Saturday, September 18, 2021

New Orleans Saints Week 2 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2021 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the New Orleans Saints rank in terms of average, best and worst:

  • Average ranking: 7.0 (T-5th)
  • Best ranking: 5th (Multiple)
  • Worst ranking: 10th (NFL.com)

Below you will find a Week 2 roundup for the Saints in our consensus 2021 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 9

Top rookie: CB Paulson Adebo

It doesn't get any better than intercepting Aaron Rodgers in your NFL debut as part of a dominant defensive performance. And Adebo's performance couldn't have been any more important for a Saints team that was extremely thin at cornerback in Week 1. Adebo got the starting nod and handled himself very well despite being an obvious target for Rodgers, with an interception, a pass defense and three tackles. The third-round draft pick from Stanford should wind up as a No. 3 CB when Marshon Lattimore is healthy and Bradley Roby returns from suspension. But he has proven he's ready to step in whenever needed despite opting out of the 2020 college season. -- Mike Triplett

NFL.com -- Rank: 10

Jameis Winston has experienced an odd NFL career, so consider it fitting his debut as the Saints' QB1 featured one of the stranger final lines you'll ever see: 14 for 20, 148 passing yards, five touchdowns. Yep, New Orleans did pretty much anything it wanted to the Packers, bullying the defending NFC North champs on both sides of the ball and sending Aaron Rodgers to the bench for good with 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. This outcome tells you so much about the health of the organization: Playing at "home" in Jacksonville in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the Saints would've gotten a pass if they'd laid an egg against an elite Packers team. Instead, they trounced them, radically recalibrating 2021 expectations as a result.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 6

They had the most impressive victory of the weekend in blowing out the Packers. The defense was truly impressive in limiting Aaron Rodgers.

USA Today -- Rank: 5

New NBC football analyst Drew Brees kidded (right?) Sunday that "I guess apparently this is what the Saints have been missing." He was referring to QB successor Jameis Winston, who struck downfield -- a capability that should open up the entire attack and especially help RB Alvin Kamara. Is this offense actually better? So far, so good given what New Orleans just did to the Packers ... and under suboptimal circumstances.

The Athletic -- Rank: 5

Overreaction: Drew who? Jameis Winston had five touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first Saints start. In 70 starts with the Bucs, he had one game with more than four TDs and no picks. But if the Saints can beat Green Bay by 35 without Michael Thomas and David Onyemata and Wil Lutz and such, maybe they can challenge the Bucs for another NFC South title after all. -- Auman

Reality check: Fair reaction! The Saints were one of the biggest surprises of Week 1, and that just makes the NFC South all the more interesting. Jones

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