Predicting the New Orleans Saints’ 53-man roster, practice squad after minicamp
We’re off to the long lull between New Orleans Saints spring practices and the start of training camp in late July, with the team having put a pin in their three-day mandatory minicamp last week and little action remaining on the NFL’s offseason calendar. Players and coaches will be away from the team facility for the rest of June and much of July, though front office personnel will have plenty of time to mull over their options for improving the roster going into training camp.
It’s a good time to stop and take a look around the Saints’ depth chart and reassess which players have the best shot at making the team during September roster cuts. Here are our latest predictions now that we’ve had time to see the team in practice and gauge the state of the Saints, looking for guidance on last year’s Week 1 roster:
Offense (25, plus 8)
QB: 3
RB: 4 (plus 1)
TE: 3 (plus 1)
OT: 4
G/C: 5 (plus 3)
WR: 6 (plus 3)
Quarterbacks (3)
#4 Derek Carr
#14 Jake Haener
The NFL’s revived rule allowing a third quarterback to dress on game days without counting against the active roster limit (48, plus two practice squad players) is big for the Saints. They’ll be able to activate Carr and Winston while having Haener on standby during game days as an emergency option.
Running backs (4, plus 1)
#41 Alvin Kamara
#30 Jamaal Williams
#25 Kendre Miller
#46 Adam Prentice (fullback)
Practice squad: #26 Eno Benjamin
Jake Bargas might have what it takes to take Prentice’s spot at fullback, but the depth chart otherwise appears set here. The Saints could hold onto someone like Kirk Merritt or Ellis Merriweather if Kamara is suspended to start the year.
Tight ends (3, plus 1)
#83 Juwan Johnson
#82 Foster Moreau
#7 Taysom Hill (flex)
Practice squad: #87 Lucas Krull
Hill is really just a tight end in name only, but he counts towards the total here all the same. It wouldn’t be a shock if Krull or a veteran like Miller Forristall or Jesse James are held on the 53-man roster instead of the practice squad, but so long as Johnson and Moreau are healthy they’ll draw the lion’s share of snaps.
Offensive tackles (4)
#74 James Hurst (left)
#70 Trevor Penning (left)
#71 Ryan Ramczyk (right)
#67 Landon Young (swing)
Storm Norton and Scott Lashley have some value as backup right tackles and they could stick on the Saints practice squad, but Young’s ability to step in at either side of the line is valuable enough to keep less depth here and commit resources to other positions.
Offensive guards/centers (5, plus 3)
#75 Andrus Peat (left guard)
#78 Erik McCoy (center)
#51 Cesar Ruiz (right guard)
#76 Calvin Throckmorton (swing guard)
#64 Nick Saldiveri (right guard)
Practice squad: #66 Lewis Kidd (swing guard/tackle), #73 Mark Evans II (left guard/tackle), #69 Billy Price (center)
This looks like a lot of interior linemen, but injuries have been a massive problem for the Saints at this position group and this is the same number of players they rostered last year. Keeping both Kidd and Evans might be redundant, but we’ll look to maintain depth here. Price needs to outwork undrafted rookie Alex Pihlstrom (Illinois) for the backup job at center.
Wide receivers (6, plus 3)
#12 Chris Olave
#13 Michael Thomas
#22 Rashid Shaheed
#11 Bryan Edwards
#17 A.T. Perry
#16 Keke Coutee
Practice squad: #10 Tre’Quan Smith, #89 James Washington, #80 Shaquan Davis
Coutee has more experience returning punts and kickoffs than Lynn Bowden, who the Saints also signed after minicamp to compete for that job. Rostering one of them makes sense if New Orleans wants to scale back Shaheed’s role on special teams and have someone else focus on the return game.
Special teams (3)
#5 Blake Gillikin (punter)
#3 Wil Lutz (kicker)
#49 Zach Wood (long snapper)
By all accounts rookie kicker Blake Grupe is making a real run at the job to supplant Lutz, but he has his work cut out for him going against a Pro Bowler. We’ll see if Lou Hedley can unseat Gillikin in a rare training camp battle at punter.
Defense (25, plus 8)
DE: 5 (plus 1)
DT: 4 (plus 2)
LB: 6 (plus 2)
S: 4 (plus 2)
NB: 2
CB: 4 (plus 1)
Defensive ends (5, plus 1)
#94 Cameron Jordan (left)
#92 Tanoh Kpassagnon (left)
#96 Carl Granderson (right)
#98 Payton Turner (right)
#55 Isaiah Foskey (right)
Practice squad: #91 Jabari Zuniga (right)
The Saints could shake this up by adding another free agent like Yannick Ngakoue or Al-Quadin Muhammad, but the depth chart appears to be set. The biggest realistic change might be Niko Lalos displacing Zuniga on the practice squad, which isn’t that meaningful in the grand scheme of things.
Defensive tackles (4, plus 2)
#99 Khalen Saunders
#93 Nathan Shepherd
#90 Bryan Bresee
#97 Malcolm Roach
Practice squad: #57 Prince Emili, #95 Jack Heflin
Likewise, it would be nice to add another veteran player to the top of the depth chart here given Bresee and Saunders’ injury histories (and names like Matt Ioannidis and Shelby Harris make sense) but the toughest competition is further down. Undrafted rookie Jerron Cage faces long odds in securing a spot on the practice squad over two more-experienced, better-athletic players.
Linebackers (6, plus 2)
#56 Demario Davis
#20 Pete Werner
#53 Zack Baun
#52 D’Marco Jackson
#58 Anfernee Orji
#50 Andrew Dowell
Practice squad: #42 Ty Summers, #40 Nick Anderson
There’s little certainty at linebacker beyond the top two spots, and realistically it could be any combination of the other six players listed here as well as some other guys in the mix like Nephi Sewell. The Saints could use a veteran with proven playmaking ability to settle the depth chart.
Safeties (4, plus 2)
#32 Tyrann Mathieu
#6 Marcus Maye
#48 J.T. Gray
#28 Lonnie Johnson Jr.
Practice squad: #38 Smoke Monday, #0 Ugo Amadi
It’s going to be interesting to see how the competition for those last few spots at safety turns out. Someone out of Johnson, Monday, Amadi, and Johnathan Abram is going to get left out, and so far it sounds like Johnson and Amadi may have an edge. Monday hasn’t separated himself from the pack one way or another, and Abram won’t shine until pads come on in full-contact drills later this summer.
Nickels (2)
#21 Bradley Roby (corner)
#31 Jordan Howden (safety)
It’s early, but Howden has impressed in coverage drills during team work, and he’s already earning snaps in practice with the first- and second-string defenses. Roby will start in the slot but Howden could quickly work his way into dime packages and step in for absences at other positions in the secondary. Amadi’s slot experience puts him in the mix here as well.
Corners (4, plus 1)
#29 Paulson Adebo
#27 Isaac Yiadom
Practice squad: #37 Troy Pride Jr.
Taylor versus Adebo is the battle to watch in training camp, but Taylor’s been cross-training in the slot and could have another path to playing-time if Taylor wins that job. Yiadom’s experience on special teams gives him an edge over Pride, Adrian Frye, and undrafted rookie Anthony Johnson, but the jostling over those last two spots could get competitive this summer.
