The New Orleans Saints will be looking for help at wide receiver when the NFL free agency period kicks off in March. They have to. Quarterback Drew Brees is an all-time great, but the Saints must surround him with better options. He can’t go into another NFC championship game surrounded by unaccomplished undrafted rookies and the like. Look for the Saints to target a proven playmaker like Dallas Cowboys star Cole Beasley.
Beasley has made a name for himself helping out green passer Dak Prescott, gaining separation early and often from the slot. His reputation of being always open has some merit: Beasley averaged 2.9 yards of separation in 2018, better than any qualifying Saints receiver. Compare that to Michael Thomas (2.7) and Tre’Quan Smith (2.2). It even bested tight end Ben Watson (2.6). No other Saints met the NFL Next Gen Stats threshold for targets, showing just how grim their outlook is at the position.
The Saints don’t have anyone like Beasley, or at least anyone who can thrive in that role. Austin Carr has been a thorough disappointment. Tommylee Lewis just doesn’t have it. Cameron Meredith is a different type of slot specialist, sure, but even he wasn’t able to help the Saints. It’s a position they haven’t filled since Willie Snead flamed out. Beasley would give Brees something he badly needs: a legitimate second option on reads who can get open in two or three seconds after the snap. Beasley excels with the ball in hand, averaging 3.4 yards gained after the catch. With Brees attempting more passes short of the sticks, big plays must be generated after the catch by receivers. Even if Beasley isn’t regularly bagging chunks of yardage, his ability to reliably turn upfield and speed past the first down marker is valuable.
And Beasley can handle a large volume of targets, too. He was thrown to 87, 63, 98, and 75 times the last four years (323 combined targets), coming away with 228 catches for 2,355 yards and scoring 17 times. That averages out to 57 receptions, 589 yards, and 4 touchdown catches last year. For comparison, Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood combined for 41 receptions, 636 yards, and 7 touchdown scores as rookies. There’s plenty of room for Beasley in the Saints offense.
There’s also a chance that Beasley may not be the Saints’ first choice. Other talented slot specialists litter the free agent market, ranging from Randall Cobb to Adam Humphries and Golden Tate. But Beasley may be the most affordable, which will be important. K.D. Drummond of Cowboys Wire estimated a contract for Beasley in the range of $22.44 million over three years. Those are numbers the Saints can work with, rather than the $10 million per year other free agents expect to draw.
