The New Orleans Saints has had some success over the years since Drew Brees’ retirement, but injuries seem to always change the trajectory of the season. Like any other team that has issues, injuries are not the only thing causing losses, but you can pinpoint different times throughout these years when injuries pop up, and the Saints start losing. Good teams can overcome them; bad teams can’t. This season, it's been the same. Very early on, tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., by far the best offensive lineman for the Saints, and Travis Etienne both went down with injuries that looked serious. Even earlier, first-round pick Jordyn Tyson was ruled out to start the season with a hamstring issue. Three very important players on offense became unavailable. 

Again, these didn’t completely destroy the Saints' chances of winning, and honestly, the offense should have been good enough to overcome these losses, but the coaching is not good enough to make that happen. So, the Saints have to rely on their star players being stars, and finally, they should be able to have all three on the field at once. 

So, I wanted to look at the impact each can make when they return to the lineup. 

By far, the most important return from this group is Kelvin Banks Jr. It's been a rough stretch with the backups taking over at LT, and with the rest of the offensive line’s underwhelming play this season, the Saints need as much help as possible. Also, due to head coach Kellen Moore insisting on leaving his tackles on an island, Banks Jr. will be able to handle that task. 

For Tyler Shough’s sake, Banks Jr.'s return can also give him more time in the pocket. 

The Saints’ run game has been arguably their biggest issue throughout the season, and it even goes back to last season. As of now, Etienne’s availability for Sunday is very much up in the air, but if he can return, it would really help. During his last game, which was against the Las Vegas Raiders, Etienne played as the star rusher fans clamored for in free agency, but that didn’t last long enough. The Saints need that player, not the one we saw from the first few games. Hopefully New Orleans just hands him the keys to the running game. 

Last is Jordyn Tyson. His impact could be incredible with the two returns above. Etienne will open up the run game a bit, putting less pressure on passing the ball, which will help the pass catchers. Then, Banks Jr. will also help Shough have time and can really take advantage of Tyson’s ability to get open.