Projecting the Saints’ starting offense before training camp
As organized team activities (OTAs) begin around the NFL, important roster battles get started, injured players show their progress, and rookies look to establish themselves. There’s no exception for the New Orleans Saints as the team reports to the facility on Airline Drive. Many of the new additions and standout rookies will be on the offensive side of the ball thanks to the offseason additions of rookie wideout Chris Olave, fellow first-round selection tackle Trevor Penning, and veteran wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
From now through OTAs and the upcoming mandatory minicamp events the Saints offensive roster will look to shake out. Training camp will bring not only a clearer look at the 2022 depth chart, but will certainly provide it’s own intrigue as starters get solidified. Here’s a look at the projected starting Saints offense ahead of training camp and the preseason:
QB: Jameis Winston (returning starter)
AP Photo/Butch Dill
Winston’s season came to an early and unfortunate end in 2021 thanks to an ACL injury in the season’s seventh contest. The injury brought an end to a promising start for Winston who had thrown 14 touchdown passes to only 3 interceptions. He’s been working to come back from that injury and has been not only present for OTAs, but even participating. The expectation is that Winston will be the starting signal caller come Week 1. No competition. No questions. Barring anything unforeseen, the job is his. He’s even stated that if the team needed him to play today, he could do it. When New Orleans takes the field in Atlanta to open the regular season, it’s Winston’s team.
Other players under contract: Andy Dalton and Ian Book
RB: Alvin Kamara (returning starter)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
There are some questions around Kamara’s availability to open the season due to an offseason arrest. But the process isn’t moving with much haste. The hearing for Kamara’s case has been postponed and is currently scheduled for Aug. 1. With that any league discipline, which wont’ be handed out until the legal side concludes, may not impact the beginning of the season. If the Saints’ top back is playable Week 1, there’s no doubting he’s the starter. Kamara would love to get off to a hot start after a lackluster 2021 from the New Orleans offense.
Other players on contract: Mark Ingram, Tony Jones Jr., Dwayne Washington, Abram Smith (rookie), Devine Ozigbo, and Adam Prentice (fullback)
WR: Michael Thomas
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The return everyone has been waiting for. The Saints’ two-time All-Pro receiver missed the entire 2021 season but is primed to make his return this season. According to head coach Dennis Allen, Thomas “isn’t ready yet” but they do help to have him ready to go by training camp. After New Orleans ranked at the bottom of the league in passing yards last year, Thomas is a highly anticipated return. The Saints have revamped their wide receiver corps and Thomas is the biggest piece they’ll add across the entire team in 2022. The new complementary pieces that’ll line up with him should only help to make his impact felt even more.
Other players on contract: Jarvis Landry, Chris Olave (rookie), Deonte Harty, Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Kevin White, Easop Winston Jr., Kawaan Baker, Kirk Merritt, Dai’Jean Dixon (rookie), and Rashid Shaheed (rookie).
WR: Jarvis Landry
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One of the biggest additions to the team this offseason, Landry brings veteran leadership on and off the field and also helps to bolster what the Saints should be looking to do in the passing game in 2022. His fundamentally sound route-running, ability to separate, and ability at the catch point will help to revitalize that area of the game for New Orleans. Landry should also have a positive impact in the run game as a perimeter blocker, an important aspect for what Allen hopes will be a strong run game. The former LSU Tiger will look to make waves from the slot but has the versatility to play outside as well, something that should help to generate some unpredictability from the Saints offense.
Other players on contract: Michael Thomas, Chris Olave (rookie), Deonte Harty, Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Kevin White, Easop Winston Jr., Kawaan Baker, Kirk Merritt, Dai’Jean Dixon (rookie), and Rashid Shaheed (rookie).
WR: Chris Olave (rookie)
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The No. 11 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft, Olave is expected to have a significant impact immediately. He’s already stood out early in OTAs for this smoothness and ability on the move, the connection between he and Winston will shape up to be a fun one in 2022. The expectations for Olave go beyond the city of New Orleans and the Saints fanbase as well. Even some have him as the odds-on favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year this season. Lofty expectations, but there’s no doubt that Olave is special and his fit in New Orleans is undeniable. He should immediately step in opposite Thomas as the team’s field-stretcher adding a deep threat element the Saints have been searching for.
Other players on contract: Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, Deonte Harty, Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Kevin White, Easop Winston Jr., Kawaan Baker, Kirk Merritt, Dai’Jean Dixon (rookie), and Rashid Shaheed (rookie).
TE: Adam Trautman (returning starter)
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
Even with the addition of Taysom Hill in the mix at the position, third-year tight end Trautman will likely be the early starter in 2022. His sophomore season didn’t get the chance to live up to some (almost unfair) weighty expectations. Once he started to look the part, he battled injuries and didn’t get to finish the season as strongly as he would have liked. Now, he looks to be the most promising option in the room for the second straight season. Veteran Nick Vannett could possibly jump into this spot as well thanks to his years of NFL experience, an element the Saints value greatly, but there comes a time where an organization simply needs to know what it has in a draft investment. Trautman should find his way to the field early and often, especially with his run blocking ability creating more opportunities for him in the lineup. Don’t sleep on Pittsburgh UDFA Lucas Krull though, drafted or not, everyone gets to compete in Saints camp.
Other players on contract: Nick Vannett, Taysom Hill, Juwan Johnson, J.P. Holtz, Kahale Warring, and Lucas Krull (rookie)
LT: Trevor Penning (rookie)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
The Saints’ second first-round selection in this year’s draft will be entrenched in a trenches battle with veteran offensive lineman James Hurst. This is the spot Penning was drafted to fill after losing Terron Armstead in free agency this offseason. The ideal scenario for New Orleans would be to get him into the fold quickly right at the spot he’s expected to call home for his career. Saints offensive line coach noted that Penning has some work to do, but they like very much what they have in him and the tenacity he brings to the position.
Other players on contract: Ryan Ramczyk, James Hurst, Landon Young, Ethan Greenidge, Jerald Hawkins, Lewis Kidd (rookie), and Sage Doxtater (rookie)
LG: Andrus Peat (returning starter)
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Peat is another Saints starter coming back from injury, so there’s always a possibility that complicates this projection. But with Peat’s contract ranking as one of the teams’ top-5 cap hits ($7.7 million), getting him out on the field is at least cost-effective. While he’s had his struggles over the years, New Orleans is confident in the Stanford alum’s ability and has continuously shown that. His mobility and size fit the bill for the Saints perfectly.
Other players on contract: Caesar Ruiz, Calvin Throckmorton, Josh Andrews, Forrest Lamp, and Derek Schweiger (rookie).
C: Erik McCoy (returning starter)
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One of the most talented players on the Saints’ offense. The steal of a second round pick out of Texas A&M dealt with some injuries last season but has continued to be an impactful presence and looks to be a long-time starter at the position for New Orleans. There’s no real competition on the roster for McCoy at the moment as there are technically no centers on the roster otherwise. I suppose Former first-round selection Caesar Ruiz could be in contention here if the Saints wanted to revisit their offensive line configuration, but it looks like they’re content with McCoy in the middle of their offensive line.
Other players on contract: Cesar Ruiz
RG: James Hurst
AP Photo/Ben VanHouten
A shake-up! We had to have some discourse, right? Look, Ruiz has frankly struggled at right guard so far since being drafted out of Michigan in 2020. With his natural position being center, it doesn’t look like a move there is in the stars for the reasons listed before. However, Strief said something very interesting during the Saints Hall of Fame Golf Classic recently.
“We’re going to put the best five on the field,” Strief told WWL-TV’s Brooke Kirchhoffer. “Every single guy on that line is going to compete. He’s going to compete for his job. If somebody wins a job, that player is going to be in competition for the other four.”
If Penning does what the Saints hope and develops quickly into the team’s starting left tackle, Hurst is a lineman the organization has a lot of trust in. He’s started plenty of games at left tackle, left guard, and right tackle in the NFL before. He could go on to compete and push Ruiz at right guard or potentially even take his spot allowing the Saints and new offensive line coach Doug Marrone to help him progress in the background. Hurst could even step in at left guard if Peat isn’t ready to go at the top of the season. New Orleans has something they lacked desperately last year that should make a huge difference for them in 2022: depth.
Other players on contract: Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, Calvin Throckmorton, Josh Andrews, Forrest Lamp, and Derek Schweiger (rookie).
RT: Ryan Ramczyk (returning starter)
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2021 was riddled wish injuries for Ramczyk, unfortunately. Before that, his young career so far has been absolutely outstanding and he’s proven to be a major asset for the team as a part of that home run 2017 draft class. Assuming he comes back from his injury well over the offseason, he stands along in his class and is as solidified as they come with his role. There have been some curious about whether or not the team would move him to left tackle (some inconsequential incentives in his contract usually the stimulus) and allow Penning to start on the right side. But it doesn’t look like the Saints are headed that way. Not to mention that in the NFL, edge rusher talent is so good that moving to the right side definitely does not make the job any easier.
Other players on contract: Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Landon Young, Ethan Greenidge, Jerald Hawkins, Lewis Kidd (rookie), and Sage Doxtater (rookie).
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