We'll have an entire offseason to talk about the New Orleans Saints and their outlook for the season, let's talk about the fans.
On one of the hottest days of the year, Who Dats filled the Saints practice facility in Metairie to watch what they had to know would be a glorified walkthrough. It was the first open practice since 2023, and they took full advantage.
"I mean, that's huge, because it was burning out there, and to have that many people out there was really cool," said Louisiana native and safety Justin Reid after experiencing the fanbase at practice for the for the first time.
There were loud cheers after virtually every big play, kids were taking turns yelling players names and roaring when they got a wave back. After a year away and a few down seasons, it was a nice reminder of how fun the Saints can (and should) be.
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TAKING ATTENDANCE
The New Orleans Saints will not be among the NFL teams with contract drama, at least not in minicamp. The Saints had 100% attendance for the first day of the three-day mandatory session, with a few players not participating due to injuries.
That group included Taysom Hill, who was on hand watching for the first time this offseason as he works back from a knee injury. Guard Nick Saldiveri and TEs Dallin Holker and Foster Moreau also didn't participate, though all were in attendance.
There was also some positive injury news, with both quarterback Jake Haener and CB Quincy Riley taking steps forward. Haener was throwing for the first time since injuring his oblique in the first set of OTAs. Initially he was expected to be out for these practices, so he's beaten the timeline to some extent. The same can be said for CB Quincy Riley, who got on the field for the first time during the final set of OTAs and got his first work during team drills in this practice. He'll be an exciting player to watch.
If it wasn't made clear above, those in attendance included Tyrann Mathieu and Alvin Kamara, who both missed all three OTA sessions. Kamara was a full participant. Mathieu appeared limited, though head coach Kellen Moore indicated there was no injury issue to worry about.
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QB BATTLE
As has been the case throughout the offseason to this point, there were only 7-on-7 reps. Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler rotated with the first team, and we didn't see Hunter Dekkers outside of individual drills.
The practice was a bit extended, with the most reps for each player that we've seen to this point. Spencer Rattler went 10-of-16, while Tyler Shough went 11-of-16. This was also the first time the Saints went through situational drills with down and distance, which likely colored some of the decision-making (IE: When it's 3rd and 4, you're going to prioritize a first down over a potential big play).
It was another day where routes seemed to be designed open, and I wouldn't be surprised if the heat played a factor, with execution seeming to drop down the stretch. Rattler completed his first ball to Alvin Kamara in the flat -- good to see that connection get going, and he followed that up with completions to Juwan Johnson, Kevin Austin and Rashid Shaheed on a slant (the ball was a little behind but easily catchable). Slants were a big theme of the day.
The interesting thing for Rattler is that he easily had the throw of the day, finding Xazavian Valladay in stride on a wheel route for what would've been a 30-plus-yard gain. His next throw was then his worst of the day, attempting to loft a ball downfield to Juwan Johnson but not identifying the safety lurking in the flat. Jonas Sanker made a play on the ball but appeared to drop it. It goes down as an incompletion, but for all intents and purposes it'd have been an interception. He then went 1-for-3 on his final set of reps with one scramble (not a great sign in 7s), dumped a ball into the turf targeting Moliki Matavao, and then had his final pass of the day broken up by Justin Reid who was crashing down (nice play by the veteran).
Shough continued to attack the edges of the field and rarely pressed the issue between the numbers. He does deliver those balls well, including one to Brandin Cooks that would've gone for 20-plus if the WR could've gotten his toes down. He had another similar throw to Rashid Shaheed, who looks really good at this stage.
Arguably Shough's best throw of the day went for an incompletion, with Moochie Dixon going up Rezjohn Wright and Tyrann Mathieu and coming down with the ball, but the young WR was unable to keep his feet inbounds.
To this point my critique will be the same: I'd like to see him push the issue a bit more than he is. He seems a bit risk averse at this point and trying to avoid making mistakes rather than testing limits. Maybe that's for the best, we'll have to wait and see.
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TRYOUTS
There were two new players in Saints uniforms on Tuesday who weren't actually listed on the roster. Those players were G/C Shane Lemieux (back wearing No. 66) and RB Cam Akers (in No. 38).
The Saints have been active in looking to keep adding to the roster and wouldn't be surprised to see either player stick around.
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FLOATING COVERAGE
Something that'll be fun to watch is how Brandon Staley's scheme allows players to roam and find spots to make plays. Both Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid have applauded it and having those guys to hold down the back end is one of the reasons this group could be sneaky good. There will be A TON of moving parts, and it's not a coverage system that you'd want young players to have to learn on the fly.
We've only seen a bit of it to this point (and Mathieu didn't get much work in today), but this team could end up being very ball-hawky. We'll have to wait and see.
We also continued to see Chase Young, Cam Jordan and others getting work in coverage. Chase Young even had a PBU. Good luck trying to throw around that guy.
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GRUPE GANG
Whether you want to call it a competition right now or not, we saw Blake Grupe kick today ... and it was impressive. The third-year pro went 6-for-6 with his final kick from 61 yards out. None of those kicks were ever even flirting with missing the target. I wouldn't say the 61-yarder got over by a ton, but it safely cleared the bar.
The only time I've ever questioned Grupe is when he's battling significant wind, and that's simply not going to be the case for most Saints games. He's going to be tough to beat.
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BUSY JUWAN
I'll have to go back and check, but Juwan Johnson might be the busiest guy on the field. He was targeted another four times today and it looks like he'll be a focal point of this offensive attack.
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NUSS BUS
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was in attedance for this one. No big surprise, considering his father Doug is the Saints OC, but still a fun subplot. If this season's record ends up where oddsmakers are forecasting it (the over/under is at 5.5) whether or not to draft Garrett could be a serious topic of conversation next offseason.
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NEW LOOKS
You might do a double-take when you see a couple Saints veterans this offseason. That's because Tyrann Mathieu cut off his signature dreadlocks, while Cam Jordan died his hair ... white? I don't think blond is the right word.
It's very much Game of Thrones (or I guess House of the Dragon) inspired. You have been warned.