Saints still viewed as a bottom-third team in the NFL

Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesThere’s a reason they play the games.

After a decade-plus of being viewed as an immediate contender in the NFL due solely to the duo of Drew Brees and Sean Payton at the top, the New Orleans Saints are now faced with uncertainty moving forward. This uncertainty has trickled into the NFL media and fans, with many pundits questioning the legitimacy of the Saints chances in 2022.

For instance, in CBS Sports’ latest power rankings, the Saints came in as a bottom-third team in the NFL:

New head coach Dennis Allen has some big names at his disposal; the questions are mostly regarding their availability. Consider Jameis Winston, Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, the big…