Saints Sign Safety Darren Sharper

The Saints have filled their most glaring hole on the roster with the addition of free safety Darren Sharper. The move has been in the works for weeks and was finally agreed to yesterday.

Sharper, along with MLB Jonathan Vilma, will be the "quarterback" of the Saints defense. New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams relies on those two positions to call out plays and audibles and put everyone in the right position on the field. With Williams implementing a new scheme, having a veteran free safety was a priority, especially with the Saints struggles at the position in recent years.

With Sharper's signing, the Saints have no really open holes in the starting offense or defense. These leaves them in great position heading into the draft, with the ability to truly look at the best player available, regardless of position.

They will still need to look at the safety position, however. Sharper is 33-years-old and his best days are behind him. He can be a stop-gap at the position for a couple of seasons, but the team needs to find its future starting safety. That could come later in this year's draft (there aren't any projected first round safeties this year, unless you count Malcolm Jenkins, who is a corner but may play safety in the pros). But in the meantime, Sharper will improve one of the weakest areas on the team.