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The Saints are coming off of their third straight 7-9 season and they’ve made some changes to their roster in the early days of free agency.

They’ve signed wide receiver Ted Ginn, linebacker A.J. Klein and guard Larry Warford and brought back defensive tackle Nick Fairley while trading wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Patriots. The Saints have four of the first 103 picks after making that deal, something quarterback Drew Brees noted while discussing his feelings about the team’s direction.

“I look at it as a very exciting time,” Brees said on WWL with Bobby Hebert and Duke Bellavia. “Our team is taking shape, we are not far off from beginning off season work and the draft is coming up. We have several picks to make and there will be some new players on our team also. I really feel like we are just a few pieces away. The puzzle is beginning to come together and I think we are all excited about that.”

Beyond the point about having a bunch of picks at their disposal, Brees didn’t delve too deeply into his thoughts about the Cooks trade. There were moments of apparent frustration for Cooks in the offense last year and Brees said he feels Ginn will have a “great role” in a wide receiving group that also includes Michael Thomas and Willie Snead.