Last year, the Saints traded Jimmy Graham, opting instead for a patchwork collection of tight ends. After one season of that, the Saints made a beeline for another potentially dominant pass-catching tight end.
On Wednesday, Saints quarterback Drew Brees explained what attracted the team to former Colts tight end Coby Fleener.
“We watched a lot of film on him last year, just because we played the AFC South,” Brees told reporters. “It felt like every time we turned on the film to watch an opponent that we were about to play, I’m watching Colts film or Fleener film. It was like, ‘Man, this guy has an uncanny ability to separate.’ He is always open. There’s always a place to throw the ball where he can get it. It gets you excited about a guy who has that type of range and that type of feel. Time on task with a guy like that, the more time we have in this offense where he can understand the nuances and understand what I am thinking, and where I want him to be, and when I want him to be there, and when and where the ball is going to be thrown -- that’s when you really start cooking. That’s when you feel like a guy is uncoverable. I don’t care who is on him. He’s 6-5 or 6-6, there is a place where I can throw the ball where he can get it or nobody can.”
That’s exactly what they had with Graham, and the Saints may now have it again with Fleener. Assuming he can avoid dropping passes, something that has happened plenty of times in the past for him.
