New Orleans Saints Coach Kellen Moore said he’s pleased with what the team has been able to add so far this offseason in free agency, which includes the additions of safety Justin Reid, receiver Brandin Cooks and tight end Juwan Johnson.
“I feel like we’ve done a nice job of adding real value to our team,” Moore said Tuesday, from the NFL owners meetings. “Obviously, it’s the beginning process of the whole offseason where you continue to try and find guys throughout this whole process, and I feel like we’re heading in the right direction.”
He said the addition of Reid gives the Saints a premier player and person. As offensive coordinator last season for the Eagles, Moore and Philadelphia took on Reid and Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX.
“We nailed it when we were able to get Justin,” Moore said of Reid, a Prairieville, La., native. “Ultimately he made a decision that he wanted to come back to Louisiana, and we’re just so fired up.
“Going into the Super Bowl preparing to play the Chiefs when I was in Philadelphia watching him on film, he was one of the impact players on that field.”
Moore said Cooks – who’s entering his 12th season and has 1,000-yard receiving seasons for four franchises, including the Saints in 2015 and ’16 – adds more than on field value.
“I had never met Brandin, our circles were very close – him being a Northwest guy and going to Oregon State, and then going to Dallas at one point as well,” Moore said. “Phenomenal leader, phenomenal player – I think that combination is very valuable for us.
He can still run, he can still play. He had an unfortunate season last year just with the injuries and setbacks, his targets and catches were down. (But) we feel like he’s still got the player in him and the leader that he’s going to be is hugely valuable for our entire team.”
With Johnson, New Orleans was able to lure back one of its own: Johnson joined the Saints as an undrafted rookie in 2020 and has played all five seasons in New Orleans, capped by his career highs in receptions (50) and receiving yards (548) last season.
“We’re real excited that he chose us to come back, to be back in the city of New Orleans,” Moore said. “He’s been a really good player in this league, we’re excited with where he can go. Not all the (tight ends) can stretch the field that much vertically.”
QB STUFF: Yes, Moore has been seen at several pro days that included draft-eligible quarterbacks. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Saints are shopping for one.
“The quarterback position is a valuable position in our league, we all know that,” he said. “I’m a quarterback guy, I do like seeing quarterbacks. As we went through our process, there were a couple as we went through the stops.”
Moore said the process allows for the evaluation not only of skills, but also provides a setting to understand the person and get a feel for the classroom aspect of it.
“I think every team in the NFL is always trying to bring in quarterbacks and develop them under any circumstances. It’s a very valuable position,” he said. “We have Derek (Carr), who’s played a ton of football (and) we feel great about, and our organization has invested in quarterbacks the last few years – Spencer (Rattler), Jake (Haener) and then Ben (DiNucci).
“I think any time you can add value to the room it’s important because it is a developmental position. The age of the quarterbacks peaking is usually a little later, they have longer careers than other positions. So these guys sometimes take a little bit of time, you’ve got to have patience and the ability to develop them in a consistent system.”
With Carr as the starter, Moore said he’ll look to establish a clear backup through the offseason.
“Derek is a really good quarterback in this league,” he said. “I think we’ve been pretty consistent as we’ve gone through this process with the restructure, as far as giving ourselves some flexibility from a roster standpoint. With Derek, I’m excited to have him back with us. It’ll be a good process.”
Rattler started six games and played seven last year as a rookie with Carr out due to injuries. There’s an expectation that he’ll make a jump in his second year.
“Good player, tons of tools,” Moore said of Rattler. “Obviously, he played in some challenging circumstances and I think that’s important context as we evaluated it.
“You want to make sure he’s going through the right process – is he making good decisions, is he going through his progressions, is he hanging in the pocket. You saw a lot of those things; results can be a bit uncontrolled variables a little bit with his circumstances.
We’re excited to continue to build and develop him as he goes through his second offseason. That second offseason for a lot of guys is a huge jump. The first year you’re just swimming, any player. Your first offseason you go from college season to training, draft. It’s like, ‘When is this thing going to slow down for me,’ and it doesn’t.”
AFFIRMATIVE TUSH: Moore said he’s in favor of leaving the “Tush Push” in play for the NFL. The play, somewhat perfected by Philadelphia and used by Moore as Philly’s OC last year, has been proposed for abolishment by Green Bay this offseason.
“I’m very comfortable with the play,” Moore said. “No injury data, percentage-wise the likelihood of converting on it is pretty much the same as any other (third- or fourth-and-1) play. I don’t see any issue.”
THE RB ROOM: Presently, New Orleans has one known commodity in the running back room (Alvin Kamara) and a few unknowns (including Kendre Miller, Velus Jones and Jordan Mims).
“That’s how the offseason usually goes: You have a really, really good player in Alvin and we’ve got some guys that we’re excited to continue to develop,” Moore said. “Long process as we go through this, I’m sure there’ll be other guys added – draft, free agency, undrafted free agents. There’s a lot of different opportunities to add guys there so we’ve got to let it play out.”
Regarding Kamara, Moore said, “Premier player in our league. He’s just a big play waiting to happen.”
