The Saints are four days into camp, and here are the four things that I believe will hold true as camp barrels along.
1. The Saints will not keep Ian Book on the final 53-man roster.
At the end of August Dennis Allen and company have to pair the roster down from its current state of 90 players to 53. The Saints have a surplus of talent at wide receiver (kind of hard to believe after last year), linebacker and
defensive back. I think that coveted roster spot would be better served somewhere else, with the Saints keeping just Jameis Winston, and Andy Dalton. They still have Taysom Hill to serve as the emergency QB.
That leaves Book as the odd man out.
I think the former Golden Domer signal caller be placed on the practice squad, providing he clear waivers (which I think he would).
2. The D-Line is the strength of this team, and that's not a bad thing
Look at the talent the Saints have up front. Three first-round defensive
ends in Payton Turner, Marcus Davenport, and Cameron Jordan. Throw in
Carl Granderson and Tanoh Kpassagnon and the Saints are scary at
DE alone. With Shy Tuttle, David Onyemata, Malcolm Roach
and Kentavius Street on the interior, this defensive line might be the best
in franchise history. Of course that's just on paper, but it's still wild to even be able to say that at any point.
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3. I lied! The secondary might be the biggest strength of the team
Looking across the board and this is a position of definitive strength. It's a cornerback group headlined by Marshon Lattimore and second-year pro Paulson Adebo. Throw in veteran Bradley Roby and I would challenge anyone to find a better trio at CB in the NFL, and you have a premium prospect in rookie Alontae Taylor waiting in the wings. We have not even touched the safety position, in which the Saints have an embarrassment of riches. Free agent Marcus Maye joins other free agent Tyrann Mathieu as newcomers to the secondary. We can’t forget C.J. Gardner-Johnson and P.J. Williams. Show me a team in the league that has that kind of depth and quality in the secondary.
4. Andy Dalton was the team’s best off-season acquisition
What? Yes, I’m serious. Here is why: Winston is already coming off a significant knee injury. What if Winston has setback in camp or in the preseason? The Saints are just fine with Andy Dalton at QB if it comes to that. The “Red Rocket” has started 160 games in this league, guiding the Bengals to the playoffs on more than one occasion.
Lagniappe: Having covered 14 Saints training camps, this one is different. Not better or worse, just different. I like the vibe of Dennis Allen as the head coach. He’s a different personality than his predecessor Sean Payton. Do not mistake his low-key approach for weakness. Dennis Allen just values certain aspects of coaching differently. I think he’s going to be big success in the big easy.
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