The New Orleans Saints have one preseason game in the books, and with it a whole lot of information to impact position battles up and down the roster.
Multiple high-energy players have made themselves hard to miss, while some low production players have found themselves closer to the cut line. It's worth reminding everyone that, as it's been for the past several years, there are no early cuts. The Saints will hold 90 players right up until cutdown day, so there's still plenty of time for some slow starters to build a case.
I should also add a disclaimer: I expect to miss in these projections a bit more than in the past few years. So much of getting these right is understanding a coaching regime's track record, and Kellen Moore doesn't really have one yet. We can obviously look back on his time with the Eagles, Chargers and Cowboys, but he was only in charge of the offense and didn't have head coach authority. On the defensive side a lot will come down to Brandon Staley's wants. I expect there'll be at least one or two curveballs that we didn't see coming.
With all that in mind, here's my updated Saints 53-man roster projection after the first preseason game. This is still not to be taken as me projecting a depth chart -- though that will likely be coming in the next projection.
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QUARTERBACK (3)
Spencer Rattler
Tyler Shough
Jake Haener
CUT
Hunter Dekkers
WHY: No change here. The question is who starts, not who gets kept. At this point I see the QB battle as neck and neck, which is a step forward for Shough. In my last projection I was leaning heavily toward Rattler getting the nod in Week 1, but the rookie seems to be taking steps forward while Rattler seems to have plateaued. The next week, and particularly the preseason game against the Jags, will tell us a lot. There's a possible scenario where the Saints keep only two QBs, but Kellen Moore is a fan of Jake Haener and it only takes one injury for that third QB to be very, very important. There's way too many QBs on this coaching staff to not see the value of that role. Dekkers likely sticks around on the practice squad.
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RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK (4)
Alvin Kamara
Kendre Miller
Devin Neal
Velus Jones Jr.
CUT
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Cam Akers
Marcus Yarns
WHY: This is one of my changes, but I've become too enamored with Velus Jones Jr.'s speed to not want to keep him around. The Saints don't have much depth at the TE position and in this projection I've freed up a few roster spots due to in-season PUP projections. That frees me up to keep a 4th running back and I'm going with the guy who can be an asset as a returner and select packages. Kamara is obviously the top dog, and I think what we saw in the preseason opener was that Kendre is currently slotted in as RB2. It'll be interesting to see whether Neal can get back in time to push for a bigger role, but I don't see him getting cut despite the injury.
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TIGHT END (3)
Juwan Johnson
Jack Stoll
Moliki Matavao
CUT
Michael Jacobson
Treyton Welch
Seth Green
PUP (projected): Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau
WHY: At a certain point we have to face reality: I don't expect either Taysom or Moreau to be ready for the start of the regular season, so I'm officially projecting them to start the year on the PUP list. That frees up two roster spots, but I don't see another TE really pushing to make the roster. I'd expect Jacobson and Welch to land on the practice squad and potentially be elevated early in the year, and hopefully one of Hill or Moreau can contribute before those get exhausted. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Saints get aggressive with waiver claims or even a trade at this position, because one injury to Juwan Johnson and you have no real answers behind him. Stoll is safe as the blocking TE option.
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WIDE RECEIVER (6)
Chris Olave
Rashid Shaheed
Brandin Cooks
Cedrick Wilson
Dante Pettis
Mason Tipton
CUT
Kevin Austin Jr.
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Moochie Dixon
Roderick Daniels Jr.
IR: Bub Means
WHY: For now I'm keeping six here, but I could see one of Tipton or Pettis falling off the line if there's a numbers crunch. If that was the case my guess would be Pettis, who would likely end up on the practice squad and be elevated as needed. It's really going to come down to whether you want to use Shaheed full-time on punt returns. If not, Pettis would be the prime candidate to take on that workload. At this point I see Cedrick Wilson Jr. making the team because you need at least one bigger-bodied receiver and I was impressed with his blocking in the preseason opener. Bub Means is out for the year with an ankle injury.
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OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
LT Kelvin Banks
LG Trevor Penning
C Erik McCoy
RG Cesar Ruiz
RT Taliese Fuaga
Landon Young
Dillon Radunz
Torricelli Simpkins III
Josiah Ezirim
CUT
Shane Lemieux
Kyle Hergel
Easton Kilty
Jonathan Mendoza
Barry Wesley
Mike Panasciuk
IR: Nick Saldiveri, Will Clapp
WHY: Injuries have forced me to make a few updates here. Saldiveri and Clapp are already done for the season with injuries, and Penning's availability to start the season will be something to watch. It looks like Radunz will take over left guard for the time being. At this stage I have Simpkins jumping into a roster spot based on his impressive showing in the preseason opener, though he'll have to continue to be solid to prevent the Saints from trying to bring in a veteran option. I bumped Josiah Ezirim onto the keep line for now, but that's more of a placeholder than anything else. The Saints could really use a more reliable option in a backup tackle role alongside Landon Young. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a waiver claim made after cuts.
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DEFENSIVE LINE (10)
Carl Granderson
Cam Jordan
Chase Young
Fadil Diggs
Chris Rumph
Davon Godchaux
Bryan Bresee
Vernon Broughton
Khalen Saunders
Jonah Williams
CUT
Isaiah Foskey
Khristian Boyd
John Ridgeway
Nathan Shepherd
Jasheen Davis
Omari Thomas
Jonathan Bullard
Jayden Peevy
WHY: I've finally done it. You don't see many second-round picks land as a straight-up cut ahead of Year 3, but the production simply hasn't been there and I don't know that special teams contributions will outweigh players who are producing and should also be assets on special teams. I'm bumping him for Rumph, a player that's impressed throughout camp, has a strong connection with DC Brandon Staley and simply fits the OLB role a lot better than some of these other guys. I'm a little iffy on some of the names toward the bottom of the list. Broughton has been swimming a bit throughout camp, but a third-round pick is going to be safe as he develops. At this point I'd expect him to be a gameday inactive most weeks. I could be swayed on Jonah Williams, but I just like his veteran presence and the physicality he plays with, another guy very familiar with Staley. The biggest change could be at the backup nose tackle spot. I have Khalen Saunders in there now as the higher floor option, but if Khristian Boyd can have a strong finish to the preseason he might be the guy. A team at this stage of a rebuild -- or whatever word you want to use -- should err toward younger, developmental players if they show upside.
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LINEBACKER (6)
Demario Davis
Pete Werner
Danny Stutsman
Jaylan Ford
D’Marco Jackson
Isaiah Stalbird
CUT
Nephi Sewell
Tyreem Powell
WHY: This is more linebackers than I'd typically keep, but these are all impressive players who can contribute immediately on special teams. Stalbird is the player who's forced my hand during this camp. He's just made too many plays to ignore and he runs around on special teams like a heat-seeking missile. His speed and athleticism from the linebacker position has been impossible to miss. You could convince me that one of these players should get bumped to the practice squad line, but I'm gonna go ahead and plant my flag now. I really like this room. Sewell is the player who gets squeezed out.
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CORNERBACK (5)
Alontae Taylor
Kool-Aid McKinstry
Isaac Yiadom
Quincy Riley
Rico Payton
CUT
Jayden Price
Rezjohn Wright
Dalys Beanum
WHY: We'll have to wait and see whether Alontae Taylor's injury keeps him out for an extended period, though my conspiracy brain can't help but wonder if there's something contract related going on in the background. Regardless, Taylor's absence will create a major void at a key position (star) in Brandon Staley's scheme. I'm keeping Payton as a special teams standout. If there's an extra player kept to fill in at star it's probably on the safety line.
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SAFETY (4)
Justin Reid
Julian Blackmon
Jonas Sanker
J.T. Gray
CUT
Ugo Amadi
Terrell Burgess
Jordan Howden
Elliott Davison
WHY: For now I'm operating under the assumption that Taylor will be back to start the season, so I'm not keeping an extra body to accommodate just yet. Reid and Blackmon are your starters. Sanker has looked solid. I don't expect him to have a huge role in the defense to start the year, but he'll be an asset on special teams. I just don't know if Howden has done enough, and I don't think he's the guy at star if it came to it. If I added another name it'd be one of Amadi or Burgess, both of whom have gotten reps in the slot. Burgess is a college teammate of Blackmon's (Utah) and has familiarity in Staley's scheme. He's my 54th player right now.
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SPECIALISTS (3)
Blake Grupe
James Burnip
Zach Wood
CUT
Kai Kroeger
Charlie Smyth
Why: As much as I appreciate Smyth's power, there's no question in my mind that Grupe is the kicker. He's performed so well in camp that the conversation is less about whether he should get the job and more about whether the Saints have one of the top young kickers in the NFL. Punter is a different story. For now I'm sticking with Burnip, but his rough performance in the preseason opener has me sitting at about 50/50. The first guy who shows a consistent ability to pin some going in kicks inside the 10 probably takes it.
PRACTICE SQUAD (17*)
- QB Hunter Dekkers
- RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
- RB Marcus Yarns
- WR Kevin Austin Jr.
- TE Michael Jacobson
- TE Treyton Welch
- G/C Shane Lemieux
- G/C Kyle Hergel
- OT Jonathan Mendoza
- DT Khristian Boyd
- DT Jonathan Bullard
- LB Nephi Sewell
- Edge Jasheen Davis
- CB Rezjohn Wright
- DB Ugo Amadi
- DB Terrell Burgess
- K Charlie Smyth (IPP*)