The offseason workouts are in the books for the New Orleans Saints. Now we wait for the official start of the 2026 training camp, which the NFL announced this week will be on July 28, with the first practice the following day.
So what all stood out from the five practices we were able to watch between OTAs and minicamp? Scroll below for my top 10 takes.
1. Jonas Sanker owns the 'star' role
This was probably the biggest question heading into the offseason workouts, and it's also one of the most definitive answers from the last month. Not only did we see Jonas Sanker take all the first-team reps at the star position (nickel corner), but I don't think there's really even a close second. The guy getting the second-team reps was Jayden Price, and I'm not sure if he'd even be the top option to fill in if Sanker missed time.
We'll see how this all develops in camp, but I also think it's the best-case scenario for Sanker. He doesn't need to be pushed, he needs reps. Taking half of them away for a competition that you want him to win would simply mean he's less prepared when the games arrives. It's a big responsibility, let's see how he handles it.
2. The Saints have made sure Jordyn Tyson's health is a story
There's been a lot of talk about Jordyn Tyson missing virtually all of OTAs and minicamp due to his "ramp-up" process. It's tough to know for sure how much of the concern is legitimate and how much is just frustration driven by impatience. Either way it can't possibly be skewed as a positive that the Saints performance staff doesn't trust him to participate in workouts at this stage. He's the only member of the rookie class that didn't practice at minicamp.
If he gets on the field for the start of camp and isn't missing every third day, or some equivalent level of frustrating inaction, this will all have been a lot of talk for nothing. But the Saints certainly didn't take the injury conversation out of the picture, if anything they shined a spotlight on the situation and it's created a scenario where every camp absence will set off alarm bells, merited or not. Hopefully it's a non-issue.
3. Saints have solid CB depth, but top-end questions
The Saints have both their starting outside corners back this season in Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley. Will they be good enough? Is Kool-Aid a true CB1? I'd like to think so and he's exuding confidence to this point. He seems ready to up the physicality, a part of his game that didn't exactly shine in matchups with big WRs last season. Brandon Staley's scheme won't rely on press man like some of the defenses we've seen in recent years, so perhaps that will allow this group to survive with two solid corners, even if neither are stars. Time will tell just how much the Saints might regret not getting aggressive to trade up for Mansoor Delane (the Chiefs did just that).
The big positive I've seen along with these questions: I think the Saints have really solid depth if either of those starters misses time. As of today the second-string outside CBs are Martin Emerson Jr. and Isaac Yiadom. That duo has a combined 67 NFL starts and won't shrink when thrown into a big role. Emerson is an impressive player with legitimate size and has shown no obvious limitations as he works back from an achilles injury. Yiadom is a standout special teams player and never shies away from physicality. I really like this group 1-4, even if I have questions about 1-2.
4. Saints have elite WR depth, but few roster spots
I'm not sure I've ever seen a Saints roster with this much elite talent and depth at the WR position, at least not since I've been covering the team. They have two players with All-Pro potential in Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson, and those are the players we've seen the least of to this point. Devaughn Vele is a solid player with some elite traits that should only keep getting better. Those are your starters.
From that point you go could go a number of directions. We've seen each of Bryce Lance, Trey Palmer, Ja'Lynn Polk and Ronnie Bell have standout days in the offseason workouts. Lance is a 4th round pick and feels safe on the roster regardless, but his two touchdowns in the final practice session won't go unnoticed. I like his approach to the game and I think he'll make a big impact down the road. There's also Barion Brown, who is expected to be a special teams ace. The Saints have already shown an inclination to work him in to some personnel packages with end arounds and screens. That's not even to mention guys like Mason Tipton and Bub Means who missed time due to injury but have been on the roster each of the past two years.
There are going to be some tough cuts at the WR position. Practice squad decisions will also be very interesting. It's a problem, but one of those problems every team would love to have.
5a. Chris Rumph will be tough to unseat
It's easy to forget Chris Rumph. He's not a flashy player. He doesn't have the otherworldly build and measurables (think Chase Young) that we see from a lot of guys at the edge rusher position. What he has is elite effort and a willingness to do whatever's asked of him and excel in that role. The other day I even saw him getting in some reps at off-ball linebacker. The more you can do, right?
Staley really likes Rumph. There are higher-profile names at the position, but there's a reason we've seen Chris getting first run at first-team reps when starters have been missing. Don't count this guy too quickly.
5b. Cam Jordan makes DE numbers a lot more complicated
This is really just an extension of the previous point, but the edge rusher position just became really hard to predict. We know Carl Granderson and Chase Young will be at the top of the depth chart, but where exactly do you slot in Cam Jordan? He signed his deal last week and was practicing the next day. I see almost no scenario, barring injury, where he's not penciled in as the No. 3 guy.
So what does that mean for players like Tyree Wilson and Anfernee Jennings? It'd be strange to see the Saints not keep Wilson after trading a 5th rounder for him, but it could become a numbers game. He's not going to make the roster by name along. Both Wilson and Jennings will have to turn coaches' heads early and often.
6. Big bodies will be important
The absence of several top WRs made it even more pronounced, but we saw Tyler Shough target his tight ends early and often this camp. I don't think that'll change when the games start. Both Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant will see legitimate production throughout the season. The bigger question is how they're deployed, and how often they're on the field at the same time. Throw Oscar Delp into that mix and I'm not sure if the Saints have ever had a more talented group of tight ends.
To be clear, I'm not saying these are Jimmy Graham-caliber players. But what I am saying is that all three are the exact type of player than NFL teams are falling over each other to add. Big bodies that can be legitimate threats downfield and can hold up as a blocker when needed. Put those guys on the field and make the defense do something uncomfortable ... play their base defense. The Saints were one of the heaviest users of 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) last year, but that more necessity than anything else. I think it skews heavily the other direction this year.
7. Tyler Shough looks VERY comfortable
Time will tell just how much of a Year 2 leap Tyler Shough is able to make in the 2026 season, but there's no questioning that he looks like a confident, comfortable player heading into what feels like a very important season. Things don't have to be perfect for the Saints as they build back toward being a perennial playoff contender, but consistent QB play is always going to be a major factor in that.
There have been plenty of examples of players who came on midway through their rookie season and looked promising, only to have that first full-time season expose issues that never got fully addressed. Desmond Ridder with the Falcons feels like a solid example. Time will tell if Michael Penix's name can also be added to that list. Shough's advanced age for a second-year player (26) means he won't be given the same kind of grace as some other young QBs. But that maturity should be an advantage in several ways, and he'll be helped by continuity within the offense and the coaching staff. Shough isn't learning things on the fly as he was a year ago, but perfecting things, creating chemistry with new players, improving on shortcomings and building on what's worked best for him. New LG David Edwards has gone out of his way to compliment Shough's processing ability and control of the game at the line of scrimmage.
To this point Shough's biggest issue has been not being able to work with his top two WRs in team drills (Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson). He's been peppering tight ends and finding completions, but the ceiling gets a lot higher when the elite playmakers get on the field.
8. Saints on-paper OL is as good as ever (and with leadership)
It's always easy to have OL optimism this time of year, because most teams can roll out a viable starting five. The real question is what happens in say, Week 13 when only three of those guys are out there, but that's a question for another time. I do have OL depth questions, but they're not as steep as we've seen in the past. I think the Saints do have strong depth at guard, in particular. But I'm concerned what might happen if center Erik McCoy or either tackle misses time.
All that said, I do look at this primary group of five and see it as the most complete unit that the Saints have had in quite some time. For one thing, it's been a while since the Saints weren't looking at either a rookie or a depth piece being asked to step into a starting role. Kelvin Banks is the least experienced players, and he's coming off a season where he started 17 games as a rookie at left tackle and should only keep getting better. Taliese Fuaga's Year 2 was a bit of a struggle as he dealt with nagging injuries, but I'm still very confident in him at RT.
LG David Edwards and C Erik McCoy are both Pro Bowl caliber players who have elite leadership traits. You'd have a hard time finding a better left side of an offensive line than the Banks-Edwards-McCoy trio. This year the "weak link" would be viewed as Cesar Ruiz, a player that has had his ups and downs. Still, he's a 6-year NFL veteran who has been durable and has a lot of experience working next to McCoy and Fuaga. He was solid in pass-blocking a year ago, but needs to be much better as a run-blocker. You only have to go back one year to see the difference. In 2025 the Saints were rolling out a rookie LT and they had Trevor Penning trying out a new position at LG. Ruiz isn't perfect, but I think if we went around the league and ranked the fifth-best player on every team's OL, the Saints would end up pretty high on the list.
To me McCoy is the skeleton key to unlock everything this OL wants to do. He's a multiplier, meaning that not only is he elite at his position, he makes the players next to him a lot better. That's what makes his absence so damaging, even with a solid backup. Fingers crossed.
9. Kamara or the field? Outlook unclear
The Saints have, clearly, been in no particular rush to provide clarity as to how things will work in their running back room this season. In this case, no news is newsworthy. In similar situations over recent seasons we've seen the Saints execute pay reductions or reworked deals with players like Taysom Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, Cam Jordan and Demario Davis. To this stage, we haven't heard a peep about Kamara.
One would presume it's not because they're fine leaving that option on the table without so much as a discussion. Kamara made an appearance at OTAs and was there for the full minicamp, though he was held out of team drills along with a handful of other players still in the "ramp-up" process. We also haven't seen Kendre Miller in action as he works back from an ACL tear, and Devin Neal missed the final two practices with an injury.
So what's the plan? We're still in wait-and-see mode. I don't think it's as simple as Alvin is there, thus everything is settled. I think something probably has to happen during the break between camp one way or the other. My take is that the Saints will be OK regardless, and it's long past time some type of decision is made. If the plan is for Kamara and Travis Etienne to operate in a tandem, fantastic. We've seen Kamara thrive in that type of scenario before. If the plan is for Etienne to be the bellcow and for the others to compete for the RB2 job, most notably Neal, Miller and Audric Estime, I think there's enough talent in that trio to be successful.
My hope is that this question won't loom throughout camp. Executing some sort of reworked deal would be an answer, at least as far as I'm concerned. We'll have to wait and see.
10. Saints specialists have a high ceiling
Remember when the Saints went into seasons confident about their specialists? I do, although it's feeling like a distant dream these days. The Saints moved on from Thomas Morstead. The Saints moved on from Wil Lutz. Ever since it's been a revolving door. I'm hopeful that can finally change this year.
The Saints spent big to finally solve the punter debacle, and the limited exposure we've had to Ryan Wright makes it easy to understand. He's got a booming leg and 4 years of NFL experience to work out the kinks and have some refined skills. Kicker is a bigger question. They brought in Tanner Brown to compete with Charlie Smyth, and I now see that as a full-fledged competition. I never really bought that as true when it was Mason Shipley.
Brown has never kicked in the NFL, but what he did for the UFL's Louisville Kings last year was nothing short of remarkable. Here's a look:
- All kicks: 29-32 (91%)
- 18 to 29: 5-5
- 30 to 39 7-8
- 40 to 49: 7-7
- 50 to 59: 10-12
- 60-plus: 3-3
Those figures include a pair of playoff games, as well as two of the three makes from 60-plus (which count for 4 points in the UFL). Smyth will still be difficult to unseat, but it's certainly ramped up the pressure. Smyth had a pair of misses from 50-plus indoors during the first minicamp practice, one to each side.
Either way I think there's a lot of upside at that position. Hopefully the Saints can reach it, because I am definitely tired of lost value and having to constantly hear (valid) complaints about the state kicking game.
