Stephone Anthony's drop-off makes linebacker a 'must' for Saints

Craig Robertson was one of the most pleasant surprises for the New Orleans Saints last year, emerging as the starting middle linebacker and leading the team with 115 tackles.

Thank goodness he stepped up -- because the struggles of fellow linebackers Stephone Anthony and James Laurinaitis were two of New Orleans’ most surprising letdowns in 2016.

The Saints have decent depth at linebacker. But that depth comes with a ton of question marks: Can Anthony resurrect his career after barely seeing the field in 2016? Can starting weakside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe finally stay healthy for a full season? Will Michael Mauti re-sign and return to form as a core special teams player after having…