The final practice of the Saints' mandatory minicamp was held indoors on another scorching hot June day in Metairie, and there was no mystery as to why.
After coming off the practice field on Tuesday, the second outdoor workout in as many days in 90-plus degree conditions, head coach Dennis Allen decided the final day of work would be done with air conditioning. The goal was a crisp, clean day of work before the team went its separate ways ahead of the full training camp in July.
But it was a cleaner day of work for the defense than the offense. That side of the ball has looked a step ahead to this point, and that's not unusual considering the current offense is a small framework of what it will look like in a few months months. Minicamp work was largely situational, with team drills focusing on short-yardage work, something that's already tilted toward the defensive side of the ball anyway.
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TAKING ATTENDANCE
The turnout was largely the same, with just one additional absence from previous days in the form of special teams ace JT Gray. He was dinged up on a highlight reel catch by Chris Olave in Wednesday's workout and left early. He was not spotted on the field for Thursday's workout.
Others who did not participate for the third-straight day:
- WR Michael Thomas
- TE Taysom Hill
- DE Taco Charlton
- DE Payton Turner
- DE Marcus Davenport
- DB Dylan Mabin
Safety Marcus Maye continued to gradually ramp up his work as he returns from an Achilles injury. Charlton and Maybin were also spotted doing individual work off to the side with trainers during Wednesday's session.
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CATCH OF THE DAY
As noted above, the defense had its share of nice moments during team drills. But the best thing I saw on offense came before that, in the form of 6-4 wide receiver Dai'Jean Dixon going up with one hand to snare a Jameis Winston pass during positional workouts.
I typically don't want to overhype plays made without a defender around to have a say, but I'm not sure a defender could've done anything about this one short of fouling. They likely couldn't have gotten high enough.
I might just be partial to his one because I was standing about 5 feet away as the ball was casually hauled in, and fortunately the Saints were able to catch a video of the moment itself. Can't see the video below? Click here.
The curve to make this roster at WR got much steeper with the addition of Landry and expected return of Michael Thomas, but the New Orleans native Dixon is the lone player on the current roster that could be called a "big-body" WR, and could definitely play himself into a role if he continues to show off the hand skills and on special teams.
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BRYCE THOMPSON HYPE DAY
Bryce Thompson has a lot of the things the Saints seem to look for in a player.
- Can he play multiple positions? Check
- Does he always seem to be around the ball? Check
- Did he go to Ohio State or Tennessee? Check
The ability to work in at corner, nickel and safety has been a major element that's made PJ Williams so valuable to this Saints roster in recent years, and that skillset is exactly what Thompson has shown throughout camp. The more you can do, the more value you provide your team.
Don't take my word for it. Here's Dennis Allen's: "The more guys can do and the more roles a guy can fill, the more valuable they become to us as a coaching staff."
Thompson made sure to put his stamp on the final day of minicamp, breaking up passes on back-to-back plays in red zone drills. The first came against Jarvis Landry, prompting teammate CJ Gardner-Johnson to toss his gloves to the ground in celebration and run onto the field yelling praise for his young teammate.
For Thompson -- and many of the young players on the Saints roster -- a bit more consistency will be the biggest goal of this offseason.
"You see some good plays and then you see some plays where you say, 'ah, we've got to get better in that area.' " Allen said. "I think that's what all players should and are striving to do is become more consistent."
The lone criticism would be that he probably could've come down with an interception on one or both of those plays, but they were impressive nonetheless. He could be making things interesting at a depth safety spot in a couple months.
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LUTZ STILL HAS THE LEG
We got to see Wil Lutz on the field the first two practices, but they were mainly just appearances for the kicker who is returning from a core injury and surgery that kept him out the entirety of last season.
On Day 1 it was tryout kicker Alex Quevedo getting the work during drills. On Day 2 it was UDFA John Parker Romo. But it was Lutz's day on Thursday, and he didn't disappoint.
The 27-year-old appeared to go a perfect 6-for-6 during his initial kicks without a full set of lines in front of him. I say "appeared" because the angle from which I was watching practice made it difficult to tell exactly where the ball crossed the uprights. But it was the leg strength that really stood out, with Lutz banging his final kick clean through the uprights from 57 yards out, a kick that had some room to spare.
The direction finder still needs to be dialed in a bit, with Lutz going just 5-for-9 in the full team drills, missing a handful right and one left. But there's plenty of time to kick off the rust, and he still knocked through his final kick from 52 out. There are a lot of pieces back in their places for the 2022 season, and he could end up being as important as any of them.
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HURST & PENNING
The position battle at left tackle looks like it'll be one of the more interesting ones throughout training camp. Minicamp did nothing to dispel that notion.
Veteran James Hurst got the first-team reps during the three-day session, and at this point probably has the inside track at being the Day 1 starter. He's a well-rounded veteran and Trevor Penning is finding his way as a rookie. But there's still a long way to go, and the first-round pick told me he already feels like he's come a long way with his footwork and technique in just the first handful of team sessions.
The rookie said he isn't reading too much into the split of first- and second-team reps or lineups right now. When that position battle gets into the full camp those splits will start to matter a bit more. At this point, as Penning put it, "we're kind of just working on getting better."
The rookie's time will come regardless of whether he starts in Week 1. He's a first-round pick, and the rubber has to meet the road eventually. The important thing is making sure he's as ready as he can be before he's tossed into the fire. Having a steady veteran like Hurst who is thrilled and motivated to fight for that job is a luxury. The story will begin to write itself next month.