The first few weeks of training camp could otherwise be called UDFA hype season, and that's exactly what we've gotten through the first four days in California.
Often the only question is the name, and this year that name is Mason Tipton, a speedy WR out of Yale who just keeps making plays in team drills, many of them downfield. He opened eyes earlier in the week with a bomb from Nathan Peterman. Today the ball was from Spencer Rattler on a deep post. In all he had four catches on the day.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen confirmed that he's caught the attention of his coaches for a few reasons.
"He's smart," Allen said. "Not just Yale smart. He's football smart."
What could also set Tipton apart from some other UDFA dandies is his speed and potential upside as a returner. With the kickoff changes making a return skillset suddenly a lot more valuable, he's definitely not a guy to ignore.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
There were no practice returns today for any of the players battling injury, though we did see Kendre Miller at the field but not participating. We're continuing to see players on the PUP list getting in work. There was one big addition to the absentees in DT Bryan Bresee, who is dealing with a foot issue.
Here's who we didn't see participating in Saturday's session:
- RB Kendre Miller (hamstring)
- OL Justin Herron (knee)
- OL Shane Lemieux (ankle)
- CB Marshon Lattimore (hip)
- DT Bryan Bresee (foot)
Allen wouldn't give a timeline for Lattimore, who left during Friday's practice with a hamstring injury. The team is off on Sunday before holding its first padded practice of camp on Monday.
Related
HEARING THE PRAISE
It's impossible to get a great look at exactly what is going on during every rep of team drills, but there are points where your ears can tell you as much as your eyes. It's easy to see that Pete Werner has seemed to be in the action often, but what's stood out is how many times linebackers coach Michael Hodges has yelled in excitement about plays that he made. It happened twice on Friday, and that's been the case several times already throughout camp.
Werner had at least one TFL in Saturday's action and also got out well in underneath coverage on a ball that Derek Carr was still able to squeeze in to Rashid Shaheed. Whether Pete has had a bit of a fire lit under him due to the addition of Willie Gay and a bit more competition, it's clear that he's on a bit of a different level right now.
WHAT THE REPS SAY
The Saints are down one of their veteran tackle options with Herron out, and the response to that has been to get Taliese Fuaga some extra reps with the second team, interspersed with Landon Young who's been bouncing between right and left tackle (and has been impressive doing so, by the way).
There are a few things to take away from that, but one is pretty obvious: The Saints are very much committed to Fuaga playing left tackle this season. I'm not sure you can say the same thing about Penning on the other side, who has been limited to first team reps. That's not to say the Saints are planning to go away from Penning, but they clearly do see it as necessary to get reps for other players (Oli Udoh is the most likely backup option other than Young).
To be clear, this is not to say the Saints are waffling on their decision with Penning. It's to say that they're hedging that bet. Generally speaking I think Penning has held up reasonably well, with the largest and most consistent issue being technique in straight up pass protection. The good news is that if the early offense is any indicator, those reps will be minimal compared to a year ago. This offense relies heavily on misdirection, play action, motion -- basically anything that can get the defense's eyes out of place. What Penning needs to be able to do is be an asset in run blocking. If the Saints can sell that action to the right, they can survive shoddy pass protection a lot more easily.
Related
IMPORTANT REPS
Lattimore missing practices isn't a positive thing, obviously, but his absence does allow the Saints to shift some pretty important reps to Kool-Aid McKinstry. He's taken the majority of outside reps across from Marshon Lattimore the last few days, and while it hasn't all been perfect, these learning experiences are invaluable for a player who is getting a late start due to the foot injury that kept him out of OTAs and minicamp.
"He's a rookie that missed all the spring, so he's 1,000 reps behind," Allen said. "So every rep that he can get is a learning experience for him."
The good news for McKinstry is that he's ahead of the typical rookie curve in terms of technique and understanding of the defense. Thus far we haven't seen much of Kool-Aid in the slot, with Will Harris appearing to be the first choice in that role behind Alontae Taylor.
PLAY OF THE DAY
There were several options to choose from today, but I'm going to go with the best design. On a first-team rep the Saints aligned heavy to the right side with a fullback and a tight end. For all the world you'd have assumed it was a run to the right. Nope. It was a playaction fake followed by a naked bootleg to the left side where Cedrick Wilson was standing by himself. Carr lofted him the ball and No. 11 took off for what would've been a 30-plus-yard chunk play and maybe even a touchdown if Wilson really put the pedal down. Even on a day that was all about play action, the formation and approach created an easy chunk play. One key was the ability to sell the run to the right side (going back to that note above). Hopefully we see a lot more of that.
LAGNIAPPE
It'll be interesting to watch how the safety depth chart develops. Thus far it seems like Johnathan Abram has the inside track to start next to Tyrann Mathieu, but we did see Jordan Howden rotate in today with the first team. Will Harris is also getting a lot of key reps. ... Charlie Smyth deserves a lot of credit for his day today. He went 7-for-7 on a day with some decent win, with his final kick from 58 with some room to spare. Blake Grupe is rock-steady and it feels like he'll be near-impossible to beat out, but you can see the vision for Charlie and he'll stick around in the international player roster spot. ...
MY BIG FIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (4 practices)
- LB Pete Werner
- WR Mason Tipton
- DE Carl Granderson
- RT/LT Landon Young
- K Blake Grupe (15-15 on field goal attempts)