The New Orleans Saints got their full roster to the facility this week for mandatory minicamp. Well, all but one player in Ryan Ramczyk who we don't expect to see for a while.
The stars showed up and several key players showed well. So who stood out?
Scroll below for some of the top notes from Day 1 of mandatory minicamp out at the team facility in Metairie.
━━
TAKING ATTENDANCE
There were several absences from the first day of mandatory minicamp, but all but one of those players was at the facility this week. The lone exception was Ryan Ramczyk, whose absence was excused. He is continuing to rehab a balky knee and head coach Dennis Allen indicated it has not progressed as hoped. His status is very much in doubt for this season and beyond.
Here's the full list of players that I didn't spot on the field for the opening day of this week's practices:
- CB Faion Hicks
- LB Nephi Sewell
- TE Juwan Johnson
- TE Tommy Hudson
- DT Bryan Bresee
- DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
- DT Jack Heflin
- DE Chase Young
- RT Ryan Ramczyk
Rookie CB Kool-Aid McKinstry did get onto the field for the first time, going through a walkthrough and some individual drills before getting in rehab work with trainers. Another player we saw for the first time this preseason was DE Nathan Latu, one of the Saints UDFAs who missed the OTA sessions with injuries.
The most notable absences were that of TE Juwan Johnson and DT Bryan Bresee, who are either dealing with an injury or an illness. The head coach would not offer any specifics beyond that.
━━
LATTIMORE & KAMARA ARRIVE
It's official: We can finally stop talking about where oh where the stars have gotten off to. Both players were present and active for the first day of minicamp, and both guys look very much like themselves. It's always jarring to see the way Kamara can move out there after watching a few weeks of his backups. There's a reason he's an elite talent. He's never off balance, he explodes out of breaks. He's still that guy, and we got a small dose of what this offense could do for him with a handful of outside runs, though it did seem like his workload might've been a bit limited in the early action.
Lattimore's day was a bit up and down. He got beaten early on a deep ball to Chris Olave in 7-on-7s and he may have been knocking the rust off a bit. Still, we saw him break up a high ball intended for Olave in the final set of drills. He's just a guy who makes plays, and his presence as that player makes this team A LOT more formidable.
Last year the matchups between Lattimore and Mike Thomas were appointment viewing. This time around it'll be a different Ohio State grudge match.
━━
OLAVE & SHAHEED LOOK LEGIT
I wouldn't say that the duo of Olave and Rashid Shaheed are getting a lot of love around the NFL as an elite WR duo. I think this time next year we'll be having a different conversation. Opposing defenses are going to have a nightmare containing these two all season, and if the Klint Kubiak offense gives them more opportunities to catch and run, their numbers could skyrocket from a year ago.
Neither guy is the contested catch machine over the middle of the field you might like, but the key is both players' ability to take the top off at any point and in any matchup. Line up in man without deep safety help and you're risking a house call. We saw that happen twice today, one on a deep ball to Olave in 7-on-7s thrown by Carr and another later in the day with Jake Haener in 2-minute action, with Shaheed snagging a ball down the right sideline despite Rezjohn Wright and Will Harris being in the vicinity.
Personally I thought Shaheed was the standout performer of the day, and that's in part because we didn't see him featured much in the early OTA sessions. He's always going to be at his best as a deep threat in big moments, but we also saw him catch passes over the middle in what would've been YAC opportunities.
In all Olave caught 6 passes on 7 targets. Shaheed caught all 3 of the balls sent his way. These guys have a big opportunity to step forward into the elite duo conversation this season. Early returns look good.
Related
━━
WERNER FLASHES
One of the top position battles of this offseason, at least on defense, will be between Willie Gay and Pete Werner, both of whom are effectively in contract years. Gay signed a 1-year deal in free agency while Pete Werner enters the final year of his rookie deal.
Gay has looked solid thus far, but we saw a flash of the Werner that looked like an All-Pro early in the 2022 season. On one outside run he read the action, got upfield and got his hands to Alvin Kamara for what would've been a 3-yard loss (assuming the tackle is made). The play drew cheers from his position coach. Werner got into the backfield again moments later on a Jamaal Williams carry and there were several other nice plays throughout the day. It's a good start for what will be a massive season for him in terms of earning that next contract.
━━
GRUPE IS THE GUY
There's going to be a lot of Charlie Smyth love throughout the preseason. The former Gaelic football standout making his transition to the NFL is an admittedly fun storyline. That said, I don't see a kicking competition brewing. I see a confident young kicker heading into Year 2 with a firm grasp on his job.
We saw that displayed with Grupe going 5-for-5 on a day with some decent wind. He also calmly knocked through the kicks during team sessions. Saints special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi says he expects strong Year 2 performances from both Grupe and Lou Hedley. I can understand why.
Related
━━
CARR LOOKS SHARP
The backup question between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler is drawing the most attention because there's an actual question, but don't let that fool you into thinking Carr has been struggling. It's quite the opposite. Carr has looked smooth, efficient and in control.
That was on display early and often in these sessions. In the first set of 7-on-7s Carr completed 6 of his 7 attempts, with the lone incompletion looking to be a throwaway beyond Equanimeous St. Brown. That included the long completion to Olave mentioned above, as well as connections with Shaheed, and Foster Moreau. He moved the ball during the final situational drill, but they did bog down outside of field goal range (the goal of that situation).
Overall the offense has moved smoothly and, as far as I can tell, everyone looks to be on the same page. That's all you can ask right now. One interesting change from past years is how the play calls come in. Pete Carmichael had always communicated the play calls in person during camp, Kubiak uses a walkie-talkie and radios to call them in. I always thought it was strange to bypass a step that's integral to the in-game action. This makes more sense. The Saints also worked with simulated crowd noise today, something I don't recall seeing this early in the offseason before. It's clear the details are being emphasized.
Another interesting element was in individual drills where it appeared the QBs were working on anticipation throws, releasing the ball well before the receiver was out of their break. It led to a lot of balls on the ground as QB and receiver get on the same page, but the upside is obvious. I don't recall seeing such a drill in the past, at least not as clear as it was. Just something to keep in mind as we watch the new offensive coaching staff, because it's clear they're bringing a lot of new wrinkles into practices.
━━
LAGNIAPPE
One player who might be being overlooked at this stage is Will Harris, a versatile DB who was getting run with the 1s today. Last year around this time we saw Lonnie Johnson and Ugo Amadi carve out clear roles, and that's what Will seems to be doing right now. ... At this point it's clear the goal is to go into camp with Alontae Taylor as the starting slot corner, but the question will be how that changes with Kool-Aid McKinstry in the action. I expect one of those guys to be in the slot and the other to be in the CB3 role that we saw Isaac Yiadom excel in last year. ... Both Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler showed well in their action today. I don't intend to document every day of the depth QB action exhaustively. We'll continue to talk about them as necessary. Haener has been consistent and Rattler seems to have kicked whatever jitters led to those shaky opening practices. Now it's about progression. ... Isaiah Foskey had another solid day. He's flashed several times in practice and affected several plays. This time last year we were saying the opposite. It's good to see from a young player who can (and hopefully will) play himself into a bigger role this season.