Who were the Saints' best (and worst)

Good morning, and welcome to the January 13 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter. Let's hand out some fake awards, and acknowledge the real ones, too. 

The Roddies 

Okay, I made up that award name, and I probably should've workshopped it before hitting send on this newsletter. But nevertheless! It's time for columnist Rod Walker to hand out his Best Of awards from this year's Saints season. 

Rod pretty effectively summed up the Saints season here, recognizing offensive and defensive MVPs, most disappointing player and best and worst moments. 

Another honor for Shaheed

One of the Saints most dynamic players added another feather in his cap Friday, when Rashid Shaheed was named a first-team All Pro as a return man. Demario Davis also got his flowers for the fifth straight season. 

This Saints Insider's take: Shaheed is one of the most exciting young players in the league, and as long as he can stay healthy, the Saints should make it a priority to figure out how to take those talents and expand them within the offense. 

Special special teams

Longtime NFL writer Rick Gosselin released his annual NFL special teams rankings, and he gave very high marks to the unit coached by Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi. 

Matthew Paras explains why Gosselin was so high on the Saints' special teams despite this being a year of transition for the unit. 

New podcast is out!

With the playoffs starting today, our Saints Insider crew got together to take one last look back at the 2023 season, while also taking a peek at what may be in store for the team this offseason. 

We chatted about Dennis Allen, potential trade scenarios and the biggest needs this team has going into the offseason. 

That's all for now, enjoy your weekend! 

Cheers, 

Luke Johnson