The New Orleans Saints are back on the field again this week as they build toward the 2026 season, and it sure looked like a positive development for multiple players.
That group includes a pair of rookies in TE Oscar Delp and DT Christen Miller. Both were back in the action after a significant chunk of time missed due to hamstring issues. Delp made his return after suffering a hamstring injury in the first OTA session, while Miller was making his practice debut. Both players participated in team drills, though it was Delp who saw the most action.
It was more of the same for No. 8 overall pick Jordyn Tyson, who seemed a bit more active this week but was still largely held out of drills. The Saints have maintained that his limited activity is part of a "ramp-up" process, with the goal of being ready for training camp. Tyson's injury history is well documented, and only time will tell if this route helps his availability when camp starts in late July.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
As noted above, all of the top three rookie draft picks were on the field for the first day of minicamp and the team had 100% attendance overall. That group included DT Nathan Shepherd, who was absence from OTAs due to personal issues. Alvin Kamara was also in attendance. Both players had their action limited as part of their ramp-up process and didn't take part in team drills.
Here's who I didn't spot practicing at all:
- RB Kendre Miller
- WR Mason Tipton
- WR Bub Means
- WR Damien Alford
- RB Devin Neal
- DT ZXavian Harris
Alford and Miller were on hand during the practice, but neither was participating. Miller is working back from a knee injury suffered midway through last season and head coach Kellen Moore said he is on track with his rehab. Neal's absence is one to watch. He lost a large chunk of his rookie preseason and the final two games of last season due to hamstring injuries.
Chris Olave also was held out of team drills as the team looks to avoid contact situations as he works back from the blood clot that cost him the finale of last season. That meant the WR group was down four names. It also meant Means and Tipton being absent cost them what would've been a significant opportunity to work up the ladder and start to make their cases for a roster spot.
CAM IS BACK
No need to get too much into it here, but if you want to read more, here's the story.
In summary, Cam Jordan is, officially, back for Year 16 in black and gold. And all I can say upon watching this edge rusher group in the first few practices is I think there's very clearly a role for him. He'll have to pass a physical to participate in Wednesday's practice, and if it was anybody else I'd say we probably shouldn't hold our breath for him to get out there. Then again, this is Cam Jordan, the guy who famously never misses any type of work. I'd honestly be surprised if he isn't.
Either way, I think the Saints are better today with Cam in the fold than they were yesterday without him. We can finally stop asking about it. Let's see how things play out.
GRANDO TIPS
One of the biggest questions last year was how the defensive end room was going to transition to a 3-4 scheme, which comes with new requirements for its outside linebacker. Carl Granderson had played in a 4-3 system his whole career and there was no guarantee he'd take quickly and seamlessly to the new role. That said, I think he has.
He started out the day with a batted down pass as Tyler Shough tried to roll out, and had another during 7-on-7 drills. It's a sign that he's getting more and more comfortable playing in space. He's locked in his ideal playing weight and I think he could be in store for a productive season. He had six sacks a year ago and I think could be in line for much more production, particularly if the Saints offense can pin the defense to more leads this year and create obvious passing situations for opposing offenses.
Oh, and his goal is two interceptions this year after he snagged his first career pick in the finale loss to the Falcons. He used to play WR and says the hands are still good.
BUSY, BUSY
The Saints are clearly ramping up the workload as they head toward the final practice before the summer break, a departure from last season when they didn't do any 11-on-11 drills until the start of training camp. On Tuesday they did two complete sets of 11-on-11, with each of the three QBs taking five reps, before a final set of 7-on-7s.
I thought the defense, again, got the better of the day, but it's important to note that the offense was operating without Tyson and Olave. Things should look a bit different when the star WRs are in the mix. The Saints worked in a couple screens and even an end around to Barion Brown, who I think could have a legitimate role in certain packages this season.
This was also a big day for Bryce Lance, who drew first-team reps along with Ja'Lynn Polk and Devaughn Vele. It's difficult to say exactly what that pecking order will look like when the other names are in the mix. Lance caught both targets sent his direction, both from Spencer Rattler.
There wasn't much deep passing, and we'll have to see whether that changes when the offense is in full form. Tyler Shough completed 4 of 7 pass attempts in 11s and also broke through the line for a scramble.
The day looked to be a struggle for Wilson, who threw his second interception on a ball that tipped off of Oscar Delp's hands and was caught by CB Beanie Bishop. He did connect well with Ronnie Bell, who caught 4 of Wilson's 7 completions on the day.
It's still way too early to consider results, but as of now I see no debate over who the best option is as the backup QB. Wilson will need stronger performances in camp to change that.
OL DEPTH
The first-team offensive line is pretty much set in stone, but there will be some interesting questions behind that. Here's a rundown of who lined up where on Tuesday.
First team
- LT: Kelvin Banks
- LG: David Edwards
- C: Erik McCoy
- RG: Cesar Ruiz
- RT: Taliese Fuaga
Second team
- LT: Asim Richards
- LG: Easton Kilty
- C: Torricelli Simpkins III
- RG: Dillon Radunz
- RT: Barry Wesley
Third team
- LT: Alan Herron
- LG: Xavier Truss
- C: Will Sherman
- RG: Jeremiah Wright
- RT: Alex Wollschlaeger
As with everything else, don't make too much of all this right now. But it is a good baseline idea of where everyone stands at this stage of the offseason. To me the primary backups are Radunz who can play both right and left guard, Simpkins at center with guard flex, and Richards at either tackle spot. Wright running with the third team is a pretty clear indicator that he's a developmental player right now.
LAGNIAPPE
The Saints had a pair of WRs in for tryouts today. Those players were Steven Sims and Tay Martin, both journeyman players who could offer depth at the position. Martin is a native of Houma who has spent time with the 49ers, Titans and Commanders. ... Kool-Aid McKinstry is playing with a lot of confidence and as much physicality as he'd allowed. He held up well against Devaughn Vele in a jump ball situation down the sideline on one play and forced an incompletion. I felt like he struggled at times with the bigger receivers last year, so that's a good sign. ... For the first time the Saints had refs in attendance. I expect that to be a very common statement this year. Moore clearly values the refs' input and the ability to keep players honest with flags. It helps prevent bad habits. ... Speaking of refs, I appreciate them the most when it comes to the kicking game, because it can be hard to tell makes from misses without someone right under the goalposts. Today was another Charlie Smyth day and it was less than perfect. On the bright side, he nailed his first three kicks from 39, 42 and 46. Those are the money kicks and the ones you simply can't be missing if you want a long career as an NFL kicker. But he did miss a kick to the left from 52, and then his next kick drifted right from 55. He did nail a second attempt from 55, and it looked like he took a little leg off of it to keep it straight. I'm not going to be overly critical of misses from 50-plus, but I get concerned when I see a guy missing to both sides. He's going to have to lock in, or the Mason Shipley conversation starts to happen. ... I saw Chris Rumph working a few reps at off-ball linebacker today. It's an interesting wrinkle that I think would be used to counter ultra heavy personnel, which seems to be where the league is trending. He's a versatile player and the team does like him a lot. He'll be a tough guy to unseat.
