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The New Orleans Saints lost a good tight end when Ben Watson left in free agency for the Baltimore Ravens. Watson had a solid year working with Drew Brees, in the Saints high octane offense. Despite being 35-years-old, Ben caught 74-passes for 825-yards and 6-touchdowns. But general manager Mickey Loomis and coach Sean Payton went younger at the position by swapping out the aging veteran for 27-year-old, 6-6 Coby Fleener. When Loomis was asked about the bold move he said:
“Ben got a great opportunity, and we’re happy for him. We love Ben Watson, he did a lot of good things for us, I expect the same for Coby Fleener.” (ESPN.com)
Fleener is a gifted athlete that should excel in Payton’s pass-happy offense. Brees and Sean Payton are one of the best offensive tandems in the league. A fact not lost on Fleener, who recently spoke about his decision to leave the Colts for work in “the Big Easy” saying:
“I chose the Saints for a multitude of reasons, one of the big reasons being this offense and Drew and the coordinator and the coach. So that stuff absolutely excites me,” (USAtoday)
The four-year veteran signed a five-year contract for 36 million. The deal is a bit pricey for a TE that only caught 54-passes for 491-yards and 3-touchdowns in 2015, but the Saints are banking on Fleener delivering a lot more “bang for the buck” in the Super Dome.
The blockbuster deal does not come without critics. ESPN’s Mike Triplett criticized the move when he hinted that Loomis overpaid. However, in the same article Triplett admitted the acquisition could pay huge dividends for the Saints when he wrote:
“Don’t get me wrong, I think Fleener, 27, could break out in New Orleans’ offense, which is so friendly to tight ends and receivers. But I also think a tight end that cost half as much could have great success.” (USAtoday)
Triplett has a point. The Saints need to upgrade their defense and they devoted a large portion of their limited cap space to Fleener after trading away TE Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks just a year earlier for cap relief. While the Saints defensive line does need work, Payton is thrilled with the former Colt and told USA today New Orleans plans to line the big bodied tight end up in receiver sets to work with what could be one of the most entertaining quarterback/tight end tandems in the National Football league in 2016. Furthermore, Drew Brees shares Payton’s enthusiasm for Fleener. When asked about the addition of the pass catching tight end he responded:
“I don’t care who’s on him. He’s 6-6, there’s a place where I can throw this ball where he can get it and nobody (else) can.” (USAtoday)
Fleener had limited opportunities last year because Indy’s offense was struggling. However, in 2014 a healthy Andrew Luck connected with him for 51-receptions and 8-touchdowns. The fans will just have to wait and see how this move plays out. Apparently, Loomis, Payton, and Brees feel confident that enough progress will be made with Fleener to offset any weaknesses the team may have on the defensive line. One thing is for certain. It’s going to be fun watching one of the league’s greatest quarterbacks in Drew Brees connecting with his new tight end.
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Christopher DuVall is a writer for the Couch Rider Report. Follow him on Facebook.
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