The NFL offseason is a myth, and as the Saints kick off the first of their trio of Organized Team Activities for the 2022 offseason it'll be a major benchmark into what has suddenly turned into one of the more anticipated seasons in years.
Pick a thread and pull it. You'll find an interesting storyline to monitor as early as Thursday, the day for media access at the Saints' facility in Metairie. The OTA, which comes 10 days after rookie minicamp, began Tuesday (May 24) and run through Thursday.
There will be two more sets of OTAs in the offseason (May 31-June 2 and June 7-10). Attendance is not mandatory at these workouts, so that will be an interesting element to track at all of them. A mandatory minicamp will also be held June 14-16 prior to the full training camp, which should begin at some point in July.
With that in mind, here are the three biggest questions I'm looking to answer (or at least begin to answer) as this new-look Saints roster gathers for the first time.
━━━━
1. HOW HEALTHY ARE THEY, REALLY?
The 2021 season was one injury blow after another. It started from the first day of camp. It was relentless. Minicamp wasn't open to the media due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that was one of the only instances we knew of that Michael Thomas was at the facility.
He had suffered a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury and subsequently underwent surgery. Another setback in that recovery kept him out for the season. It was a similar scenario for Wil Lutz, who didn't kick in a game once during the season as the kicking game often found itself in shambles. We've heard throughout the offseason that Thomas and others are on track with their recovery, but this is when that starts to become reality.
Related
Are those players back with the team? That seems likely. Are they participating in practice? It might be a bit early, but it'd be a shot in the arm in terms of confidence if that were to happen.
Quarterback Jameis Winston (knee), now-tight end Taysom Hill (lisfranc) and last year's first-round pick Payton Turner (shoulder), also missed significant time last season and had to work back to health this offseason. Winston has been documenting his rehab work and appears on the right track. Turner also told WWL he is feeling healthy and did not indicate there'd be any limitations on his work. New co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen heaped praise on Turner, who has been at the facility regularly.
Nielsen said it's like "night and day" from his rookie season in terms of understanding what he needs to do, a common refrain as it pertains to players entering Year 2.
"He’s having a great [offseason]," Nielsen said. "We’ve seen him for the last three weeks or so and the guy’s been unbelievable."
The final name on the health question mark list: Taysom Hill. The artist formerly known as quarterback suffered a lisfranc injury in the season finale and underwent surgery in the offseason. The recovery timeline for that surgery indicates he should be able to return to the field soon, but we should get more answers this week.
━━━━
2. HOW DO THE NEW VETS LOOK?
We've already gotten a quick look at the rookies, but for the first time we'll (assuming they're in attendance) get to watch Jarvis Landry and Tyrann Mathieu take the field in Saints colors.
While it's exciting even outside of the football sense, it'll also be the first opportunity to see what the pair will have to offer this season. Mathieu's performance will be the most important to watch, as he's stepping into a crucial starting role with the retirement of Malcolm Jenkins and departure of Marcus Maye in free agency. Landry would be a major addition if he's at the top of his game after working back from a knee injury in 2021. But the suddenly WR-rich Saints won't be depending as heavily on him in that position, assuming things go to plan health-wise with MT and rookie Chris Olave can make a smooth transition to the NFL ranks.
Related
Those two are going to get the most eyeballs with the local connections, but there are others to watch as well. I'm genuinely curious to get a look at Marcus Maye, a player who gives the Saints intriguing options in their defensive secondary. Can he be the play-making centerfielder to replace the departed Marcus? Will he play down in the box and lay big hits like the departed Malcolm? In the end, it'll likely be a mix of both. Watching him go to work and seeing where he works best will be interesting, though I'm guessing he'll skew to the strong safety end of the spectrum.
Kentavius Street and Andy Dalton are the other notable offseason additions, and they'll be plenty visible. Street will be adding depth along an interior DL group that isn't overflowing with big names, and Dalton will likely be getting first-team reps at quarterback assuming Winston is held out of action. Can he really lead the Saints offense in relief if needed? We'll start to get those answers this week.
━━━━
WHICH UDFAS CAN MAKE AN IMPRESSION?
There will be plenty of time to talk about Chris Olave, Trevor Penning and Alontae Taylor throughout the offseason, but now is the time where the undrafted guys can really start to make coaches turn their head and take notice.
It seems every season there's at least one UDFA that sneaks onto the final roster. In the past we've seen names like Deonte Harris, Marquez Callaway, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Juwan Johnson and Tony Jones Jr. This roster feels more jam-packed than last year in that regard, but even the latter two names on that list don't feel like locks to make it this time around.
The most popular UDFA names, at least from perspective, have been:
- Abram Smith, RB, Baylor
- Dai'Jean Dixon, WR, Nicholls State
- Smoke Monday, S, Auburn
- Lucas Krull, TE, Pitt
Related
Smith is probably the most intriguing, considering he appears to fit the mold of a clear need in the RB room -- an early-down hitter who can take some of the load off of Alvin Kamara. But, traditionally, the Saints haven't been a team that's heaped significant expectations on a rookie. Kamara is the exception, and even he had to beat out Adrian Peterson for his role as a rookie alongside Mark Ingram. Ingram is still around, and the Saints brought back a familiar face in Devine Ozigbo. The position could obviously be addressed through free agency with a handful of interesting names still available, but this week will go a long way toward deciding whether it has to be.
I feel like I've been a one-man hype crew for Lucas Krull at this point, and maybe it's worth pumping the brakes. But it's just hard to not like the guy when you see him out there moving around. The same could be said for Monday and Dixon, but all have intriguing characteristics that I could be see being valued by this team, not the least of which is potential ability on special teams. Monday's biggest roster competition could be former Bucs safety Justin Evans, who is on a one-year deal.
Speaking of special teams, could Rashid Shaheed be the next return ace culled from the lower college ranks? He might very well be, but we haven't seen him work yet. He was in attendance at rookie minicamp but didn't join in drills. Whatever point he gets on the field, he'll be watched closely.
Related
