Saints combine kubiak

The New Orleans Saints are expecting Klint Kubiak to be a combination of all of his experiences.

They want their new offensive coordinator to bring what he learned from his dad, Gary, who helped design the Shanahan offense alongside Mike Shanahan in Denver. They want everything he learned during his stop in Minnesota, where he served as offensive coordinator in 2021. And, yes, they expect a big influence from his stop in San Francisco last season.

🆕: Dennis Allen’s outlook after Klint Kubiak hire📌: Which players do we think will be back and part of the Saints' future plans?📌: Who is to blame for the multiple first-round misses?🔗: https://t.co/PnGtsneF75 pic.twitter.com/KNAFzz7OJ1— NOF (@nofnetwork) February 29, 2024

You're nuts if you aren't studying all of the things those teams did for clues on what the 2024 Saints offense will look like. Because, in the end, it should include a bit of everything — a combination of the best elements from each of his stops tailored for the Saints roster and personnel. In theory, those things should lead to something similar to what the 49ers do but with a New Orleans twist.

And it sounds like the people around Kubiak believe he's ready to take on this challenge.

Last season in San Francisco, he was tasked with helping design game plans and was an asset to head coach Kyle Shanahan. But those around him could also tell Kubiak was soaking up all the knowledge he could from one of the best offensive head coaches in the league.

"I watched Klint really take it all in," 49ers general manager John Lynch said at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. "I know not to just come in and be like, 'Hey, I'm going to be here for a year and then I'm going to take it all.' I think his feet were where they were, and he made the most of it. Klint's going to be a really good coach for the Saints. I'm excited for his opportunity."

So, Kubiak sounds ready, but why Kubiak for the Saints? One of Allen's priorities was getting someone to help his quarterback reach the peak of his powers. It was hard not to notice how productive Derek Carr became later in the season when the offense finally started using more play action. Allen knew whoever was taking over this offense needed to have that baked into their play-calling DNA.

There's probably no one better than a Kubiak or someone from the Shanahan tree for that. Kubiak's Vikings team used a ton of play action in 2021, and those concepts used to be central to Shanahan's offense until the 49ers backed off the concepts in favor of more motion last season. But all the other offshoots of the Shanahan offense that have popped up around the league still favor play action, and one might even describe the purpose of those offenses is to run the ball well to set up play-action shots.

And that's precisely what Carr needs. Anything that can take some pressure off him and make it easier for him to execute and move the ball will be to his benefit.

More draft picks?

The Saints sound like a team that wants to get some more draft picks. These are their current projected selections:

Round 1, Pick 14

Round 2, Pick 45 (via DEN)

Round 5, Pick 149

Round 5, Pick 167 (compensatory pick)

Round 5, Pick 169 (compensatory pick)

Round 5, Pick 174 (compensatory pick)

Round 6, Pick 192

Round 6, Pick 201 (via PHI)

Round 7, Pick 230 (via DEN)

This is a problem for a team that looks like it has needs at pass rusher, offensive tackle and wide receiver — all positions of high value. It's an even bigger problem when it sounds like the team wants to run a cleaner cap and use some of its space this year to eat costs.

So, how do they acquire more picks? New Orleans could trade some assets, perhaps Marshon Lattimore if the price is right, to get another early-round pick. And there could be some packaging of the fifth-round picks to move up to an earlier slot.

New Orleans could also trade future assets to help the present, and that is often the team's approach, but that creates similar problems in the future.

Is this the year the team trades down in the first round to acquire another pick? This draft is deep on the offensive line and if the pass rushers are gone, there could be an opportunity to acquire another pick by being patient.

Who is staying? Who is going?Marshon Lattimore?Jameis Winston?Mike Thomas?Alvin Kamara?This and a lot more on what we're hearing at the scouting combinehttps://t.co/eqyRNbJ1tP— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) February 29, 2024

CAP WORK

The Saints are about $16.8 million over the cap and will need to clear up some more space to get compliant.

There are a handful of moves the team could still make, and some of the more obvious candidates are those with high base salaries like Ryan Ramczyk ($17 million), Alvin Kamara ($10.2 million), Demario Davis ($10 million), Taysom Hill ($10 million), Tyrann Mathieu ($7 million) and Marcus Maye ($7 million).

Some of them could be pay cuts or outright releases, but most of the work will likely be done with basic restructuring.

I’m told the Saints saved more than $9 million against the cap with this restructure https://t.co/fK8QcituhH— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) February 29, 2024

That will push more costs to the future, and there is a lot of room that can be opened up here. If the Saints want to be aggressive, they can easily open up more than $30 million in cap space. Should they? That's a different sell with where this team currently sits.

More on Kubiak's arrival:

• Klint Kubiak isn't going to change Saints run scheme; he's going to evolve it

• Taysom Hill is one of the NFL's most unique weapons. How will new Saints OC Klint Kubiak wield him?

• How Klint Kubiak will get the ball out of Derek Carr's hand faster and why that should spark Saints offense

• Exploring how Klint Kubiak can sharpen Saints offense through study of 49ers' orbit return motion

• How Klint Kubiak can elevate the Saints' offense

• Which players benefit most from Saints hiring Klint Kubiak?

• Members Only: Are our expectations too high for Saints offense under Klint Kubiak?