METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Saints concluded their final practices of minicamp last week with a sense of optimism.
According to Saints coach Dennis Allen, almost every player is on track to be ready for training camp, including wide receiver Michael Thomas, who has vowed to be “full-go” when camp opens in late July.
“I think as we sit here right now, there’s one player who may be questionable for the start of training camp, although I’m optimistic that he’ll be ready,” Allen said. “I feel pretty good about having everybody here for training camp healthy and ready to go.”
One of those reasons for optimism is new quarterback Derek Carr, who got a chance to work with all of his pass-catchers for the first time during minicamp.
“I think quarterback is the most important position on the field,” Allen said, “and when you have a highly skilled player, a highly intelligent player, a guy that works the way Derek does, a guy that has the type of leadership qualities that Derek has, that’s going to filter throughout the whole football team — players and coaches — and I think that gives you a lot of confidence going into the season.”
Here are five observations from the Saints practices during OTAs and minicamp:
Carr is comfortable with the offense
Carr isn’t ready to say he knows everything about the Saints playbook and system at this point, but he’s feeling comfortable with his level of knowledge at this point.
Getting to actually be around teammates like running back Alvin Kamara has helped speed up that process. And Carr couldn’t help but feel some admiration for seeing some of his teammates in person for the first time.
Kamara’s route-running ability was one of the things that impressed Carr as soon as he saw it in person.
“Bruh, that’s not normal,” Carr said he joked to a teammate.
Carr lamented during minicamp that the Raiders didn’t get his best work in his final season there. He’s determined to change that in New Orleans.
“I’m just trying to be better,” Carr said. “Better teammate every year. There’s things last year, learning a new system, trying to go through certain situations … I don’t think they got the best of me.
“They just didn’t get my best, and that drove me crazy at the end of the year because I felt so spread out in so many different ways.”
Olave looks to be headed toward a big second season
It took Carr only a few seconds to set the tone in team drills during the second practice of minicamp.
Carr tossed a deep pass down the sideline for an easy touchdown to wide receiver Chris Olave on the first play of 11-on-11 drills. Olave easily hauled in the pass against cornerback Alontae Taylor, and the session for the first-team offense ended in two plays (the Olave touchdown and a failed 2-point conversion).
Olave’s standout offseason feels like a continuation of his rookie year, when he caught 72 passes for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games.
In one session of OTAs, Carr couldn’t connect with Olave in the end zone in goal-line work, but immediately made sure to go right back to him to check that box. The idea was to make sure everything was perfect now so there was no hesitation on Sundays.
“If we ever miss something, I don’t care if it’s pass interference … which it might have been,” Carr said with a smirk. “No matter what you’re feeling, hit it. … In training camp, we’re trying to get all the reps in, but if I can try to fit it in right then, I’ll try to hit that rep again. That’s just something I’ve always done. If I can’t do it right then, then it’s after practice. If we miss anything, I want you to remind me after practice.”
He added: “He wants to win every play. If you even throw it in his vicinity, he feels that he should get it.”
Hill’s role is ever-evolving, but it still includes QB
Taysom Hill’s might have the most unusual 2022 statistics of anyone on the roster.
Hill “officially” moved from quarterback to tight end last season, but he rushed 96 times for 575 yards and seven touchdowns, caught nine passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns and completed 13 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He also played 40% of the special teams snaps.
Hill still remains a player without a true position in his seventh season, and like last year, they’re still trying to strike that balance. He worked with the quarterbacks during 2-of-3 minicamp practices last week, taking the third-team snaps in place of rookie Jake Haener. But he was still catching passes and playing special teams on all three days.
Hill said the coaches looked at his snaps and rep counts from all 17 games last season to explore how they could tailor his usage to what fits best this year. One thing that could be explored this season is advancing his role as a pass catcher and route runner.
“I think we’re trying to find this happy medium, this happy balance of, ‘OK, let’s be realistic with what we’re going to ask you to do this season and make sure you’re getting the time and the reps on those things,’” Hill said. “And I felt like the last three days have been really great from that standpoint.”
There’s a competition at outside CB
Taylor and Paulson Adebo both started more games than anticipated in their respective rookie seasons, with Adebo starting all 17 games in 2021 and Taylor starting nine last season because of Marshon Lattimore’s injury.
But with Lattimore back from an injury that limited him to seven games, the second outside cornerback spot will be a summer competition.
“I think there’s some good competition in the defensive backfield,” Allen said.
Adebo and Taylor both rotated in with the first team throughout minicamp, with Adebo playing first team in 11-on-11 drills in Day 1 and Day 3 and Taylor running with the first team on Day 2.
“There’s a ton of competition and playing time and starting jobs, those are all earned, and you’ve really got to come out and earn it every single year,” Allen said. “The great thing about it, those two particular players … both of them are fully capable of being starters and playing at a high level for us, but we’re going to let that competition play out.”
Allen said that one of the things he likes about Taylor is his short memory, which was evident when he bounced back from giving up a touchdown to scoring one of his own off an interception.
Saints defensive back Tyrann Mathieu pointed out that Taylor is playing multiple roles now, working at both slot corner and outside corner, which will increase his chances of getting on the field.
“He’s a playmaker,” Mathieu said. “He’s one of those guys that I think at the cornerback position you’ve got to have confidence and be willing to channel it. … He has good ball skills, and I think the thing I’m most impressed with is … this year he’s kind of playing a new role. He’s focusing on nickel right now, so you can kind of see that versatility.”
Saints learning to bond via some unusual circumstances
Allen showed up at a team meeting in full fishing gear during the last week of OTAs with a surprise for everyone in the room.
The last practice before minicamp was canceled in favor of a team bonding day, with the entire roster heading out on a bowfishing trip instead.
Allen asked linebacker Demario Davis for some ideas. Davis, a team captain, has been one of the players in charge for several of the defensive outings this offseason, which included arcades, bowling and go-kart rides.
The team talked enthusiastically about the event afterwards, even players like newcomer Jamaal Williams, who admitted he’d usually rather be doing an activity indoors with electricity and internet.
“Y’all didn’t tell me how awesome it was,” Carr said. “It’s electric.”
Carr joked that recently-signed tight end Foster Moreau, who was on a different boat during the event, texted him and asked him how he was doing.
“I said bro I’m a swamp person now,” Carr said. “This is awesome.”
Saints first-round pick Bryan Bresee said the trip was fun because they got to spend time with players they might not otherwise get to know, which was part of the intention behind the day.
It was also a chance to let off some steam.
“I feel like we’re starting to figure out what is normal again,” Hill said. “I feel like 2020 and 2021 were just so abnormal that I don’t know what that is now. We’ve had a lot of change here in the last few years, and I feel like being here the last few days with the guys and the team, everyone is gelling really well. I feel like offensively we’re in a really good place, and I’m super pleased to see that.”