New Orleans Saints Offseason, Part Two: Drafting, Restructuring, and Releasing

The Saints have a busy offseason coming up.

New Orleans is $4.6 million above the salary cap and needs to restructure its defense. Here's a list of guys who could probably be cut, moved around, and some trade thoughts.

Release

Mark Brunell—He's too old and a liability anyway.

Jason David—'Nuff said.

Mark Simoneau—We already have a backup to Vilma.

Brian Young—Chronic problems will probably lead to retirement soon.

Kevin Kaesviharn—Worst free safety in the league

Aaron Stecker—Getting up there in the years, and we are already stocked up on running backs.

Guys who will probably restructure

Jamar Nesbit—He lost his starting job to Carl Nicks and will probably be a backup next year.

Deuce McAllister—He's relegated to a backup role now and is being paid starter money. Restructuring is better than being cut.

Mike McKenzie—Both of his knees are banged up, meaning he will probably only last another couple of years or so.

After some of those things happen, the Saints would have leftover money to re-sign key players, such as:

Jahri Evans—He's a future Pro Bowler and should get a monster contract extension.

Lance Moore—After a great season, they must re-sign him. Moore and Colston in 2009 will be crazy. 5,000 yards for Brees again, anyone?

Courtney Roby—A good kick returner. He'll take Pierre Thomas' job as the starting kick returner, since Thomas will probably be a full-time running back.

Jon Stinchcomb—Valuable starter with experience. We could probably let him walk.

Zach Strief—Good backup and could be future starter one day. He could probably take Stinchcomb's starting spot if we let Stinch walk.

Jonathan Vilma—The core of our defense, and our new defensive coordinator wants to build around him. I hope we sign a long-term deal with him.

With all of that done, we move to the draft. In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Saints only have four picks. There are a lot of holes to fill with those picks, so here are some ideas.

With the 14th pick, they should snag Malcom Jenkins from Ohio State. He has the potential to be a shutdown corner and could play free safety if needed.

If Jenkins isn't there at 14, they should probably trade down. The next best cornerback is Vontae Davis. Although he is an athletic freak (like his brother), I won't be happy with this pick. He has some character issues and kind of relies on his athletic skills a little too much.

If they do trade down, they could probably get Sean Smith or Alphonso Smith late in the first round and snag Derek Pegasus in the second. Mark my words, Pegasus is going to have a great career.

Thanks for reading!