JACKSON: Saints Foster Moreau should be bigger focus in passing game

By Ross Jackson

NEW ORLEANS — After a stellar Week 1, New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau has seen his role shift away from a passing game threat and that should be rethought by the team. Saints head coach Dennis Allen made mention of needing players to step up as playmakers outside of their top guys in his day-after press conference. Giving Moreau more opportunities as a pass-catcher could provide exactly that.

“I think we’ve got to find some other guys that can make plays for us,” Allen said. “Other than Alvin (Kamara), (Chris) Olave and Taysom (Hill). I thought (Rashid) Shaheed did some good things from an offensive perspective.”

In order to find another player to step up and help contribute, many may assume the Saints will have to go outside the facility. Free agent wide receiver Hunter Renfrow has been a popular name that has resurfaced amongst fans, however it is uncertain whether the team views him the way the public does. A trade target like Las Vegas Raiders wideout DaVante Adams is another that will soon pick up steam, but a big trade like that feels outside the team’s DNA.

Instead, the Saints are likely to try to find another playmaker currently on the roster. Moreau may be an easy option along with fellow tight end Juwan Johnson. Moreau was a focus in the passing game Week 1 when both he and Johnson brought in touchdown receptions. 

In that game, the former LSU Tiger reeled in all four of his targets for 43 receiving yards along with his scoring catch. Since then, he has only been targeted twice. Though he did have a touchdown catch in one game on a beautiful red zone play design against the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, that play was called back due to a penalty.

Since the opening game, Moreau’s snaps have also been heavily weighted toward blocking responsibilities. Such a thing typically becomes the case for tight ends when there are injuries on the offensive line. The same thing happened last season, limiting tight end opportunities in pass-game production.

In the first two weeks of the season, Moreau combined for 25 snaps as a pass-catching option. In the two games since, that number has fallen to just 17. In fact, since Week 1, Moreau has spent 77.5% of his snaps blocking in either the passing or run game. Through the first four games in total, the Saints have run the ball 63.3% of the time that the tight end is on the field. 

In total, he has been on the field to block (run or pass) 76.7% of the time so far this year, per Pro Football Focus. Both Hill and Johnson are hovering much closer to 50%. A chance to get Moreau closer to that same range could provide some benefit.

Not only has the team not gotten him more consistently involved in the passing game, the percentage of run snaps is becoming all too frequent, much like with wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keith Kirkwood last year. It may be in the team’s best interest to diversify Moreau’s usage a bit more. Not just for the sake of disguising playcalling intent, but also in taking better advantage of his skillset and perhaps finding that option behind their top skill position contributors.