Early look at the Detroit Lions 2017 Opponents: New Orleans Saints
By Ash Thompson
Offensive Line
Some of you may be familiar with the Saints Right Guard. Larry Warford put in four seasons for the Lions before exploring his free agent options in 2017. His best season to this point was his rookie season. He has since failed to match that pro bowl level of play. The addition of Warford settled the interior of the Saints line a little bit, and youngster Andrus Peat goes into camp knowing where he will play for the first time. He has bounced around the Saints offensive line as the injuries and ineffective play has dictated. This year he will be the Saints left guard, a spot that matches well with his athleticism and power. He is expected to take a step forward. Max Unger is the Saints center. Despite knee surgery in the offseason, Unger is expected to be ready for training camp, and will likely be at full strength before the Lions week seven match up.
Rookie Ryan Ramczyk is likely the Saints long term answer at the right tackle spot. This season he will be starting the year on the left side because Terron Armstead is missing time after surgery. The Lions game sits in the early stage of Armstead’s 4-6 month return time, so it is likely that the Lions will face a rookie on the blind side.
Zach Strief is one of the most consistent offensive linemen in the game. He placed number ten in PFF’s offensive tackle rankings for 2016. Strief was 33 years old but his play has certainly not fallen off. The Saints offensive line should be much improved in 2017. Getting to the quarterback may be a problem in the Lions week six match up.
Running Backs
The Saints loaded up this offseason at the running back spot. They already had Mark Ingram, one of the league’s legitimate three down running backs. Ingram had 1,362 yards from scrimmage in 2016, fourteenth in the NFL. The Saints added Adrian Peterson in free agency and Alvin Kamara in the draft. Peterson was playing poorly for the Vikings last year even before the knee injury that cost him most of the year. That offensive line made success all but impossible though, something that will not be the case in New Orleans this year.
It is unclear which Saints running back will benefit most from the improved line play, but the Saints will be able to move the ball on the ground. Kamara seems likely to contribute most as a receiver out of the backfield in 2017. Stay away from the saints backfield in fantasy, and fear them in the Lions week six matchup.