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Credit: Michael C. Hebert - New Orleans Saints


By Dan Levy - Staff Writer - Saintsreport.com

Outside of the actual season, one of the most captivating periods for Saints fans are the dog days of training camp. That grueling summer stretch where rookies strap on the pads and don the black and gold for the very first time. Where freshly hyped free agent acquisitions take the field, transforming grass and turf into a proving ground for all the hopes and aspirations we have pinned to them for months. Where camp beasts emerge from the dregs of undrafted free-agency and franchise scrap heaps, capturing our collective imagination.

With rookies set to report to Saints training camp this week—and veterans to follow a week later—now seems as good a time as any to take a look at the Top 3 Training Camp battles that every fan should keep an eye on.

1. Wide Receiver

It goes without saying that with the acquisitions of Chris Olave through the draft and Jarvis Landry through free agency—and the highly anticipated return of Michael Thomas from two injury-plagued years—expectations both inside and outside the WR room are sky-high, and it is the top of the depth chart that is garnering the most interest.

And rightfully so.

A healthy Michael Thomas, returned to his 2019 form, would be unstoppable as ever—arguably even more so with the additions of a silky-smooth burner in Olave and a master craftsman in Landry. In this scenario, the Saints offense is instantly elevated from one of the most pass-starved 2021 to an absolute aerial nightmare for defenses in 2022. But beyond the glitz of the already locked-in top three receivers is the real battle farther down the depth chart: this next tier of solid WRs who I believe are locks to make the 53-man roster.

First there is Marques Callaway, the smooth but unassuming former UDFA who was thrust into the #1 WR role last season and consistently impresses every year around this time. A polished route runner who is willing to compete for the ball in the air, Callaway would thrive in a more complementary role, where he is not constantly lined up across from the opponent’s best pass defender. Callaway also gives the Saints a solid X-type of receiver if Thomas is limited early.

Competing for those rotational snaps with Callaway will be former third-round pick Tre’Quan Smith, who—fairly or unfairly—enters each season with high fan expectations attached to his name. While gifted with the right assortment of tools—size, speed, strength, and the physicality to both be creative after the catch and assert himself as a run blocker—Smith enters his fifth season as a player who has yet to find consistency and emerge as the playmaker we all hoped he would be. Because of this, the perception around him is often skewed, with little allowance for level-headed compromise or nuance when it comes to not just his role on the Saints offense, but to who he is as a player. In truth, a healthy Tre’Quan Smith is an established #3 or #4 WR on just about any NFL team, and that is exactly the role he will be competing for with the Saints in 2022.

The third rung of this next tier is Deonte Harty. Of these three, Harty is easily the most exciting. A twitchy speedster who kicks pulses into hyperdrive every time he touches the ball, Harty was just retained on a $4 million RFA tender and is allegedly in talks for an extension—which shows what a premium the Saints place on him. Like Smith, Harty’s biggest obstacle has been staying on the field and clear of injuries, but when he is healthy, he is one of the more dangerous players in the return game. Offensively, expect his role to be a little more niche, a little more tailored—that true joker position that is more popularly associated (wrongly, in my opinion) with Taysom Hill. With a fully healthy WR room, Harty will likely see a lower quantity of base offensive snaps this season, with more focus on maximizing the quality of said snaps: putting the ball in his hands via specifically tailored, well-timed plays, and letting Harty do his thing.

Beyond these six, there remains an intriguing crop of prospects with untold camp beast potential. UDFAs like Rashid Shaheed—an electrifying small-school kick returner—and DeJean Dixon—a local Louisiana prospect with enticing size and body control. There’s Kirk Merritt, Kawan Baker, Esop Winston: all interesting young prospects who have shown flashes in minicamp and OTAs and will surely continue the trend throughout training camp. There is even Kevin White, a once highly touted WR who has seen his career completely derailed by terrible luck and injuries.

But in the end, any camp beast at the WR position will likely be destined for the practice squad, while Kevin White remains a convenient number to have on speed dial if and when injuries strike. In the end, the battle for a seventh WR roster spot will be one of the steepest climbs in camp.

1. Defensive Back

Much like WR, the Saints DB room will be blessed with some exciting new faces come training camp. And much like WR, the top of the Saints DB depth chart is already mostly set, with Marshon Lattimore, Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are solidified in their starting roles—with the only caveat here being who will fill in for Maye during his expected one-game suspension.

It should be acknowledged that while Paulson Adebo is fully expected to enter the season as the starting CB across from Lattimore, he is not without competition. There is, of course, Alontae Taylor, the rookie second-round pick who is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a DB created in a lab. And—perhaps even more overlooked—is veteran Bradley Roby, who played a much larger rotational role last season than people realize and is very much a legitimate starting CB in the NFL. So while I wouldn’t say Adebo is in any danger—he more than proved himself last season—that training camp battle is still not one I would ignore.

But the real broiling competition will be lower on the depth chart for those subpackage snaps: for that sixth and seventh (yes, seventh) DB spot on passing downs. PJ Williams seems like a lock with his ability to provide depth at nearly every position—including as the primary backup to CJGJ. After him, versatility and special teams play will be a must for the young DBs hoping to carve out a spot on the Saints 53.

Bryce Thompson is an interesting candidate. After cutting his teeth on the practice squad last season, he has taken to the playbook and his craft, proving—early on, at least—to be a viable fill-in at both CB and S. And then there is a three-way safety battle between JT Gray, Justin Evans, and Smoke Monday. Evans, a former second round pick, was a proven, productive starter in the league before missing mulitple seasons with an achilles injury. Gray has been a special teams standout for the Saints, and Monday, an undrafted rookie, comes in with sky-high camp beast potential after a standout college career at Auburn. I could certainly see Monday scrapping his way onto the roster, perhaps at the expense of a player like Gray, given the rookie’s own special teams prowess and the raw swagger he brings to a defense.

1. Offensive Line

Generally speaking, the offensive line roster is set. It is a position where bottom-of-the-depth chart competition is rarely worth talking about, because—unlike the skill positions—special teams play is not a determining factor in who makes the roster at OL. It really comes down to ability and versatility, and in that sense, it is very hard for a low-key depth signing to displace an established backup. So the OL training camp battle really comes down to two starting positions.

At RG, the job is Cesar Ruiz’s to lose.

At LT, it’s Trevor Penning’s to win.

Ruiz (RG) and James Hurst (LT) will both enter training camp penciled in as starters, and both will be facing competition. But their battles will be very different. The team’s goal with Ruiz seems to be to get more out of the former first-rounder by using a collection of depth players and journeymen to push and motivate him. With the veteran Hurst, the Saints know exactly what they have. He is solid, but not nearly the all-pro, all-world specimen that is rookie first-round pick Trevor Penning. In drafting Penning, the Saints acquired the most talented offensive lineman in the entire draft—perhaps, even in the last few drafts.

But he is also raw, particularly when it comes to pass protection, a deficiency owed to a college career spent dominating at the small school level and not receiving the requisite coaching to prepare him for NFL pass-rushers. And if you’re the Saints, you don’t want to take chances at LT when you have a right-handed starting QB fresh off of a season-ending ACL injury.

How quickly Penning adapts to the speed and power of NFL edge rushers will be the determining factor in whether or not this battle is resolved during training camp. But one thing is for sure: everyone in the Saints building knows that Penning is the future.

It’s Trevor Penning’s job to prove that the future is now.