New Orleans Saints: 5 offseason needs

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints reacts during the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 07: Cameron Jordan /

1. Defensive End

Cameron Jordan is perennially underrated. In fact, he is clearly one of the top dozen defensive players in the league and is coming off just a spectacular season. He has a lot of versatility to his game and was far and away New Orleans’ best player in their front seven. And the dropoff up front after Jordan is dramatic.

The Saints got a lot out of Alex Okafor in his first season in New Orleans, but Okafor is an unrestricted free agent now. He was also lost for the season after tearing his Achilles in late November. The Saints should be on top of Okafor’s rehab more than any other team and very well could bring him back, but more would still be needed here.

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Even if re-signed, how much can Okafor be truly counted on and how much will he cost? He was a fine bookend to Jordan though. Trey Hendrickson is an intriguing player entering his second season, but as it stands, the only true edge presence New Orleans has is Jordan and maybe Hendrickson. This team would be very difficult to deal with, especially at home, if they had two frightening defensive ends.

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