The pads came on at Saints camp, and as you'd hope, the physicality stood out.
It could be spotted in multiple areas. The team ran 1-on-1 reps for the first time, the defensive backs made life miserable on receivers and Trevor Penning had his first dust-up of the offseason, with a shoving match after the whistle between he and Trevor Penning, with Kentavius Street joining verbally.
The defense stood out again in team drills, and at this point of the season, we'll focus on the positive end of these results. As the offseason goes on with more of the offense installed, you'd expect the offense to assert itself more.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
Let's start with the players with improving statuses, because linebacker Pete Werner made his debut on Monday after spending the first week off to the side rehabbing from an injury. He's facing big expectations this season, likely stepping into the Will role alongside Demario Davis, and those reps with the 1s will be valuable.
Wide receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed was also spotted for the first time, doing individual drills (while not in pads). The UDFA hasn't participated in any full practice of the offseason, but he appears close to coming off the PUP list. Juwan Johnson continued rehab work off to the side as well. Marcus Davenport was not spotted on Monday, but has also been rehabbing.
Bryce Thompson and Michael Thomas both also returned to practice after a day off Saturday, while Tanoh Kpassagnon worked into team drills for the first time.
The absences continued to include Tyrann Mathieu for whom there is still no established timetable for his return to the team, which is an excused absence for what the Saints described as a family issue. Taysom Hill was absent again as he works back from a rib injury.
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PAULSON ADEBO IS DOMINATING
You never want to take too many concrete opinions away from non-padded practices, but it was clear that Paulson Adebo was repeatedly making his presence known in reps. After the first day in pads, that take might've been on the low end, because he flat-out dominated.
Showcasing the exact type of physicality this team is always looking for at the cornerback position, he kept stumping defender after defender. His first rep came against Jarvis Landry and the pair got their feet tangled up, incomplete.
His next rep came against Tre'Quan Smith. This one technically ended up as a completion, but a lucky one. Adebo got his hand in and knocked the ball up in the air, but it fell back into Tre'Quan's hands. I still give that rep to the DB.
"I think Paulson Adebo might be the player of the camp, his consistency so far throughout," WWL's Bobby Hebert said after Monday's session.
"His press coverage, there's no room for the football," Hebert said.
Adebo's next rep came against Chris Olave, and this was where the physicality really showed out. Both players were hand-fighting, I'd expect this level of contact to go unflagged in the game, and the second-year DB took away everything on this rep for the rookie. It was oddly another rep where the ball was knocked up into the air and back into the WR's hands, but this time he was out of bounds.
That hot streak extended to 11 on 11s, too, with Adebo breaking up a ball from Jameis Winston intended for Jarvis Landry. The ball was a bit high, and that was a good thing for Winston -- if it had been fully on-target, it was probably an interception. That's how good the coverage was.
The only real, and definitely unreasonable, criticism would be that with all the times No. 29 has gotten his hand on the ball, he probably should've hauled one in for a turnover by now. When that's the criticism, things are going pretty well.
The defense is usually a bit ahead of the offense early on, and I think that's the case here. I expect the offense to catch up. But still, Adebo is looking every bit like the stud that was hinted at in Year 1 of his NFL career. The Saints already know who Marshon Lattimore is. If Adebo ends up being a lockdown, man corner on his side of the field, this defense could be scary good. Last year we saw a lot of help rolled to the non-Marshon side of the field for good reasons. If you don't have to help anywhere specific, the defense has all the advantages. You can dedicate extra attention to a back, or a tight end, or take away an entire area of the field. His emergence, particularly with the depth behind him -- yeesh.
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LANDRY TAKES SPILL, LOOKS OK
As mentioned above, Jarvis Landry got his feet tangled up with Adebo on his first rep of 1-on-1s, which was a hold-your-breath moment. The veteran WR looked a bit shaken up as he walked away from the play and was spotted speaking with trainers on the sideline.
The good news: Landry was back for another rep in the same session. He lined up across from Bradley Roby, and while it wasn't the most intense rep you've ever seen, Jarvis gained easy separation and made the grab.
Jarvis stuck around for team drills and looked fine, but it's something to keep an eye on. Jarvis is a warrior and it'd take a lot to get him to leave or miss practice, but the Saints would be smart to play it safe if he's feeling worse for wear the rest of the week.
MEAN TREVOR PENNING HAS ARRIVED
We've all heard about Trevor Penning's mean streak, and it's been talked about at length since the Saints selected him No. 19 overall in this year's draft. But that hasn't been apparent throughout OTAs and minicamp.
It's clear the pads came on, and that intensity was ratcheted up. The rookie asserted himself well in the blocking game and clearly caught the ire of pass-rushers Payton Turner and Kentavius Street. Penning and Turner exchanged shoves and at least something resembling a punch.
Penning was asked about the moment after practice and said there's no "bad blood" between he and Turner. Football is football. And generally if a O-lineman has a D-lineman playing tilted, it's advantage OL. It'll be interesting to watch those trench battles the rest of the camp, regardless.
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THE OL IS GUARDIAN CAP-FRIENDLY
The Guardian Caps for the OL, DL, TE and LB helmets have been an interesting topic throughout camp. They've gotten lukewarm reviews or outright criticism from the TEs and D-lineman we've spoken to, but the O-linemen we've spoken to have had a very different tune.
That included Ryan Ramczyk the other day, who really didn't have anything negative to say beyond a bit more heat. Today Erik McCoy made it very clear: He's a big fan. McCoy wore them during his final season at Texas A&M and doesn't think they make much of a difference once you get used to them.
I don't think that's entirely a coincidence, either. The linemen (and to a lesser extent the TEs) are the players who have to stand like concrete walls and don't really have control over the contact level they're receiving. DEs, linebackers and TEs are playing with a bit more finesse and you can imagine why it'd be make a more noticeable difference. And when you think of it from the perspective of protecting the linemen from repeated blows to the head that can be mitigated, the use of these caps make a lot more sense.
JUSTIN EVANS FLASHES AGAIN
With Tyrann Mathieu's continued absence, there have been opportunities for several players to showcase their abilities at safety. Justin Evans is probably the player that's taken the greatest advantage of that opportunity. He had a pair of PBUs earlier in camp, and on Monday he showed great range to undercut a ball from Ian Book intended for Kevin White and come down with the interception.
"Here's a guy 2 years out of football. His range and his ability to get to the football is so good," WWL's Mike Detillier said. "Now, you've got to keep him healthy. But man, I'm impressed, because if something were to happy to Tyrann or Marcus Maye, Evans could fill in."
A FUTURE SAINTS QB IN THE CROWD ALONGSIDE A FORMER SAINTS QB?
I kid, I kid -- at least about that first part. Saints legend Archie Manning and his son Cooper Manning were in attendance at Monday's practice, along with mega-prospect Arch Manning, who has committed to the 2023 class for the University of Texas after his final season at Isidore Newman.
Time to start planning for where the Saints might be drafting in 2026.