The New Orleans Saints were hit hard by the injury bug last season along with a handful of other teams. Coming into a new season, New Orleans fans are hoping that some of these guys can return and take them back into the postseason. Which of them is expected to make the largest impact to the organization with their return to the field though?
Marcus Maye
While the obvious answer is going to be Michael Thomas, we can save him for last. For now, we have to mention Marcus Maye. Maye was signed to the Saints during the offseason after they lost Marcus Williams to the Baltimore Ravens. Maye tore his Achilles in the 2021 season which saw his year end. Since then, he’s yet to participate in organized team activities and minicamp which could put him back quite a bit.
Plus, he’s been hit with a DUI arrest that might see him miss more time. However, when healthy, he could be a top safety in the league. He allowed a catch on just 47.8 percent of his targets since entering the league in 2017. That leads all defensive backs in that span and is slightly better than Marcus Williams, the player they just lost. Their new head coach, Dennis Allen, could also maximize Maye in the secondary with his interesting defensive schemes. If available, he’s going to be a major impact.
Wil Lutz
The next is Wil Lutz. In my opinion, he could have brought the Saints to the postseason last year if he was healthy. Having a kicker that is this consistent can take you a long way, especially when it comes to close games. Lutz missed the entire 2021 season and has since been cleared to return to the field. Without Lutz last year, New Orleans cycled through four kickers. The first was Aldrick Rosas who went just one for four before getting released.
The second was Brian Johnson but he got released also after hitting just five of his eight extra point attempts. Then Cody Parkey got a shot at it but got injured in pre-game warmups in his only appearance. Finally, Brett Maher took the reins and wasn’t terrible down the stretch of the season. Assuming Lutz can keep his confidence at an all-time high, he’s going to be a huge difference maker.
Michael Thomas
Then comes Michael Thomas. The last time that Thomas was out on the field consistently was back in 2019, the year when he was the Offensive Player of the Year and broke the NFL record for most receptions in a single season. He has been cleared to play and is ramping up his workload as the offseason progresses. If Thomas hits the field straight away in Week 1, the Saints could be a tremendously difficult offense to stop.
Thomas would take away so much attention that other guys like Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave would be able to work the rest of the field with ease. Michael Thomas could easily get back into the top five wide receiver debate with another full season under his belt. He could maybe even improve his stats with Jameis Winston looking to air it out a bit more.