The Saints are now officially past their mandatory minicamp and three sets of organized team activities, so what better time to update our still-too-early 53-man roster projection?
A handful of rookies have made their early case for expanded roles, and others have gotten off to a slow start. We also have a pair of new wide receivers who could factor into the return game, and a utility lineman that fits exactly what the Saints want to do.
With all that in mind, scroll below for the picks at each position (with quick explainers), along with the cuts. Also: Check out the latest episode of Inside Black & Gold for a position-by-position breakdown.
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Notes: This is not a depth chart. The order that players are listed is not an indication of how they'll rank on the roster.
* = drafted rookie; ** = UDFA
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QUARTERBACK (3)
- Derek Carr
- Jameis Winston
- Jake Haener*
CUT (0)
- NONE
NOTES: No change here, though it is interesting to see how Taysom Hill has been deployed at QB throughout minicamp. In three days of practice he took QB reps twice, which meant Jake Haener only got to run team reps on Day 2. I don’t think it will impact the decision to carry three QBs on the roster, but it makes me wonder whether he’d even *technically* be third string. If Carr and Winston go down, I’m pretty sure we’d see Taysom – at least in spot duty (fingers crossed we never actually get the answer to this question).
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RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK (4)
- RB Alvin Kamara
- RB Jamaal Williams
- RB Kendre Miller*
- FB Adam Prentice
CUT (2)
- RB Eno Benjamin
- RB Ellis Merriweather
- FB Jake Bargas
NOTES: We still haven’t seen any work from Benjamin or Miller, but I don’t know if anything will change even when we do. The three RBs feel locked in, and I don’t think it’d make a ton of sense to keep a fourth. I’m still keeping a fullback because the Saints do love themselves a good fullback. Prentice even got legit team reps during 2-minute drills and caught a touchdown. If you desperately want to save someone else at another position you could talk yourself into stashing the FB on the practice squad early in the season, but I don’t see that as necessary right now.
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WIDE RECEIVER (6)
- Chris Olave
- Tre’Quan Smith
- Michael Thomas
- Rashid Shaheed
- A.T. Perry*
- Lynn Bowden Jr.
CUT (7)
- Kawaan Baker
- Shaquan Davis**
- Bryan Edwards
- Keith Kirkwood
- Kirk Merritt
- Keke Coutee
- James Washington
NOTES: This one was tough, because there are some really intriguing players that are on the cut line. My only change for now is knocking Bryan Edwards onto the cut line and adding Lynn Bowden Jr. The veteran WR was in for a tryout and looked good, as did Coutee. I think there’s value in keeping a veteran around who can also serve in a return role. A.T. Perry has had a rough start, but he’s showing positive signs and he’ll get a shot to turn it around. Tre’Quan Smith is another question, but I’ve seen more good than bad, and he has the built-in luxury of doing all the dirty work, which is what you need from the depth WRs. The wild card is health. Mike Thomas, Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave each missed practice time with lower body issues. None are expected to miss the start of camp, but if health becomes a concern you could see a 7th player kept here. Kirk Merritt is also an interesting question. He’s been working at running back, but I have a feeling he’ll swap back to WR once the numbers get back to normal at RB.
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TIGHT END (3)
- Foster Moreau
- Taysom Hill
- Juwan Johnson
CUT (3)
- Jesse James
- Lucas Krull
- Miller Forristall
NOTES: This is technically a change from the initial projection, but not really. I had Forristall in there as, effectively, a space-filler for the blocking TE that will be needed on the roster. Since that time the Saints have signed Moreau and he’s a pretty safe bet to make the roster unless things go very awry in camp. Lucas Krull has looked impressive, but I think he’s destined for another year on the practice squad.
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OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
- C/G Erik McCoy
- C/G Cesar Ruiz
- C/G Billy Price
- G/T Andrus Peat
- G/T Nick Saldiveri*
- OL James Hurst
- OT Trevor Penning
- OT Landon Young
- OT Ryan Ramzcyk
CUT (6)
- OL Alex Pihlstrom**
- OT Mark Evans**
- OL Calvin Throckmorton
- OT Storm Norton
- OT Scott Lashley
- OL Lewis Kidd
- OL Koda Martin
NOTES: This position feels really locked in at the top, with the only question being the health of Penning, Ruiz and Saldiveri. At this point I’m expecting all to be ready for camp, so I’m not hedging with any extra bodies to accommodate that at this point. The only change from the initial projection is a bit of a guess, but I feel confident that the Saints didn’t bring in Billy Price for no reason. He’s a veteran with flexibility to play all three guard spots. After McCoy’s health issues of the past two seasons (a calf issue both times), you really want a backup that you can trust, and I feel like shifting Ruiz over to center over and over hasn’t been ideal. Now, we could see Price and be thoroughly unimpressed, but right now he just makes the most sense.
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DEFENSIVE LINE (9)
- DE Carl Granderson
- DE Cam Jordan
- DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
- DE Payton Turner
- DE Isaiah Foskey*
- DT Malcolm Roach
- DT Khalen Saunders
- DT Nathan Shepherd
- DT Bryan Bresee*
CUT (6)
- Jerron Cage**
- Jabari Zuniga
- Prince Emili
- DE Niko Lalos
- DT Jack Heflin
NOTES: This is probably the easiest position to project. At this point the only real question is whether you keep more than nine players. It’s really tough to project anything at minicamp with line reps effectively going at half-speed, but there are no cuts coming in the top nine.
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LINEBACKERS (6)
- Zack Baun
- Demario Davis
- Andrew Dowell
- D’Marco Jackson
- Anfernee Orji**
- Pete Werner
CUT (4)
- Nick Anderson**
- Ty Summers
- Nephi Sewell
- Ryan Connelly
NOTES: This position is staying the same, though I’m still feeling like there could be a veteran addition at some point in the offseason. Orji is the best built player to stick around, though Sewell could be that guy if he stands out in camp. There’s just a scary lack of depth here. It might never be an issue, but I’d prefer a safety net.
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DEFENSIVE BACK (10)
- CB Paulson Adebo
- CB Marshon Lattimore
- CB Bradley Roby
- CB Alontae Taylor
- DB Ugo Amadi
- DB Lonnie Johnson Jr.
- S J.T. Gray
- S Jordan Howden
- S Tyrann Mathieu
- S Marcus Maye
CUT (8)
- CB Isaac Yiadom
- CB Anthony Johnson Jr.**
- DB Troy Pride Jr.
- DB Vincent Gray
- S Smoke Monday
- DB Adrian Frye
- S Johnathan Abram
NOTES: The numbers stay the same here, but I’m making a couple tweaks. The first is obvious: Jordan Howden has solidified his status in the safety group and he looks like a strong option to potentially get real playing time as a rookie. He’ll take the spot of Abram, who has looked fine but hasn’t exactly stood out, and I’m not cutting a quality rookie to keep him around when it comes down to it. The next switch is Ugo Amadi for Isaac Yiadom. This is for a couple reasons, one being that Amadi has looked good in camp, even taking an interception off of Jameis Winston on Day 1 of minicamp. Both he and Yiadom look good and have been consistently in for second team reps, the difference is the position. Yiadom has been outside, Amadi has been in the slot. I think the numbers benefit Amadi, because if Taylor, Adebo and Lattimore are all healthy, you really need an extra body to back up the slot more than the outside. Roby would be the de facto No. 4 option on the outside if you sustain multiple injuries.
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SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
- K Wil Lutz
- P Blake Gillikin
- LS Zach Wood
CUT (2)
- K Blake Grupe**
- P Lou Hedley**
NOTES: This has turned out to be more of an actual competition than I initially thought. I don’t think it’s outside of the realm of possibility that Grupe beats out Lutz, though it’d probably take some truly concerning stumbles from the veteran with so much built-in trust. That said, Grupe looks like the real deal.
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PRACTICE SQUAD
- S Isaac Yiadom
- S Johnathan Abram
- S Smoke Monday
- LB Nick Anderson**
- LB Nephi Sewell
- DT Prince Emili
- DE Jabari Zuniga
- OL Calvin Throckmorton
- OL Storm Norton
- TE Lucas Krull
- WR Keith Kirkwood
- WR Kirk Merritt
CUT AFTER MINICAMP
- RB: SaRodorick Thompson Jr. **
- WR: Malik Flowers**
- OL: Yasir Durant
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