If Kellen Moore needs to take a breath, it’ll have to wait.
In February alone, the New Orleans Saints’ newest coach won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, took a new job and moved to New Orleans, returned to Philadelphia for a parade, and filled out the majority of his staff — including recent hires offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
Next up: The NFL Scouting Combine.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest questions facing the Saints entering the event.
Will a trade market emerge for Derek Carr?
If the Saints want to move on from Derek Carr this offseason, the most palatable option would be to trade the quarterback since that would provide the largest salary cap relief ($11 million).
At last year’s combine, other teams reportedly left the event with the impression that the Saints would be open to dealing Marshon Lattimore. A trade ultimately didn’t happen that offseason, but New Orleans then shipped the cornerback in November to the Commanders
How will the Saints’ new staff impact scouting?
This was a topic last year when the Saints changed offensive schemes upon hiring Klint Kubiak, but it becomes even more relevant this time around with new play-callers Moore and Staley.
Staley’s arrival is arguably the most interesting, because the coordinator might cause the Saints to finally change their long-standing philosophy of searching for big-bodied, freakish athletes along the defensive line. Will Staley be open to smaller, speedier pass rushers in a way that former coach Dennis Allen was not? And if so, how does that alter, if at all, how the Saints conduct their combine interviews?
The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call last week that this defensive tackle class is as deep as he could remember, adding later there was also “no shortage” of edge rushers. Names to watch include Michigan’s Mason Graham, Georgia’s Jalon Walker and Marshall’s Mike Green.
Will the quarterbacks build buzz?
Last year’s quarterback class was a special group — and that might dampen the excitement for this year’s crop.
Draft analysts have spoken highly of Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders — the consensus top two signal-callers for this draft — but have also said they’d likely rate behind the 2024 class that included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Bo Nix and Michael Penix. Jeremiah said he’d have Ward graded between Nix and Penix and Sanders behind Penix.
