June 3, 2008

Mission accomplished: New Orleans traded for Jets MLB Jonathan Vilma on the first day of free agency, which finally gave the squad a potential playmaker in the LB corps. The team remained aggressive, trading up in the draft to get its prized possession, DT Sedrick Ellis, with the seventh pick. New Orleans looks much better on defense than it did a year ago, although the excitement about Vilma is tempered by his rehab of a knee injury from last season.

Unfinished business: There still is uncertainty about who the starting running back will be. If Deuce McAllister is able to recover from a torn ACL and microfracture surgery, he’ll be the workhorse in the backfield again. However, if he’s unable to return to form, more responsibility will fall on the shoulders of Reggie Bush and backups Aaron Stecker and Pierre Thomas. The team had talks with free-agent RB Shaun Alexander, and they could be revisited early in training camp if he remains unsigned and McAllister struggles.