Vikings at Saints Depth Chart Preview 2022
Able to sneak away with a win against the Lions, the Vikings now find themselves matched up in London against a Saints team with a bad offense and good defense. Will they be able to get to 3-1?
Injury Report
Vikings
CB Booth - Doubtful
OLB Smith - Questionable
Saints
LG Peat - Out
WR Thomas - Out
QB Winston - Doubtful
S Maye - Out
RB Kamara - Questionable
Line: Vikings -3, 84% of bets on Vikings
*My thoughts*
The Saints' offense has been hard to watch, and now their QB is unlikely to play, meaning that Andy Dalton will start and probably have Taysom Hill mixed in a few times. Dalton has dropped to #11 in my backup QB rankings, as his most recent play with the Cowboys and Bears has been subpar at best. His accuracy is not quite it used to be, as his deep accuracy was among the worst among any passer last year, and is only average throwing short to intermediate. He's also been more turnover prone since his Cincy days.
You may be surprised to see Kamara ranked poorly compared to common opinions, but he did only run at a 3.7 YPC clip last year and is currently not 100% so far, being held back by a ribs injury. Ingram has returned to be their backup, but he isn't the runner he used to be (I believe he's the second oldest RB in football!). The Saints did ensure Winston had weapons this time, as going with Callaway and Smith as their top WRs was a very bad idea last year. Instead, they signed Landry and drafted Olave, plus Thomas is finally healthy. Wait, now he's hurt again! That aside, Olave has looked like the same receiver who was torching defenses for Ohio State, and profiles as an effective deep receiver, but he also has the skills to be an effective short to intermediate receiver as well. Landry has been solid and is similar to Thomas, as an effective slot receiver commonly running slants. As for the TE position, Taysom Hill is listed as one but is more of a wildcard. Johnson and Trautman have split TE duties, and neither have been anything special so far.
The Saints were hoping to plug in Trevor Penning at LT, but with the first round rookie injured, James Hurat is filling in at LT. He's been a long-time backup, but has been more effective in New Orleans compared to his stint with the Ravens. Andrus Peat is out at LG, but he's been rated as a poor starter for years by PFF... but he's being replaced by Throckmorton, who is a Dakota Dozier-level guard. McCoy has been a solid center, with pass protection as his primary strength. Ruiz has been somewhat of a disappointment for a 1st round pick, as his run blocking has been a weakness early in his career. Ramczyk is still rock-solid.
Defensively, this unit is downright scary on paper. Methinks PFF is overrating them to a degree, but this unit is usually keeping this team in the game when the offense stinks it up. They are very effective at generating pressure, with Jordan coming off another 10+ sack season and Davenport finally living up to the hype. Granderson was a fantastic rotational pass rusher last year, to boot. From the interior, Onyemata had a huge year in both departments in 2021, but is off to a slower start. The same is the case for Tuttle, who is better at being a run stuffer despite being on the smaller size. At LB, Davis has shown no signs of slowing down at age 33, and has even improved his game in coverage - he's had a heck of a turnaround after being an average at best linebacker his first 5 years in the NFL. Meanwhile, second year Pete Werner had a fantastic 2021 with a near perfect run stopping + tackling grade, but has struggled in the first few weeks this year. Special teamer Kaden Elliss is being given a shot as their 3rd LB, but they go with 3 safeties sometimes.
Finally, the Saints' secondary looks strong. Even with Maye out, they can plug PJ Williams or Justin Evans (a former safety) into that spot and still be comfortable with their CB room. While they could use another body, they have a stud lockdown corner in Lattimore, and a solid #2 in Roby. That's not mentioning Adebo, a 3rd rounder who started every game in his rookie year (2021) - he had his struggles but profiles as a guy who has the potential to take a big step forward. Meanwhile at safety, Mathieu is no longer in his prime but is still a weapon to be feared and is still covering well.
Prediction: Vikings 17, Saints 16
This looks to be a low-scoring slugfest, with neither team benefitting from homefield advantage. I wanted to predict the Saints to make the upset, but I think their offense is simply too bad to be confident in my 'hot take'. I do think their defense could shut down our offense for long stretches, as they have a corner who can deal with Jefferson, a run defense who can put the clamps down on a not 100% Cook, and a pass rush that may make Cousins dance. Still, I could see the defense force multiple turnovers and put our offense into good enough field position that they can cash in on.
Any thoughts?
Injury Report
Vikings
CB Booth - Doubtful
OLB Smith - Questionable
Saints
LG Peat - Out
WR Thomas - Out
QB Winston - Doubtful
S Maye - Out
RB Kamara - Questionable
Line: Vikings -3, 84% of bets on Vikings
*My thoughts*
The Saints' offense has been hard to watch, and now their QB is unlikely to play, meaning that Andy Dalton will start and probably have Taysom Hill mixed in a few times. Dalton has dropped to #11 in my backup QB rankings, as his most recent play with the Cowboys and Bears has been subpar at best. His accuracy is not quite it used to be, as his deep accuracy was among the worst among any passer last year, and is only average throwing short to intermediate. He's also been more turnover prone since his Cincy days.
You may be surprised to see Kamara ranked poorly compared to common opinions, but he did only run at a 3.7 YPC clip last year and is currently not 100% so far, being held back by a ribs injury. Ingram has returned to be their backup, but he isn't the runner he used to be (I believe he's the second oldest RB in football!). The Saints did ensure Winston had weapons this time, as going with Callaway and Smith as their top WRs was a very bad idea last year. Instead, they signed Landry and drafted Olave, plus Thomas is finally healthy. Wait, now he's hurt again! That aside, Olave has looked like the same receiver who was torching defenses for Ohio State, and profiles as an effective deep receiver, but he also has the skills to be an effective short to intermediate receiver as well. Landry has been solid and is similar to Thomas, as an effective slot receiver commonly running slants. As for the TE position, Taysom Hill is listed as one but is more of a wildcard. Johnson and Trautman have split TE duties, and neither have been anything special so far.
The Saints were hoping to plug in Trevor Penning at LT, but with the first round rookie injured, James Hurat is filling in at LT. He's been a long-time backup, but has been more effective in New Orleans compared to his stint with the Ravens. Andrus Peat is out at LG, but he's been rated as a poor starter for years by PFF... but he's being replaced by Throckmorton, who is a Dakota Dozier-level guard. McCoy has been a solid center, with pass protection as his primary strength. Ruiz has been somewhat of a disappointment for a 1st round pick, as his run blocking has been a weakness early in his career. Ramczyk is still rock-solid.
Defensively, this unit is downright scary on paper. Methinks PFF is overrating them to a degree, but this unit is usually keeping this team in the game when the offense stinks it up. They are very effective at generating pressure, with Jordan coming off another 10+ sack season and Davenport finally living up to the hype. Granderson was a fantastic rotational pass rusher last year, to boot. From the interior, Onyemata had a huge year in both departments in 2021, but is off to a slower start. The same is the case for Tuttle, who is better at being a run stuffer despite being on the smaller size. At LB, Davis has shown no signs of slowing down at age 33, and has even improved his game in coverage - he's had a heck of a turnaround after being an average at best linebacker his first 5 years in the NFL. Meanwhile, second year Pete Werner had a fantastic 2021 with a near perfect run stopping + tackling grade, but has struggled in the first few weeks this year. Special teamer Kaden Elliss is being given a shot as their 3rd LB, but they go with 3 safeties sometimes.
Finally, the Saints' secondary looks strong. Even with Maye out, they can plug PJ Williams or Justin Evans (a former safety) into that spot and still be comfortable with their CB room. While they could use another body, they have a stud lockdown corner in Lattimore, and a solid #2 in Roby. That's not mentioning Adebo, a 3rd rounder who started every game in his rookie year (2021) - he had his struggles but profiles as a guy who has the potential to take a big step forward. Meanwhile at safety, Mathieu is no longer in his prime but is still a weapon to be feared and is still covering well.
Prediction: Vikings 17, Saints 16
This looks to be a low-scoring slugfest, with neither team benefitting from homefield advantage. I wanted to predict the Saints to make the upset, but I think their offense is simply too bad to be confident in my 'hot take'. I do think their defense could shut down our offense for long stretches, as they have a corner who can deal with Jefferson, a run defense who can put the clamps down on a not 100% Cook, and a pass rush that may make Cousins dance. Still, I could see the defense force multiple turnovers and put our offense into good enough field position that they can cash in on.
Any thoughts?
