The New Orleans Saints have a QB competition on their hands for the first time in years, and on the first day of training camp we finally got a picture of what that will look like.
It was a shorter session than we'll see throughout, but it delivered on Kellen Moore's promise: Every day one player will get the QB1 reps, then the rest of the reps will be split behind them. On Day 1 those first-team reps (17 of them to be exact) went to Spencer Rattler, who looked the most comfortable of the three QBs.
"They constantly get graded and when I look at today, Spencer Rattler won the day," said the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert, "so you can chalk it up, because the coaches are doing that."
It certainly wasn't an aggressive day of offense, with a host of designed runs and QB draws. There were several designed checkdowns or throwback screens. Only a handful of plays were designed to go downfield, with Rattler's best throw hitting Chris Olave on a deep dig during 7-on-7 drills. By my count, Rattler went 9-for-9 passing, with most of those throws at or near the line of scrimmage.
Shough took the second-team reps and looked a bit like a rookie getting into full, 11-on-11 drills at the NFL level for the first time. The good news is that's exactly what he is. There were at least two would-be sacks, one of which saw Shough slip and fall behind the line. There were a few misses, though his best throw of the day was a backshoulder ball to Marcus Yarns on a wheel route that the UDFA appeared to drop. Shough had 15 reps in total and went 2-for-5 on passing attempts.
I wouldn't overreact to those results at this point. The rookie will get the first-team reps on Thursday and I expect to see him settle in, and QBs tend to look better when they're throwing to their top targets. The clock needs to speed up a bit, and I think it will.
Haener got the third-team reps and only saw 10 total, though he did have two of the nicest moments of the day on back-to-back downfield completions to Michael Jacobson. The real question for Haener will be whether this QB competition actually does feature days where he gets the first-team reps. Moore said that Rattler getting the ball first wasn't indicative that he's in the lead, and that he and Shough were as even as could be coming out of camp.
The problem: Whether you intended it as a statement or not, putting Rattler out there first is an endorsement, and one that he made the most of. If we were forced to pick a starter today, he'd be it. This goes without saying, but there's an eternity left in this competition.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
The Kellen Moore era started off comfortably, and by that I mean what figured to be a scorching July day really never got to that point. It was overcast and the sun never came out during the short session. I hope the players enjoyed it, because it won't be that way for long.
As far as attendance, there's really nothing to report. The only players under contract who were not in action were Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau, both of whom are beginning the season on PUP due to their respective knee injuries. I did see Taysom on the sidelines toward the end of practice, and it's good to see him around the team. With a rash of surprising Saints retirements, it's fair to wonder whether the option is on his mind, as well.
SAFETY QUESTIONS
Tyrann Mathieu is retired, but all that means is bigger questions at the safety position. The Justin Reid signing now feels massive, so the Saints at least have one answer, but who starts next to him?
On Wednesday it was Jordan Howden getting first-team reps, and he'll be the incumbent player to beat. I expect Jonas Sanker to compete for a role, I'm just not sure that role will be starting immediately on the back end in a Brandon Staley scheme that asks a lot out of those players. You need a high-end processor, and it's tough to be that as a rookie. The Saints haven't announced the Julian Blackmon signing yet, but I have to imagine he's in town before the week is out. Will he slot in as the starter immediately? My guess is yes, but we'll have to wait and see.
ROTATING BACKS
Alvin Kamara is the most sure thing on this Saints roster, but who takes the reps behind him? Your guess is as good as mine. As of now it sounds like that position will be rotating on a daily basis just like the quarterbacks.
Two things that feel worth noting: Devin Neal got run with the 1s, and Cam Akers fumbled (D'Marco Jackson punched it out) on his first touch of camp. Reading too much into either would be an overreaction, but we shouldn't ignore those things, either.
COMBO DRILLS
There are some things that look different at Kellen Moore's practices, and one is the position drills -- which are now multi-position drills. We saw linebackers and tight ends getting in work together, RBs and WRs, etc. etc. Nothing major, but it's just another wrinkle brought in by a new coaching staff.
KICKER BATTLE KICKOFF
I'm still rolling with Blake Grupe if I had to pick my kicker today, and he did nothing today to sway that idea, going 5-for-5 with his longest from 49 on a day where there was some decent left to right wind. His ability to be rock-steady from those distances is probably what sets him apart in this conversation.
I expect to see Charlie Smyth tomorrow. We know he can kick it a mile, but he'll have to keep pace from 50 and in to make this thing really interesting.
