Green Bay Packers: Saints are Lacking Depth at WR

A few days ago, I wrote about how the New Orleans Saints were quite thin at the cornerback position and how that could potentially lead to a big day for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers’ passing game.

Well, there is another position that is lacking depth for this Saints team, and it’s on the other side of the ball at wide receiver.

Emmanuel Sanders left and went to Buffalo during the offseason, while star receiver Michael Thomas was placed on the PUP list after offseason ankle surgery that will keep him out at least the first six weeks. On top of that, New Orleans also ruled out Tre’Quan Smith on Friday with a hamstring injury.

This leaves the Saints with second-year receiver Marquez Callaway, who did impress during the preseason, as well as Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Deonte Harris, another high-upside player. However, it’s worth noting that none of these players have more than 31 career NFL targets.

Chris Hogan is an experienced player, but he hasn’t had the same success over the last two seasons since he left New England, and old friend Ty Montgomery isn’t someone who can take a game over at the receiver position. On the practice squad are Kevin White, Easop Winston Jr, and Kawaan Baker if the Saints choose to call any of them up.

Combined, all of the receivers mentioned who are not named Hogan (2,795 yards) and Montgomery (1,009 yards) have 754 career receiving yards in the NFL.

Now, if there’s a coach out there that can draw up an effective game plan with this wide receiver room, Sean Peyton is one of them. Quarterback Jameis Winston will also be behind a stout offensive line, but it is fair to wonder how consistently this group of receivers can get open.

If the receivers aren’t able to create space with any regularity, it will complicate things for Winston, create more difficult throws, allow the Green Bay pass rush to get home, and ultimately it could lead to more turnover opportunities.

The Green Bay Packers defense will be faced with the difficult challenge of slowing Alvin Kamara.

It goes without saying, but Alvin Kamara is always going to be a big part of any game for this Saints team. However, that seems to ring especially true this week, given the receiver situation.

Last year against the Green Bay Packers, Kamara was targeted 14 times, totaling 139 receiving yards, and I’d expect similar efforts from Peyton to get the ball in his hands this Sunday—trying to make things easier for Winston by getting the ball into the hands of their playmaking running back quickly.

As I’ve said on a few occasions this week, tackling and getting all 11 players swarming to Kamara is going to be crucial to the Packers’ success on defense. Because Kamara is Kamara, odds are that regardless of how well Green Bay plays, he is going to go for a big play or two. But if the Packers can contain him, I’m not sure how New Orleans will be able to consistently move the ball with this group of receivers.

There is still plenty of unknown with this new Joe Barry defense, and we may see some communication issues or miscues early on this season as everyone gets accustomed to the new system. This, of course, could lead to some big plays for the opposing offense.

But with Jaire Alexander locking down his side of the field and one of the better safety duos in football, this Green Bay Packers secondary can certainly make things difficult for Peyton and Winston as the Saints go into Sunday’s game with a receiver room lacking some serious depth and overall experience.