Even though the New Orleans Saints finished 2023 with a winning record, it wasn’t enough to help them win the NFC South and make their first postseason appearance since 2021. Despite having one of the easier schedules in the league, the team was a huge letdown.
When it came to being disappointments, a few team members stood out more than the others over the journey. Whether these two players’ 2023 failure was the result of bad performance or injury (or perhaps both), Saints supporters might not care if they are not on the team in 2024.
Turner Payton
The Saints chose Houston native Payton Turner with their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, deviating from the plan of selecting well-known players. Saints supporters were surprised by Turner’s selection because he was not a player who the pundits had been talking about as a first-round selection.
It turns out that Turner wasn’t included among the candidates for first-round picks for a reason. Turner has played in just 15 games in his three seasons as a professional, including just two this past season.
Turner is fine when he’s on the pitch, but his injuries have been a major issue. He’ll likely be back on the team next season unless he blows up in the last year of his rookie contract, in which case the Saints won’t lose anything by cutting him.
Drafting Turner here seems like even more of a mistake, given that the Saints might have had Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as depth at linebacker, Landon Dickerson to strengthen their o-line, or Elijah Moore to bolster their WR corps. He’ll be playing for the Saints next season, as I have stated, but would Saints supporters really care if he didn’t?
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