 2015. The 6-foot-6 inch receiver was seen as a potential Marques Colston replacement, but to date hasn’t lived up to that projection.

Not horrible but not stellar, Coleman has been on the bubble for most of his two year Saints career. In 2015 he had 30 catches for 454 yards and 2 TDs. In 2016 he has 11 receptions for 110 yards.

Sometimes developing cases of the “dropsies” it will be interesting to see if Coleman is on the roster in 2017.

He’s currently on a 3-year $1.53 million contract with $510,000 guaranteed.

Sep 18, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis (87) receives a punt during the first quarter against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

His diminutive stature, 5-foot-7 inch and 168 lbs., has earned rookie Tommylee Lewis the nickname “Tommylee the Flea” but his play on the field has begun to pay large dividends though mostly in the return game.

The undrafted rookie free agent pick up by the Saints following the 2016 NFL Draft out of Northern Illinois, Lewis quickly became a fan and team favorite with his performance in training camp and preseason.

He’s only recently started to earn time on the field and is being used a little more liberally in the return game. But his speed and dogged determination make him a player to watch.

His current contract is for three years and pays out $1.62 million with $540,000 guaranteed. With all of Who Dat Nation rooting for him to be successful and already earning the second nickname “Beer Man 2” based on his resemblance in stature to former Saint receiver/return man Michael Lewis, it’s going to be hard not to keep this kid on the team.