With about a half-dozen roster projections under my belt, there's always this feeling that's something has got to change. Well, in this year's initial 53-man roster there were several things nobody saw coming.
A trio of veteran names are headed out of town, and some up-and-coming players are getting their first real shot. Outside of those bombshells, I feel pretty satisfied with my projections (feel free to cross reference here).
Some key takeaways include three QBs and four TEs kept, a high number for those position groups, where you could feasibly get away with just four total. As always there's an emphasis on special teams. If you don't profile as a starter and you're not elite in that part of the game, keeping you around will become difficult. One more is that for the second consecutive season you'll be replacing your starting slot corner with an unknown commodity, this time it's Alontae Taylor.
All in all this shaped up about how we expected. Scroll below for the full (initial) 53-man roster and breakdowns for each position group.
53 MAN ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Note: * = rookie; ** = UDFA
QUARTERBACK (3)
- Derek Carr
- Jameis Winston
- Jake Haener*
CUT (0)
- NONE
NOTES: This was easy to figure from the beginning. Derek Carr is the unquestioned starter, Jameis Winston is the backup and Jake Haener gets a redshirt season. After the QB uncertainty of the past few seasons, it’s hard to hate that.
━━
RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK (4)
- RB Jamaal Williams
- RB Kendre Miller*
- RB Kirk Merritt
- FB Adam Prentice
*Alvin Kamara, suspended Weeks 1-3, does not count against active roster
CUT (3)
- RB Ellis Merriweather
- FB Jake Bargas
- RB Darrel Williams
NOTES: No surprise by the cuts here. I expect Ellis Merriweather to stick around on the practice squad. He had a good offseason, but as I’ve said many a time, it’s a tough road to make any roster as a UDFA, and it’s even more difficult at the skill positions. The last name on the depth chart here is one I think flew under the radar a bit due to injury, and that's Kirk Merritt, a player whose position change is so fresh that he's still listed as a WR on the team's roster. The local kid stuck around on the practice squad last season and had been dealing with injuries throughout camp, but he clearly made a good impression on his coaches. I still wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to see Darrel Williams or another veteran land on the practice squad.
━━
WIDE RECEIVER (6)
- Michael Thomas
- Chris Olave
- Rashid Shaheed
- Keith Kirkwood
- A.T. Perry*
- Tre’Quan Smith
CUT (4)
- Shaq Davis**
- Lynn Bowden Jr.
- Kawaan Baker
- Jontre Kirklin**
NOTES: Have I mentioned that it's a hard road for UDFAs, particularly at the skill positions? That's where Shaq Davis finds himself and on the wrong side of the cut line. Still, he's a prime practice squad candidate and his progression was real. On the other hand, A.T. Perry is sticking around, and his performance will be interesting to track. I also expect to see Lynn Bowden Jr. on the practice squad if he can clear waivers because of his return upside. I had him on my projections, but the groin injury late in camp certainly didn't help his stock. Oh, and Tre'Quan Smith is eternal. I finally caved and took him off my last projection because I just didn't like the idea of keeping a guy on a roster after he missed most of training camp. I should have known better.
━━
TIGHT END (4)
- Juwan Johnson
- Foster Moreau
- Jimmy Graham
- Taysom Hill
CUT (3)
- Lucas Krull
- Jesse James
- J.P. Holtz
NOTES: The Saints are rolling the dice with Lucas Krull as I guessed they would, and the question now is whether his 106-yard performance in the finale caught the eye of a TE-needy team. That was really the only question mark in my mind, so the position group I projected is the one that sticks around. It’ll be fascinating to see how they deploy this group week to week.
━━
OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
- OT Ryan Ramzcyk
- C/G Erik McCoy
- C/G Cesar Ruiz
- G/T James Hurst
- OT Trevor Penning
- G/T Nick Saldiveri*
- OL Andrus Peat
- OT Landon Young
- OL Max Garcia
CUT (7)
- OT Storm Norton
- OL Lewis Kidd
- OL Calvin Throckmorton
- OL Alex Pihlstrom**
- OT Mark Evans**
- G Chuck Filiaga
- OL Tommy Kraemer
NOTES: The surprise cut to me was Storm Norton, who seemed pretty entrenched as the backup RT. He’s a vested veteran, which means he gets to skip waivers and sign wherever he wants. My guess is that the Saints held on to Landon Young so they could stash him on IR in the hopes that he gets back this season, and Norton will be back. I also projected the team would cut a few players that made the roster last year in Calvin Throckmorton and Lewis Kidd, and that’s exactly what happened. Either way, don’t get too used to these names. I expect a good bit of shuffling throughout the season.
━━
DEFENSIVE LINE (9)
- DE Cam Jordan
- DE Payton Turner
- DE Carl Granderson
- DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
- DE Isaiah Foskey*
- DT Malcolm Roach
- DT Khalen Saunders
- DT Nathan Shepherd
- DT Bryan Bresee*
CUT (6)
- DE Niko Lalos
- DE Prince Emili
- DT Jack Heflin
- DT Jerron Cage**
- DE Kyle Phillips
NOTES: This was the easiest position to project, and it ended up exactly as I projected. Niko Lalos feels like a no-brainer practice squad addition, and I’d expect one or more of these names to join him.
━━
LINEBACKERS (5)
- Demario Davis
- Pete Werner
- Zack Baun
- D’Marco Jackson
- Nephi Sewell
CUT (5)
- Anfernee Orji**
- Ryan Connelly
- Jaylon Smith
- Ty Summers
- Nick Anderson**
NOTES: The only surprise here is Jaylon Smith, but as I’ve talked about a lot recently, it’s tough to keep a depth linebacker who isn’t productive on special teams, and that’s just something he’s never done. That said, I have a strong suspicion that Smith will be back with the Saints either on the practice squad or the 53 once some injured players have their spots cleared. Otherwise this position group makes a lot of sense and looks how I had been projecting it throughout the offseason.
━━
DEFENSIVE BACK (10)
- CB Marshon Lattimore
- CB Paulson Adebo
- CB Alontae Taylor
- CB Isaac Yiadom
- DB Ugo Amadi
- DB Lonnie Johnson Jr.
- S Jordan Howden*
- S Tyrann Mathieu
- S Marcus Maye
- S J.T. Gray
CUT (8)
- CB Anthony Johnson Jr.**
- S Smoke Monday
- S Johnathan Abram
- DB Troy Pride Jr.
- DB Adrian Frye
- CB Bradley Roby
NOTES: The big surprise cut from this group was Bradley Roby, and the question now becomes whether you start Alontae Taylor or Ugo Amadi in the slot (my money is on Taylor). Either way your depth looks a lot different now, and if the slot corner position becomes a sieve, that move will be scrutinized heavily. The beneficiary of that decision is Isaac Yiadom, who had a strong camp and deserved to make the roster, the only question was numbers. The rest of the group is as I’d been projecting it, with the next question being whether Marcus Maye gets suspended and who fills in when he does.
━━
SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
- K Blake Grupe**
- P Lou Hedley**
- LS Zach Wood
CUT/TRADE (2)
- K Wil Lutz
- P Blake Gillikin
NOTES: Talk about bombshells. Two competitions, two UDFAs won the job. The odd thing is the rookie Lou Hedley is actually 5 years older than Gillikin. Regardless, special teams wasn’t good enough last season and the coaching staff clearly felt that a shakeup was needed. I was projecting for a while that I saw a Lutz to Denver trade as the most likely scenario if a move was pulled off, and that’s exactly what happened. Good luck Blake and Lou, don’t screw it up.
━━
CUT PREVIOUSLY
- RB SaRodorick Thompson Jr. **
- WR Malik Flowers**
- OL Yasir Durant
- OL Scott Lashley
- WR James Washington
- WR Keke Coutee
- WR Bryan Edwards
━━
TO IR
- G Trai Turner
- LB Andrew Dowell
- RB Eno Benjamin
