It's never wise to try to read too much into early depth charts, but that's never stopped us before.
The Saints put out their first, unofficial listing ahead of their preseason opener against the Cardinals on Saturday, and a few things stood out right away. Here are our top takeaways.
Check out the depth chart in the image below. Can't see the embed? Click here.
CARL OR CHASE
An interesting element of the early depth charts is always the "or" listings, meaning that there's some question to who lands on that top line down the road. In this case it's Carl Granderson and Chase Young splitting the top line at right defensive end. That was a bit surprising to me, considering that I think it's more likely the rotation with Chase comes on the other side and we've seen him take a majority of his reps over the left tackle.
Still, it's important to remember that seniority often weighs heavily on the early depth charts. The biggest takeaway from that line should be the confidence level in Young is already very high.
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STARTER HOWDEN
One of the position battles this camp is for the starting slot next to Tyrann Mathieu between Jordan Howden and Johnathan Abram. This team likes both players, but it listed Howden as the starter and that seems to be a bit of a shift. It's telling of how good a camp they feel Howden has had. He looks to have the inside track at this point.
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PATRICK AT LG
Nick Saldiveri is hurt, but I don't think that's the only reason we see Lucas Patrick as the first string left guard. It always made sense to me that they'd go with the veteran after getting the young player developmental reps. We'll see how that shapes up down the line and maybe there's a takeover at some point for the younger player, but right now I think you're looking at the starting offensive line.
Patrick is also the backup center, so Saldiveri would have a couple ways to get on the field if anyone misses time.
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FB1
I've gotten a few questions about who's leading the fullback battle. It's really difficult to gauge, and both guys have looked like I want a fullback to look, while Horvath might have a bit of an edge in terms of his receiving skillset. Regardless, Prentice is listed as the starter here. Do with that information what you will.
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BACKUP BATTLES
I'll say it again: It's important not to read too much into these initial depth charts. It had to say something and it's not necessarily a major statement. That said, we do have two positions with one young player ahead of another. That includes Michael Jacobson ahead of Dallin Holker at TE2, as well as Jake Haener ahead of Spencer Rattler at QB2.
I think this might be a seniority situation, with rookies needing to earn that spot. Still, particularly at backup QB, someone has got to get on the field first for the preseason opener. If this listing is any indication, it appears that will be Haener.
Related
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AMADI FALLS DOWN
Throughout camp it's felt to some extent that Ugo Amadi was getting displaced on the safety depth chart. This listing sure seems to confirm that. Amadi, listed as a safety on the roster, doesn't appear anywhere as a safety and is only listed as a third string outside cornerback.
Meanwhile, consistent with what we've seen in camp, Will Harris appears to be well positioned as a depth safety, not unlike Amadi and Lonnie Johnson on last year's roster.
The Saints face off with the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday in their preseason opener, followed by a matchup against the 49ers in San Francisco, then a return home for the preseason finale against the Titans at the Caesars Superdome. Catch all the action on WWL.