The New Orleans Saints' preseason is over, and they still aren't undefeated -- but the final score (17-13 Texans) is possibly the most important part of another entertaining night in the Caesars Superdome.
There was a vintage night for Jimmy Graham, a pair of rookies defenders showing out in tandem and a rookie QB playing like, well, a rookie QB.
So who all stood out, and who fell flat?
Here are my three stock up and three stock down players (plus some honorable mentions) after an entertaining finale to the preseason slate.
THREE UP
DT BRYAN BRESEE
My stock was already high on the first-round rookie out of Clemson (as it should be for a first-round rookie), but in no way was I expecting the type of flash we saw from him tonight. He always profiled as a more effective pass-rusher early in his career with his athleticism and speed off the line. Tonight we saw why. On back-to-back third down sets he got in the backfield to wreak havoc. On the second play he ripped off a spin move so fierce that Kenyon Pierce was left standing in the field by himself apparently injured.
If you just looked at the box score, you'll see the issue with measuring the impact of interior defensive linemen by statistics alone. He torpedoed two drives, but goes in the book with a tackle and a QB hit (because Davis Mills was able to briefly escape before he, Niko Lalos and Isaiah Foskey cleaned it up). Bresee won't start early in his career, but he'll slot into an impressive rotation with Nathan Shepherd, Khalen Saunders and Malcolm Roach. I don't need him to do everything, but I'm feeling very confident about the things he has to be able to do well this season.
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TE JIMMY GRAHAM
If you went into today's game thinking Jimmy Graham was a lock to make the 53-man roster, that should've been dispelled by the mere fact that he was playing. This team clearly wanted to see something out of the 36-year-old, and I'd wager that's what they got.
Graham caught three of his four targets for 34 yards and a touchdown, and all three were notable. The first came on the opening pass of the game from Jameis Winston. The next was an impressive high point catch over (more like through, if we're being honest) a Texans defender that really had no chance. The last was another high-point catch, this time in the endzone for his first touchdown in a Saints uniform since 2014.
The reality of the current Jimmy Graham should be clear to everyone. He's not the same athlete he once was, but I'm not sure he has to be. You don't lose 6-7, 260 and he could be a weapon in exactly the ways he was used today. The question is: Exactly how valuable is that? Should you take Juwan Johnson off the field to get him those opportunities? Would a young player like Lucas Krull who would have an impact on special teams not make more sense?
For the sake of fun alone, I vote Graham. Today's performance shows why.
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S JORDAN HOWDEN
I get it, when you see the special teams groups take the field, that's usually the cue for a bathroom break or a trip to the fridge, but in the preseason finale they're arguably the most important reps you'll see. That's why I was particularly impressed by Jordan Howden, who has been battling in a deep group of defensive backs where snaps will be hard to come by.
Well, they might be, unless Marcus Maye gets suspended. Then all bets are off. We also saw J.T. Gray leave the game with an undisclosed injury after a big hit in the third quarter. If the special teams ace misses time, those special teams reps gain even more importance.
On back-to-back Lou Hedley punts (we saw a lot of punts in this one), it was Howden streaking downfield to stop the returner in his tracks. I've been impressed with his poise an tackling ability, and I think he'll have a key role this season on the return units ... hence, stock up.
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HONORABLE MENTION: TE Lucas Krull & DE Isaiah Foskey
Maybe I'm being too hard on the athletic kid out of Pitt, considering he was the go-to pass-catcher for Jake Haener and hauled in 7 balls for 106 yards -- the lone Saints player to go over 100 yards receiving in any of the three preseason games. But for the second consecutive week it should've been more. I mean, he had 15(!) targets. The Texans were keying on him hard late in the game, but there were still a pair of drops in key situations that made the Saints comeback harder than it should've been.
Last week there were a pair of drops that had him on the dishonorable mention list. Today it's what keeps him off the list above. The question the Saints coaches have to answer is whether they think tonight's game was enough to get him stolen away on waivers. He's an impressive young player that I'm sure the Saints would love to keep around if they can. He was unguardable at points tonight.
On the other side of the ball we finally saw some flashes out of Isaiah Foskey, and that's really all you could hope for after a tough start to his rookie campaign. He was also in on those third down stops that we talked about with Bresee above, and his coach made sure to praise him in the postgame a week after calling out some mistakes. Hopefully that's a dose of confidence a young player can use going forward.
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THREE DOWN
THE BACKUP OL
They may have started tonight, but don't be fooled -- every player on the Saints offensive line tonight will be either a backup or on the cut line when the roster is trimmed to 53 on Tuesday. But even by those standards it was painful to watch. The positive thing I'll say is the procedural penalties were cut out and the Saints finished the game with only 2 total penalties for 15 yards, a pretty huge turnaround from a game featuring 14 accepted penalties.
I'm not going to name names here, because there was plenty of fault to go around (even for Andrus Peat, who should be the best of that group). There were only two sacks surrendered, but Jake Haener was running for his life all too often. I wouldn't be surprised if the Saints end up scouring the waiver wire or even swing a trade for line depth this week.
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TWOFER: Smoke Monday & Adrian Frye
This part of the column is my least favorite to write because all of these players have been grinding all offseason and I don't necessarily think their stock has dropped. But they were both in positions where I need to see it rise, and neither did enough to make me feel that it had in this game.
Frye had a particularly rough game with a penalty on a deep ball, then a nearly disastrous play on a punt where he blocked his player into the path of the ball and had it appear to deflect off his shoulder or helmet for a recovery by the Texans. It was overturned on review, but the gaffe remains.
On Monday's side, I just haven't seen enough. He brands himself as a big hitter, but I haven't seen him in position to make enough of them. He finished the game with a tackle and no other impact plays I can remember. I think he's a prime candidate for the practice squad, but I had higher hopes for him coming into camp, to say the least.
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QB JAKE HAENER
Let's start by saying: I have very high expectations for Jake Haener, because he just does things the right way. Case in point: After a two-interception day, I fully expected him to skirt talking to the media. Absolutely no one would've questioned it, guys with far greater media expectations do it all the time.
Not Jake. He stood there after probably his roughest day of camp and delved into what went wrong. It's a level of maturity that you can't fake, and it's what you need to make it as a QB in the NFL, independent of what happens on the field or with your arm.
That said, it was a tough day for the rookie, who very much looked like a rookie. He locked in on Krull to a ridiculous level late in that game, and he kept going to the well even after the Texans started keying on it relentlessly. His first interception came on what almost looked like a Hail Mary, with the ball lofted to the back corner of the end zone where Grayland Arnold fielded it like a punt. The issue? It was first and 10 from the 24-yard line with 2 minutes to go and the Saints trailing by 4. The ball should've never been thrown. Jake knows that.
The next possession felt like an experiment to see just how close he could get to the sun. Another pass to Krull was undercut and nearly intercepted by Arnold again, before Cam Dantzler's pick ended things on another ball intended for -- you guessed it -- Krull.
There were positive moments, too, and at one point he flashed some impressive mobility that will be a weapon if and when he gets the chance to showcase it full time. But that's clearly a long way off. Most likely these three games will be the tape he builds off next offseason when he's in line to be the backup QB. Until then, the Haen Train will be spending a good bit of time parked at the station.
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HONORABLE MENTION: K Blake Grupe
First thing's first: Blake Grupe's stock is NOT down. He nailed a kick from 50, and missed wide right on a kick from 60. All that is to say, he had a chance to make a kick that would've made a verrrry loud statement that he should own the job over Wil Lutz, and he didn't knock it through. It doesn't change a ton in the grand scheme, he'll almost certainly be an NFL kicker somewhere in the near future, but it was a missed opportunity, and that's typically going to be enough to land you in this part of the column.
Again, this is totally unfair. It was his first miss in what has otherwise been a rock-solid preseason. But it would've taken something remarkable to make me commit to pulling the job away from Lutz. That might've been it.
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