The New Orleans Saints have finally bolstered their linebacking corps with the addition of James Lauriniatis. The new middle linebacker will bring a ton of leadership and experience to the struggling defense as the Saints front office work to rebuild the unit.
The Saints are starting mostly rookies at the linebacker position except for weakside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, so adding Lauriniatis should go a long way toward improving the focus of this unit as a whole. Currently the Saints have young linebackers such as Hau'oli Kikaha, Kasim Edebali, Stephone Anthony and Tull Davis, so adding the experienced Lauriniatis should do wonders for these players' development.
Lauriniatis is an iron man who has never missed an NFL game in seven seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He became the Rams' all-time leading tackler in 2015 and was reportedly released because of cap reasons. Lauriniatis, much like Chris Long, wanted to be a part of the Rams' relocation and rebuilding process, however he simply cost too much for the Rams to keep.
He was also the longest tenured player on the Rams, which really speaks volumes to the changes that the Rams are looking to make in Los Angeles. Lauriniatis was a second round pick for the Rams in 2009 and was an incredibly productive linebacker.
During the 2015 season, the 29-year-old recorded 16 starts, 109 combined tackles, one sack, one pass defense, one interception and a forced fumble. In his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams, Lauriniatis has recorded 852 combined tackles, 16.5 sacks, 34 pass defenses, 10 interceptions and two forced fumbles. The Saints will likely draft several more key defensive pieces during the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Saints will have the 12th overall pick during the 2016 NFL Draft and have several needs they must fill. Picking up an outside linebacker, a cornerback and some defensive linemen are an absolute necessity as this defense was the worst in the NFL during the 2015 season in just about every category.
The addition of Lauriniatis helps their need for a quality linebacker, but they will explore drafting another one early in the first round. The Saints will completely retool their defense for the 2016 NFL season, and the only place they can go is up.
