ESPN has optimistic forecast for Saints in future NFL power rankings

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Are the New Orleans Saints going to circle the drain now that Drew Brees isn’t under center? Not according to the panel of analysts who assembled ESPN’s future NFL power rankings, taking stock of every team’s fortunes over the next three years.

Field Yates, Louis Riddick, Jeremy Fowler, and Seth Walder each shared their takes on various issues facing each team, and while they have some questions about what comes next for New Orleans (specifically at quarterback) they saw enough to like on the coaching staff, in the front office, and on the roster to maintain high expectations for the Saints.

Fowler in particular shared a bird’s-eye of what’s ahead, writing:

“The Saints will come out of a salary-cap haze eventually. Things will be tight for another two years or so, but New Orleans is scheduled to have $77.9 million in space in 2023 as current contracts stand. New Orleans will pay a few players before then — a new quarterback, corner Marshon Lattimore and a potential third deal for offensive tackle Terron Armstead are options — but there is breathing room available for the perpetual spender.”

In other words, ESPN’s experts believe there’s enough infrastructure in place to help the Saints remain competitive for years to come. The Saints clocked in at No. 12 out of the NFL’s 32 teams, ranking fifth in the NFC behind the Seattle Seahawks (No. 10), Los Angeles Rams (No. 7), San Francisco 49ers (No. 6), and the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 2).

New Orleans and Tampa’s NFC South rivals, the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, are both afterthoughts buried deep in the bottom third of the league. Unless either of those bottom-feeders turn things around in a hurry, they’ll continue to be brief hurdles in the way of better teams’ playoff bids. For now, it sure looks like the NFC South will continue to be a two-horse race.

But a lot can change in three years. We’ll be sure to circle back and see how these predictions panned out by 2023.

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