From teams, agents to players, virtually the entire NFL universe converges on Indianapolis in the coming days for the 2018 Scouting Combine, which begins Wednesday and runs through the weekend.

The Combine remains an essential part of the predraft process for the scheduled 336 draft-eligible participants.

And the New Orleans Saints certainly made the most of time spent in Indianapolis last year by getting a good look at draft prospects and eventually turning weakness into strengths, especially on defense.

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New Orleans Saints CB Marshon Lattimore has been selected as the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, the first time that a Saint has won the award.

Lattimore, the 11th overall pick by the Saints out of Ohio State, enjoyed a standout season as he is the only the fourth cornerback in franchise history to be selected to the Pro Bowl and the first since Eric Allen in 1995 and joined fellow rookie, RB Alvin Kamara as one of only seven Saints rookie selected. The Cleveland, Ohio native started all 13 games he played in and posted 53 tackles (44 solo), a club-best five interception returns for 85 yards with one returned for a touchdown, a team-high 18 passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Lattimore’s five picks were ranked first among NFL rookies and tied for fifth in the league overall.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara edged Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt as the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The award was announced during Saturday’s NFL Honors program in Minneapolis.

Kamara, a third-round pick from Tennessee (67th overall), ran for 728 yards and caught 81 passes for 826 yards for 1,554 yards from scrimmage. That total was second among rookies behind Hunt, who led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards. Kamara’s 14 total touchdowns — eight rushing, five receiving, one kick return — led all rookies.

Defensive end

When Sean Payton came to New Orleans in 2006 to coach the Saints, he was little more than “that guy from Dallas” to most local fans. He was young. He was energetic. He was highly regarded in football circles. But he was also the latest in a long string of coaches who had come and gone after promising everything and delivering precious little.

But if you’ve been watching closely, something has happened over the past 12 years. Something has changed in the ol’ ballcoach’s relationship with the city. That was as clear as ever in the Saints’ locker room following the team’s wild-card playoff victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday (Jan. 7).

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The New Orleans Saints never trailed on Sunday, but they still needed some late-game heroics to secure a victory in their wild-card round matchup with the Carolina Panthers.

In the 31-26 victory, Carolina had a chance to take a lead late in the fourth quarter, but two sacks by the Saints coupled with an intentional grounding penalty on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton ensured a win for New Orleans.

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1. Fox is broadcasting the New Orleans Saints-Carolina Panthers game set to kickoff at 3:40 p.m. (CST). In the New Orleans area, the game can be found on WVUE-Fox 8, WWL Radio (870-AM, 105.3 FM) as well as on WGSO (990 AM) in Spanish. Fans can also stream the game live or on-demand with NFL Game Pass on your computer or tablet. For full broadcast listings on television and radio, CLICK HERE

2. Watch John DeShazier, Sean Kelley and Mike Hoss will preview the game in our Pregame Report at 1:30 p.m.

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The New Orleans Saints had a blank gold banner hanging in their indoor practice facility this week.

“You can kind of look at it and fill in the blanks yourself,” coach Sean Payton said Friday.

The hope for the Saints is to replace the empty banner with one that says “2017 NFC South Champions.”

“It’s unfinished, and we’ve talked all week about finishing the right way,” Payton said.

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