All three of the New Orleans Saints OTA practices are in the books, so who took full advantage of their opportunities?
That's the big question we aimed to answer on the most recent episode of the Audacy original podcast Inside Black & Gold.
Listen to the full stock watch segment in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
To answer this question we first have to define it. The list of players below isn't necessarily the list of who made the most plays. I'm not talking about budding stars like Chris Olave and Bryan Bresee. The expectations are high and the stock was already high. This is more about the players who came into the past month of practices with something to prove and/or players that were completely off the radar.
If there's a play whose name you didn't know going into OTAs and suddenly you're hearing it all the time, he's probably on the list below. We've also noted a handful of players who missed opportunities to potentially thrust themselves into a larger conversation. There's still plenty of opportunities to improve on that idea, I think of a guy like Tony Jones Jr. a few years back, so no need to overreact. I also wouldn't overreact to a player not being listed on here. In many cases it's just because they're doing the job as expected.
With that in mind, here are my 7 "stock up" players from the three sets of OTA practices. Enjoy!
P LOU HEDLEY
- Why: The rookie year struggles of Lou Hedley were much talked about, but also overplayed. No, the net punting wasn't elite, but the goal was to eliminate returns, and that's what he did. I fully expect him to be the pin-them-back punter again as he was as a rookie, but what Lou has shown during OTAs is that the work he's done to improve his distance and hangtime has paid off. Dennis Allen spoke about this briefly and indicated a primary goal was to add field-flipping ability to his arsenal. If he can do that, there should be no complaints.
QB JAKE HAENER
- Why: We've all talked a lot about Jake Haener already, so no need to go too deep here. In Year 2 and in a situation where a young QB was drafted behind him, all Jake has done has come in and looked poised, confident and ready to be an NFL backup. It was tough to know how this situation would play out, now it's tough to see a scenario where he isn't the ideal option to back up Derek Carr, with Rattler learning behind him and with an eye on the future.
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DE TRAJAN JEFFCOAT (rookie/UDFA)
- Why: This is something a product of circumstance in Tanoh Kpassagnon's torn achilles. With that injury, a crowded defensive line room with a lot of veterans that'd have been tough to unseat has decreased by one. There are a few young pass rush options to consider in filling that role, but none fits it better than Trajan Jeffcoat, who has the pedigree, size and athleticism to fill in that inside/outside role. He also made a couple nice plays in run support to close the final OTA session that could catch some eyes. It's not difficult to see a scenario where he wins one of the final roster spots or turns himself into a priority practice squad player.
G NICK SALDIVERI
- Why: There's still a long way to go in terms of winning a starting job on the offensive line, but after a season where he was nowhere to be found in the rotation, he's bees with the 1s since Day 1 at left guard. That in and of itself warrants a stock up label, but he's also looked solid in early action.
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CB REZJOHN WRIGHT
- Why: It'd certainly be ideal if the attendance was better in the defensive back room during OTAs, but the depth players won't complain. One of those names is Rezjohn Wright, who has earned the starting outside reps across from Alontae Taylor. That's been the case with Paulson Adebo missing the final two sessions, while Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry have missed all three. Wright has been solid, but he'll be buried in the rotation with all the CBs healthy. Still, his name is at the top of the players outside the top four, and that's not something I expected to say this time a month ago. Ike Yiadom carved out a role in a similar fashion last year.
RB JORDAN MIMS
- Why: Jordan Mims had a quiet final OTA session, but there's no question that he took advantage of his opportunities with Alvin Kamara not in attendance. He's flashed his hands at points and some pretty solid vision through the line, with the caveat that there's no pads and it's always tough to know whether there'd have been a tackle made. He's got chemistry with Jake Haener dating back to Fresno State, and if you took the names and numbers away and just asked someone who didn't know any better to point to the best running back after watching all of these three practices, it'd probably be him.
TE MICHAEL JACOBSON
- Why: It's probably not a coincidence that two of the names on this (Jacobson and Mims) list are guys who spent a lot of the 2023 season on the Saints practice squad, and have now used that to springboard into the action this year. Both guys took advantage of extra time by showing up to rookie minicamp, and both guys have forced you to say their names a lot more than expected. The extra feather in the cap for Jacobson is that he's been heavily involved and it's not because there are starters missing. He's just been a consistent presence and made catches when the ball was sent his way. With Taysom Hill's role shifting out of the more traditional TE duties that we've seen in the past and taking on some more fullback-centric concepts, it's possible there's some room for Jacobson to carve out a role for himself.
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Missed opportunities
K CHARLIE SMYTH (rookie)
- Why: Adjusting to the NFL -- and kicking a football, for that matter -- was always going to represent a challenge, so I don't want to overreact to a rough showing from the new guy. That said, Smyth had an opportunity to put an early stamp on a kicking competition and that was undoubtedly a miss. On a windy day Smyth missed three of his seven kicks (and possibly a 4th that was really too close to tell). Two missed to the left, one missed to the right, another sneaked in just inside the right bar. The contact didn't look clean multiple times. It was a learning opportunity, but also a reminder that the NFL kicking game is anything but easy, and neither will be unseating Blake Grupe in that job.
WR KYLE SHEETS (rookie/UDFA)
- Why: Making the roster, or even carving out a spot on the practice squad, means you really have to take advantage of all of your opportunities. I don't think that's been the case thus far for Kyle, particularly on a really nice ball from Spencer Rattler that clanked off his hands in the final OTAs. I think Kyle has the ability to put some impressive athleticism on display in these practice and we just haven't seen it yet.
QB NATHAN PETERMAN
- Why: There hasn't been much QB action for Peterman throughout these practices and it's pretty clear that right now he's No. 4 in a four-man QB room. His first live rep that we were able to see went down as a bad interception. If he has any hope to move into serious contention for the backup job, that can't happen.
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RB KENDRE MILLER
- Why: There was a fumble from Kendre in the first OTA practice we watched, but nothing really to write home about since then. That's the problem, particularly in practices without Alvin Kamara where there should've been an opportunity for the second-year pro to flash a vision that the lead job in the RB room can and should be his someday. We weren't shown that over the past month.
The Saints are next in action and the players above will get their next opportunity at mandatory minicamp, set for June 11-13. From there the team will break until the start of training camp in late July, which will be held in Irvine, California this season.
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