3 Free Agents New Orleans Saints Must Target

USA TODAY Sports

The playoffs are starting this weekend, and the New Orleans Saints will be watching 12 other teams fight to get to the Super Bowl from home. It definitely stings.

2012 showed that the Saints have a lot of holes and flaws in their roster, and the organization has their work cut out for them.

They have to go through scouting reports for the NFL draft, work financial magic to bring in some key players while cutting others currently on the roster and deal with restructuring current contracts and re-signing some of their players that are going into free agency—11 unrestricted free agents and five restricted free agents.

What to do, what to do? On top of all of the above, they must look at a laundry list of available players this offseason in order to improve their roster and get back to the playoffs next season.

Let's take a look at a few.

LaRon Landry, Safety

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Pro Bowl safety LaRon Landry had himself a great bounce-back season with the New York Jets after leaving the Washington Redskins.

Landry is a hard-hitting safety that can jar a ball loose with his vicious hits, and he has vastly improved his coverage compared to his previous seasons.

Landry finished the season with 99 tackles, four forced fumbles and two interceptions.

The addition to Landry in the Saints secondary would vastly improve their unit. He can keep the big plays from happening downfield.

Cliff Avril, Defensive End

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The Saints need some big-time help in the pass-rushing department, that's no secret. Their defensive linemen have not been able to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks, and it is more than likely that the Saints will part with Will Smith.

Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril would be of great help to the defense and would be well suited to Steve Spagnuolo's 4-3 scheme. Coming off his best season last year with 11 sacks, Avril is quick and explosive and has a high motor.

This season, Avril finished with 35 tackles, two forced fumbles and 9.5 sacks.

Quentin Jammer, CB

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The Saints' secondary unit has struggled all season long, getting burned badly, especially in their last game of the season against the Carolina Panthers.

Quentin Jammer will be available. Now, he's not what he used to be, but with his skill and knowledge, he would definitely be able to help out this struggling unit, make some big plays and contribute to their secondary.

Jammer finished the season with 64 tackles, one forced fumble and three interceptions. Because of his age, the Saints may not shell out that much money on the veteran cornerback.