New Orleans Saints: 5 offseason needs in 2020

2. Address the cornerback position

There were times last season, most notably late in the year, that coordinator Dennis Allen’s defensive unit really had its issues struggling against opposing signal-callers. More times than not, the Saints managed to get away with it, hence a solid 13-3 record. There was also a 34-31 win over the visiting Carolina Panthers in Week 12 in which Kyle Allen threw for 256 yards and three scores and brought back his team from a 31-18 deficit in the second half to tie the score.

But there were also instances – such as the 48-46 home loss to San Francisco in Week 14 – that were a bit bewildering. 49ers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo rolled up 349 yards through the air and four touchdowns (one interception) and rallied his club in the closing moments. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders also threw for a score in that shootout. All told, the Saints allowed 17 touchdown passes in their final eight regular-season games after allowing only 10 scores through the air during the club’s 7-1 start.

Along with aforementioned strong safety Vonn Bell, the list of potential free agents in the secondary also includes cornerbacks Eli Apple and P.J. Williams. The team doesn’t have a lot of salary cap room to play with (via Spotrac) so it will be interesting to see if there are big-time changes with this group.