7 key takeaways from June 15’s Saints minicamp practice
The second of three mandatory practices for the New Orleans Saints minicamp has come and gone, leaving us with a few key observations to take with us as preparations begin for the 2022 NFL season.
Between the hot weather, screaming fans, and fun drills it was certainly an interesting day in Metairie. Hometown heroes Tyrann Mathieu and Jarvis Landry continue to settle into black and gold, Jameis Winston inches back to being 100% healthy, and some interesting depth chart decisions loom throughout minicamp.
I had to opportunity to be in attendance for Wednesday’s practice, so here are some key observations I made during practice for those who were unable to make it:
Chris Olave performing as advertised so far in camp
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Olave has had a good start to camp, and flashed some of the potential that the Saints saw when trading up to draft him. He had the play of the day when he went over J.T. Gray and Alontae Taylor to somehow come down with a catch through heavy traffic and contact. I heard the phrase, “Wait did he come down with that?” multiple times. He was matched up against Lattimore at times as well, and while he didn’t get targeted in that matchup, he had good footwork and looked confident when going against the best corner on the team.
Olave spoke on his highlight catch after the practice:
Chris Olave on the highlight reel catch over two defenders today:“Andy Dalton threw a great ball and gave me a chance and I just went up and made the play. I feel like that’s why they drafted me. I’m getting more comfortable out here playing like myself.”#Saints
— Rod Walker (@RodWalkerNola) June 15, 2022
Jarvis Landry is quickly showing his worth
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Not only is Landry coming up with good catches on the field, but it is clear from in between plays and after practice that he has quickly become a respected leader in the wide receiver room. Between players coming up to talk to him and him walking up to offer some words to players, he seems to carry himself almost as a coach on the practice field. Landry was also one of the last guys to leave the field as he Winston, and Dalton all got extra reps in after practice.
Jameis Winston not doing 11-on-11 drills yet
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
The last drills of the day were 11-on-11s where the situation was 40 seconds left, down 3 points, no timeouts. Both Andy Dalton and Ian Book got the chance to lead drills, but it appears that Winston’s injury is still holding him back as he was the only quarterback to not do the drill. He competed in the rest of the drills, including 7-on-7’s.
Dennis Allen's defense showing early dominance
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
The Saints defense has easily looked like the better group on the field, to no ones surprise. Dalton’s 11-on-11 drill was wrecked by the team’s veterans when both Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan came up with non-contact sacks during the four play drive. Rookie defensive back Vincent Gray also came up with one of the best plays of the day when he broke up and would be completion to Olave towards the end of practice. Even Zack Baun was able to get into the backfield and break up a play during practice.
James Hurst starting at left tackle
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
Whenever the first team offensive line got together, the starting group had Hurst getting reps at left tackle. Many expected that this would be the case to start the season, as first round pick Trevor Penning gets up to speed at the position. The rest of the offensive line looked about what you would expect.
Alontae Taylor getting second-team reps at boundary corner
Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK
Despite many analysts and writers expecting Taylor to switch to safety after the draft, the Saints seem to be keeping to their plan of using him as a boundary corner. He is getting second team boundary reps, often tagging in and out with Paulson Adebo. Adebo and Marshon Lattimore are the two clear starters at this point of camp, though Adebo struggled at times. Some plays with clear would-be pass interference calls in game action, and he got beat deep by Jarvis Landry, but the pass was overthrown by Dalton. The opportunity seems to be there for Taylor to find early playing time if he can capitalize.
Saints fans are ready to get back into the Superdome
AP Photo/Derick Hingle
It is clear that Saints fans are ready to get back into action, as there was a good crowd of people who showed up on a very hot Wednesday morning to watch Saints practice and maybe get a few autographs. The fans also seem to be in mid-season form already, from jawing at players with every mistake and hyping up everyone who did anything positive. There were two moments that received big reactions on the day. First, was Cameron Jordan sacking Andy Dalton on 4th down of a two minute drill then running over to celebrate with fans. The other was a very wholesome moment given to the crowd by Shy Tuttle. Tuttle held up his gloves and egged on a cheering match between the two side of bleachers to see who would receive a glove. He gave one to a fan on one side, and then went down to the other side past all of the people screaming and gave his glove to young lady who could not have been older than seven years old. It certainly made her day better.
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