By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS — The story of the New Orleans Saints’ 47-point offensive explosion to open the season can be looked at from many different angles. While some may lean on a weak Carolina Panthers team, there are many things that the Saints simply did right. Their use of motion, play action and the outside run game are among the most oft-illuminated. However there was a concerted effort to lean on one position group in particular, the tight ends.
Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau combined for six receptions, 69 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches. The two were integral to the team’s red zone and overall success.
In Week 1 New Orleans topped the NFL in tight end target share, per NFELO. That comes after the team ranked No. 27 in the league last year.
On top of all of that, the team also got an extra 35 rushing yards from Taysom Hill who, at least, is listed as a tight end.
Bottom line being that this position group played a large role in what went well for the Saints. Much more in line with the expectations in 2023. However, with an injured offensive line and low offensive production early last year, the position was used quite a bit differently.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak comes to New Orleans from the San Francisco 49ers who have continued to find good production from their tight ends room. He looks to be ready to implement the same success here in the Big Easy.
The team also relied on Johnson, Hill and Moreau to help in protection as well. Whether chipping an edge rusher to assist the offensive tackles or, in Hill’s case, lead blocking in the run game, they found a lot of success.
The Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys may require the group to serve a role more like they did last year, helping heavily in pass protection. With starting left tackle Taliese Fuaga downgraded during Thursday’s practice and starting left guard in the mend, the tight ends may be relied upon to assist against one of the league best pass rushing teams.
That could lead the Saints to needing to find more passing game production elsewhere. The team’s top wide receiver Chris Olave only saw two targets–catching both for 11 yards–last weekend against the Carolina Panthers because of the amount of attention he drew. New Orleans could be looking to lean more on its top passing game option in order to help out their protection unit this week.
