With The First Pick
Fansided

Super Bowl LV: Ranking top 5 NFL NFC contenders

By Nicholas McGee

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 19: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room following game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 19: Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers addresses the team in the locker room following game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Packers 37-20. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 05: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints and Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints take the field during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 05: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints and Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints take the field during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 05, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

2. New Orleans Saints

New Orleans, and Drew Brees specifically, will have doubters to silence in the 2020 season after the Wild Card round let-down against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Saints, though, are perfectly set up to put the memories of that shock defeat behind them and challenge for the NFC crown.

Emmanuel Sanders‘ arrival in free agency weakened a rival as he came across from the San Francisco 49ers to give Saints the secondary option at receiver they have long since needed.

Sanders provides Brees with a dependable veteran option who will take some of the strain off Michael Thomas.

First-round pick Cesar Ruiz further solidified the interior of the offensive line with a versatile presence who can operate at center and guard, with his selection sure to have been a factor in the eyebrow-raising decision to cut Larry Warford.

On the other side of the ball, the Saints landed a potential steal in Zack Baun. If he can stay healthy, then Baun can be a prolific edge-rushing threat for an already loaded front seven.

The Saints lost out on a first-round bye because of tiebreakers last season. Only George Kittle‘s last-gasp heroics prevented them from knocking off the top-seeded 49ers in what proved a crucial regular-season encounter. With Sanders on the other side of that battle in 2020, New Orleans and San Francisco figure to be incredibly tough to split once again.

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