25-year old Pierre Thomas has really emerged after signing as a undrafted free agent out of Illinois three years ago.  He played in 14 games (6 starts) for the Saints last season and he carried the ball 147 times for 793 yards (5.4 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Thomas also caught 39 passes for 302 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Thomas has now played in 41 games (12 starts) in his three years with the Saints and he has carried the ball 328 times for 1,670 yards (5.1 ypc) with 16 TD runs.  He also has caught 87 passes for 737 yards (8.5 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Thomas is the tough guy of the Saints’ RBs as he likes to run downhill.  They need to keep him healthy in 2010.

25-year old Reggie Bush is back for more in 2010.  He played in 14 games (8 starts) last season for the Saints in which he carried the ball 70 times for 390 yards (5.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  Bush also caught 47 passes for 335 yards (7.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he returned 27 punts for 130 yards (4.8 avg).  Bush has now played in 52 games (35 starts) in his four years with the Saints and he has carried the ball 488 times for 1,940 yards (4.0 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  Bush has also caught 260 passes for 1,934 yards (7.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Bush has also returned 78 punts for 628 yards (8.1 avg) with 4 TD returns.  The Saints would probably be smart to find someone else to return punts because Bush’s focus needs to be on offense in 2010.

24-year old Lynell Hamilton got his first real action in the NFL last season.  Prior to last year, Hamilton played in 1 game in which he didn’t even touch the football.  Hamilton played in 9 games (1 start) for the Saints last season in which he carried the ball 35 times for 125 yards (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg) last year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SAINTS RBs in 2010:  B-

The Saints have traded 29-year old OT Jammal Brown to the Washington Redskins.  Brown missed all of last season due to injuries.  He played in 58 games (all starts) in his five years with the Saints.  The Saints will also send a conditional late round pick to the Redskins as part of this deal.  The Saints will get a 4th round pick if the Redskins win 9 or more games OR Donovan McNabb makes the Pro Bowl.  If neither of those things happen the Saints will get a third round pick from the Redskins.  The Redskins will also send the Saints a future 6th round pick if Brown plays in 90% or more of the offensive snaps in 2010 or he makes the Pro Bowl.  That’s not bad compensation for a player who missed the whole 2010 NFL season.

31-year old Drew Brees is coming off a season for the ages.  He played in 15 games for the Saints last season and he completed 363 of 514 passes (70.6%) for 4,388 yards with 34 TD passes and 11 INTs (109.6 QB Rating).  Brees also carried the ball 22 times for 33 yards (1.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Brees has now played in 122 games in his NFL career and he has completed 2,697 of 4,164 passes (64.8%) for 30,646 yards with 202 TD passes and 110 INTs (91.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 244 times for 482 yards (2.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.  Brees now has a 68-53 record (56.2%) as a starting QB during the regular season and he hopes to improve on that W-L% again this year.  The Saints really have no backup plan around Brees so it’s imperative that they block well for him.

23-year old Chase Daniel and 7th round pick Sean Canfield will battle it out in training camp for the #2 and #3 QB job unless the Saints bring in some competition for them in free agency.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SAINTS QBs in 2010:  A+

The Saints have signed 32-year old G/T Terrence Metcalf to a 1-year deal.  Metcalf is a huge guy at 6′4″, 310 pounds but he could be a tad rusty as he hasn’t played in a game since 2006 with the Bears.  Metcalf has played in 84 games (25 starts) in his NFL career so he likely would be nothing more than a backup if he makes the Saints’ roster.  Still, it never hurts to bring in experienced players for the offensive line.

The Saints have signed 27-year old linebacker Clint Ingram to a 1-year deal.  Ingram played in 13 games for the Jaguars last season in which he had 52 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 sack.  He has now played in 56 games in his NFL career in which he has 194 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and he intercepted 2 passes (1 returned for a TD).  This was a good depth signing for the Saints.