Emmanuel Sanders Thrilled To Be In Pass-Happy Saints Offense
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders signed a free agent deal with the Saints this offseason. Sanders is a player that figures to be a game-changing player in the New Orleans offense. The Saints have desperately needed someone opposite of Michael Thomas to take some pressure off him. The Saints likely found that in Sanders and he’s thrilled to be part of this offense.
Emmanuel Sanders had this to say via NFL.com:
“I’m excited to be there in a pass-happy offense,” Sanders said, via James Palmer of NFL.com. “That means everything. These are the types of offenses where you really can showcase your talent. I’ve waited almost four years, ever since 2014 with Peyton, to be back in a pass-happy offense.”
There is a part in this quote where I’ll slightly disagree. The Saints throw the ball more than San Francisco does, but I wouldn’t call it a super pass-happy offense. New Orleans ranked 13th in passing attempts and 17th in rushing attempts a year ago. The Saints certainly have a more of a balanced attack in recent years as Drew Brees has aged.
Sanders is right about one thing, he’s been waiting for a quarterback like Drew Brees. The former SMU product caught 101 passes for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns in his first year with the Broncos. That was during that magical 70 touchdown Peyton Manning season. Since then, it’s been a lot of trash. Sanders has played with Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco. There’s no denying Jimmy Garoppolo is better than that group but the 49ers are much more of a run-heavy attack.