New Orleans Saints 53-Man Roster Projection: Haener, Rattler Battle For More Than QB2

for New Orleans Saints quarterbacks Jake hayner and Spencer Rattler winning qb2 isn't even half the battle in our 53 man roster projection we got all that and a little bit of lanap for you on today's episode of Locked on Saints you are locked on Saints your daily New Orleans Saints podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day o what is good hudat nation and hudat family I am your host your friend Ross Jackson New Orleans native your New Orleans Saints expert and credential member of the media covering those New Orleans Saints as the Saints beat riter over at louisian sports.net which is now live so come check us out you can also find me as a Saints analyst over on wwltv on today's episode of lockedown saints it's our 53 man roster projection we're going to burn through this one we're going to take a look at the cornerback five battle and the safety battle why right now it's a tough decision at both spots we're also going to take a look at bub means holding on for a spot amongst the wide receivers but of course we got to figure out what happens with kendre Miller first and we'll also kick everything off here with the look at the quarterback 2 battle and why winning the battle is only step one for Hanner and Rattler we got that coming up for you as we continue on with today's episode we appreciate you very much for making us your first listen of the day every day for being in every day are here on the show which is a proud part of the lockone podcast Network your team every day in today's episode brought to you by a friend friends at FanDuel FanDuel right now through September 22nd has an awesome offer all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV just visit fanduel.com locked on to get started today four Spencer Rattler and Jake Hanner yes they are right now laying down their case to not only be the Saints qb2 but to put themselves in position to be considered as the future of the franchise the quarterback of the future remember that this battle isn't just about who gets to go over the screenshots taken during a game on the sideline with Derek Carr That's not the end goal for either of these guys they're trying to play themselves into the position to become Derek Carr's successor to become the face of this franchise and I wonder if the New Orleans Saints have two different plans in mind for their two quarterbacks that's the way that I looked at it when it came to my 53 man roster so let's start to break this down when it comes to quarterback this is simple it's Derek Carr it's Jake Kanner it's Spencer Rattler and it's tames Hill because technically his position designation is quarterback so we have to put him in that number Jake Kaner I believe will end up being the team's backup quarterback going into 2024 because of the familiarity that he already has with Derek Carr the relationship that he has with Derek Carr all of that but beyond that that these two guys Jake herner and Spencer Rattler are going to continue to compete all season long in practice and then next year's training camp all over again to be able to make sure that they're a part of the conversation for quarterback of the future and I promise you those two quarterbacks will not be the only quarterbacks that will be amongst that conversation when the time comes for the New Orleans sings to figure out the direction that they're going with Derek Carr so this battle doesn't end this Sunday with the game against the Tennessee Titans it will wage on for at least another season and offseason and I almost guarantee that there will be another face at some point introduced to that competition or potentially coming in and nixing the competition as a whole the way that I look at it Jay Kaner can be your backup quarterback for 2024 and you can focus on Spencer Rattler as your potential quarterback of the future or vice versa it does not matter and being a backup quarterback certainly does not stop you from being considered in that conversation either so I think that this team will continue to drive this competition for quite a while but I expect that Rattler will come excuse me I expect that Hanner will come out on top because of his relationship not just because of his relationship he's also had a good camp but he will be boosted by his relationship with the head coach and his relationship with the starting quarterback as it is all right let's move on here to offensive line I wanted to go to offensive line next I know typically you go like oh quarterback running back wide I'm not going in order we're going by what's most important so we got quarterback out of the way now let's discuss us offensive line where I do think that there are not only battles in terms of who makes the roster but there's battles in terms of who ends up starting on this offensive line we know three things for sure Eric McCoy Caesar re and tally Essie fonga we know those three guys for sure Eric McCoy will be your starter at Center Cesar Ruiz will be your starter at Right Guard and then of course T fanga who returned to practice in team drills yesterday will be the starter at left tack that seems pretty much set in stone at this point barring anything unforeseen that ends up forcing some changes there the spot the spots that are up for grabs are of course left guard as well as right tackle now lately we've seen depth player oie Udo step in and start to take some of those first team right tackle spots but Dennis Allen New Orleans Saints head coach has been very clear that Penning he believes still has the edge for the moment let's see if he retains that edge as he goes through I do think that udo's performances have been stronger at the right tackle spot outside of the Guard spot it's almost like I've been screaming that for four weeks uh but not only that I think his performance has gotten stronger period the big issue that we've seen so far with Olo has been false starts holding penalties has been the big thing so that's the one thing that you're probably going to have to quell some concerns around if you're the New Orleans Saints for yourself but I do think that ol Udo has a good chance to potentially push but right now I'll give Trevor Penning The Edge because that's what coach says is happening and I think that Lucas Patrick has the edge at left guard although he's seen a lot of competition there it's been Lucas Patrick they started with Nick salivary we've seen Kyle hgle there we've seen seen uh uh uh uh Shane Lemieux there we've watched other guy we've watched actually Landon young and Udo end up taking Snaps there as well so I think Lucas Patrick's going to come out on top and that will be your starting five so that gives us five of our eight T Fong left tackle Lucas Patrick at left guard Eric McCoy at Center Cesar Ruiz at Right Guard and then Trevor pinning at right tackle here's where I think the Saints Go for their depth because I do have them keeping nine offensive linemen because you just can't get enough depth on this offensive line if you ask me I think they go with versatile players like Landon young o Udo and Kyle hgle those guys cover all five of your bases and then I wouldn't blame them for holding on to an additional offensive lineman particularly somebody that's got a little bit of experience like a Tain anram somebody that can come in and you know be able to be somebody that's kind of that ninth offensive lineman give you some additional depth now you might be wondering Ross where's Nick Sal D in all this well I have Sal de being placed on injured reserve thanks to a new rule by the by the NFL this off season and I believe it was the lions that actually proposed this so really thanks to the Lions the NFL now has a new rule where a club can place a two players on injured reserve on the day of roster cuts and then they can still come back four games later like a typical IR move as opposed to because it's said the preseason still them being done for the year used to be that you would have to carry a player over to your 53 man roster and then move them to injured reserve it feels like Nick salivary could be one of the two candidates to take advantage of this new rule be a little bit crafty get your offensive line set and still have Nick salivary be a guy that can come back to you later on in the season if he's not going to be ready to go at the very beginning if he does end up exceeding whatever timeline we kind of expect him to be on at this point just because we haven't seen much progress from him doesn't mean that there hasn't been progress then of course he andain anram you can easily swap in this equation to still walk away with nine offensive linemen which I do think would be very Val valuable for this New Orleans Saints team because again you just can't have enough depth so that's the way that I look at things going for quarterback and offensive line two of the biggest conversations of this entire off season but we'll see I think that quarterback is still active right now uh I think right tackle could still be active right now and maybe this final preseason game against the Tennessee Titans changes that I don't think that this final game changes who makes the roster I think the team has a pretty good idea of who that's going to be at this point SS maybe one or two guys that could potentially swap around but I do think that jostling for position on that roster is still available to these players and guys like Jak Kaner Spencer Rattler as well as guys like ol Udo and Trevor Penning have the opportunity to take advantage of that this weekend up next Kendra Miller is probably going to be given another chance we got that coming up for you as we continue on with today's episode of lockon saints for a lockon podcast Network your team every day this show is sponsored by better help what are your self-care non-negotiables maybe you never skip a day at the gym you love you 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that's betterhelp hp.com lockon let's get it HUD that Nation the New Orleans Saints running back kendre Miller could be given another shot but the Saints themselves could be crafty about how they choose to produce that second chance we appreciate you very much for being here for another episode and for making us your first listen of the day every day don't forget to go and check out the locked on fantasy football podcast as well for your second listen today Vinnie a and Michelle Muk making you the smartest fantasy football player in your league because they are two of the smartest people I've ever talked to so make sure you go and check them out over on locktown fantasy football wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube part of lockone podcast Network your team every day so what are the New Orleans stes going to do with kend Dre Miller it's the question that everyone's asking um and I've thought about being crafty you know the Sates can give him another chance and I think it's likely that they do I I think it's likely that kend Dre Miller gets another chance he's a third round rookie he was a third round sorry he was a third round pick secondy year player not a rookie uh but didn't really have a rookie season right kind of got injured against Chicago missed a lot of time and then ended up playing in that last week 18 game and then looked really good that week 18 game and everybody went oh I get it and then we were all excited about him coming into the 2024 season the new system the wide zone system yeah he was going to have to learn a bit of that outside zone game but he should be fine and and then he goes down with a hamstring injury during individual practices they won a training camp and never to be seen again that's not true he was he has been seen uh but never to practice again right we haven't seen him out on the field yet and so Dennis Allen saying that basically since the moment that they drafted him they don't have any new information on him and that makes it really tough to make a roster at I get I understand that but you did invest in this guy um and it's not impossible for you to carry four running backs and that's exactly what I have the New Orleans Saints doing so that they can provide kendre Miller another opportunity once he's healthy if he doesn't stay healthy if he doesn't take advantage of that opportunity then you can move on but as of right now no harm thanks to the versatility of a tesm hill really in keeping a fourth running back on this roster and sometimes I've said that and people have asked me what you can't keep four running backs why give me one good reason says who says who says whomst nobody nobody cares the San Francisco 49ers where Clint kubak just came from last year kept five they kept five running backs and six wide receivers you can keep four running backs you'll be fine so that's what I expect the New Orleans Saints to do Alvin cimo Jamal Williams kendre Miller and Jordan Mims yeah it's Jordan Mims season everybody time to just enjoy it embrace it and watch it let it wash over you it's fantastic I cannot wait I I'm excited to see what it is that this running back room is able to do with their new uh running back system or their new running Run game system excuse me uh run focused system I think it's going to be good now here's the sacrifice all right you keep four running backs and look if the Saints wanted to be crafty here they could take kendre Miller and they could also make him the second IR preseason IR guy designated to return at roster Cuts right we talked about how they could do that with Nick salivary well they've got two players that they could do that with so kendre Miller could be an option keep him out for four weeks and then bring him back give him some more time for his hamstring to do whatever it needs to do to be healthy and then boom There You Go activate the practice window then he's got three more weeks to practice if he wants to before being activated back to the active roster gives you a little bit of flexibility certainly a way that the New Orleans Saints could go about that but if they choose not to do it that way because they think that Kendra Miller is going to be healthier sooner than those first four games then this is the way to do it you carry the four running backs you might make a little bit of a sacrifice because you could drop an offensive lineman to make this spot or because of the versatility of Tamm Hill as I referenced earlier you could drop the fullback and this is what the New Orleans Saints did last year they did not carry a fullback into their initial 53 man roster instead they put Adam Prentice on the practice squad elevated them for a few games you can do that for three games before a player has to be put on your active roster and then boom Elevate him to your active roster that should be long enough for you to figure out where things are with kendre Miller and if he's looking healthy and he's looking good then you work on getting Jordan Mims back to your practice squad or somebody else back to your practice squad doesn't necessarily have to happen at the position happen somewhere else could happen on the defensive side doesn't matter um and and so having that fullback spot open but still being able to employ that fullback by elevating him for three preseason game or three regular season games having Tamm Hill who can play fullback for you having fos Maro you can put in the backfield if you want to there was one look that the Saints showed during uh training camp where they had um uh fost Maro as a fullback and then Tamm Hill as a tailback sure go for it and then D Hulker has the ability to kind of play in that f move oper you know that f move move kind of system uh or or concept rather uh as well so that's my thoughts on running back I think Kendra Miller is going to get another chance it's just about how the New Orleans thinks want to give him that chance by putting him on the active roster or giving him the four weeks on that new IR Rule and then being able to bring him back after them uh wide receiver I think bub means um makes a case for a spot here over the course of this week it's been tough this wide receiver room um for a long time you didn't have anybody really standing out behind the two locks Chris olve and rashed jahed now as time has progressed things have moved forward which is good and I think you've got four locks now you've got Chris alve you've got rased shed and then there's Cedric Wilson and at Perry and then I think bub means gets the edge as a drafted player I just think that that's one of those things we've seen the New Orleans Saints do in the past um and yeah you might as well and so bub means though not only just because he's a drafted player but he's shown some things since he's come back from his uh I think it was a shin injury leg injury lower leg injury U that kept him out during a good portion of training camp I think he's shown some nice things solid route Runner knows where to be and when to be there making some contested catches things like that so I think that he also earns a spot but the thing that's tough is that guys like Kevin Austin Jr who I've praised on this show Stanley Morgan Jr who gives you great special teams Acumen and then Samson NCA who probably has been the best receiver not named at Perry Cedric Wilson over the course of and then of course your two starters but I'm talking about the guys that are kind of below your your two big guys in Crystal ly and rashed Jed but Sam has probably been your best performer at the position outside of you know the top guys and they only played him nine snaps in the second game so they trying to hide him like what's going on there so that almost to me feels like that's a trying to sneak him to the practice squad kind of move so we'll see exactly what goes on there but I think Kevin Austin has had strong practices but hasn't been able to show up in games which one's more important for the Saints I know which one's more important for me for me it's practices I I want to see you do it in practices and then I I need to see you do something in games right I need to see you do something there but I also need you need to see you be able to take notes get better in progress in practice like that's a big thing for me but that's a that might just be the theater in me that feels the that that feels that the Saints could go so far as keeping six wide receivers if they want to that opens up another spot for maybe a core special teamer maybe the kickoff rules change this maybe instead of keeping nine offensive lineman you keep eight eight offensive lineman you keep a six wide receiver that could open the door for a Stanley Morgan Jr who contributes on special teams or even an equinus st Brown who's a good blocker good opportunity there but for me right now it's Al Shahed Wilson Jr Perry and meets for the time beings uh I think that changes though if Kevin Austin has a really good preseason game against the Tennessee Titans I will tell you that that's one spot that I feel like still is kind of in flux based on this final preseason game in terms of making the roster and not making the roster and in that case you might see them keep six because I don't know if they want to move on from BB mean so quickly as a drafted player finally tight ends this is simple it's Jawan Johnson it's Foster Maro it's D Hulker now Dal Hulker is dealing with a sprain ankle right now does that end up impacting his opportunity to make the roster yes it can have an impact maybe that's a place where Michael Jacobson ends up sneaking in he's been a big time Red Zone threat for this team that's kind of nice 6 fo6 big body dude we've seen how that benefits the New Orleans Saints before 6'7 big body dude uh for Jimmy Graham last year but um as of right now D Hulker who the team refers to as d eighth round pick uh they love him they love him and so if they really feel as strongly as they say they do about Hulker it's hard for me not to put him on the roster all right coming up next we're going to take a look at the cornerback and the safety battles because those battles are now closing out and it might be familiarity that gets the edge we got that coming up for you next as we continue on with today's episode of Lone Saints put Lon podcast Network your team every day and today's episode brought to you by friends at LinkedIn jobs when you're a small business finding quality professionals that are right for your job is massively important right the success of your business can only be successful as the people that you employ to help make it well business so that's why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs Linked In jobs is all the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free so make sure you're getting the people with requisite experience good culture fits for your team all of those things LinkedIn job is going to give you all the tools to make that happen in fact uh LinkedIn jobs is a place where 70% of users visit LinkedIn jobs and don't even visit other job board so if you're not looking at LinkedIn you're looking in the wrong place so join the Army of 2 and a half million small businesses that are already using LinkedIn for hiring today you can post your job for free today at linkedin.com lockon NFL that's linkedin.com lock NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply [Music] let's get it hudat Nation the cornerback battle for the fifth spot has been big Rico pton so far the undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh state has been a preseason stud however a late injury could potentially now open the door for a familiar face we appreciate you very much for being here don't forget we're going to be live later on today we are your team every day sometimes twice a day most of the time twice a day uh so you'll be able to catch us live after the New Orleans Saints practice in the super doome excited to see the new 40 yard bars everybody loves a 40 yard bar you know what I mean uh there in the Super Dome so uh we'll be checking that out and of course if you're at the Superdome practice later on today and you see me as always please say hi um all right let's take a look at the New Orleans Saints cornerback room because I think quarterback and safety I kind of just want to look at the defensive backs as a whole right uh so I'm kind of lumping these two stories together but they're the most intriguing stories over in the defensive side we know the top four quarterbacks it's marshan lore it's Paulson Ado it's tante Taylor it's Koolaid mckinstry I don't expect any changes in terms of what the structure of that is martian ladimore Paulsbo will start on the outside alante Taylor who has been the most improved player from 2023 to 2024 even though he was already really good in 2023 uh is going to be the starter in the slot KOA McKenry provides you some valuable depth because as we always talk about here on the show you are never going to have no team is going to have all three of their starting corners for all 17 games so his number will eventually be called it's the fifth quarterback spot we believe that they will keep a fifth corner at least they typically keep around 11 defensive backs in total six corner or five corners and six safeties sometimes vice versa um and it depends on how you denote some players and things like that but we'll get to that in just a moment uh but the fifth quarterback spot of course has been a big one I thought the RICO Payton was locking this job down fantastic preseason game it's the Arizona Cardinals followed up by a great practice week followed up by a fantastic pra game excuse me exhibition game against San Francisco 49ers but then he got the injury during the San Francisco 49ers the shoulder issue uh that has kept him out of practice ever since then and that injury could had potentially opened the door from for a familiar face that people don't often remember is a familiar face in Shamar John Charles Shamar John Charles joined the New Orleans Saints last year week 12 and then actually was a big-time contributor over on the special team side for the last three games of the season this is a guy that has continued to make plays throughout training camp as well I don't want to just limit him to being a special teams role player uh but he does give you valuable depth on defense while also providing you somebody uh that's going to be able to contribute over on special teams he was kind of the core Gunner for the team when JT gray was dealing with injury and stuff like that towards the end of the season so a guy like Shamar John Charles makes sense to be able to jump in to the spot this is another place where I feel like the third preseason game matters if Rico pton who was back out at practice yesterday though did not participate in team drills is out at practice today participating in team drills does the walkthrough on Saturday gets checked out on Sunday and looks good Rico pyton has an opportunity to go out there against Tennessee and lock this spot down but I do think with the change in the kickoff rules and of course with the emphasis that this team puts on special teams a guy like Shamar Jean Charles has a really nice inside track to this cornerback Five Spot safety of course also very interesting you know Tyron Matthews on the on the roster and honestly I think you know the rest of the group you're just trying to figure out who's going to actually start next to Tyron Matthew I will stick with my preot pre mini camp pre whatever prediction uh that it would be Jonathan Abram Jonathan Abram is a box safety that what they're looking for to kind of complement with some versatility of course but they're trying to complement Tyron Matthew Jonathan Abram and Tyron Matthew closed out the 2023 season very strong in those final two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons I think it's going to be hard for the New Orleans Saints to kind of shake that memory uh Jordan Howen very good away from the football uh is developing when it comes to playing down in the Box being closer to line of scrimmage it's just not a part of his game yet and so I don't know that he's ready yet uh but I still think he makes the roster because they believe in him as the future at that position you know as a part of the future at that position so Tyron Matthew Jonathan Abram Jordan Howen those are all guys that are absolute locks for you JT gray is a lock for you I think not only will he be back but he should be a special teams captain again one of the two uh and then I have will Harris and Ugo amatti making the roster because Harris and amatti both give you some depth in the slot Harris gives you depth at every basically secondary position and amatti gives you another core special teamer a returner uh personal protector on the punt side uh Gunner all these other things so I think that the Saints can keep six safeties because of the versatility that they have at the position and even a guy like Miller Bradford who can play a bunch of different places who came on in out of TCU as an undrafted free agent likely to land on the practice squad could potentially be elevated to help out on special teams and things like that as well so I could see Harris gray and aaditi being the guys behind your core three in Matthew Abram and Howen and look I also don't expect while I think that Jonathan Abram will end the season with the most snaps next to Tyron Matthew I don't expect that he'll be the only one to take snaps next to tyon Matthew during the 2024 season I think based on the matchup the game plan and the game situation maybe a Howen is better for a certain situation maybe a Harris is better for a certain situation so you can always roll and kind of play the rotation game uh as well which we've seen the Saints do on the secondary a ton a ton under Denis Allen all right we're going to wrap up here taking a look at defensive line linebackers and Specialists no big surprises here defensive line will get through quickly Cam Jordan Carl Granderson Chase young pton Turner Isaiah fosy those your Edge rushers Colin Saunders Nathan Shepard Brian Bree Christian Boyd those are your defensive tackles it's the same room as last year minus tono pasho who's on the physically unable to perform list maybe he'll be ready to come back at a later point in the season but as of right now Chase young pton Turner Isaiah fosy those are the guys that come in Chase young being the new face and then you swap out Malcolm roach who the Saints lost this off season uh at defensive tackle with Christian Boyd who they drafted this offseason all is well very very simple in terms of what that looks like uh linebackers I got the Saints keeping five uh Demario Davis Pete Warner Willie gay those are Willie Gay Jr those are going to be your core three they'll be on the field a lot together you'll see dime packages with two linebackers that are Demario Davis and Pete Werner that are Demario Davis and Willie gay there are Pete Werner and Willie gay like they'll kind of shuffle all that around uh the guys that I think hold down the depth right now and this is with a caveat anony orgy as well as Kik Hudson I I think both of these guys I think anony orgy deserves to be on the roster he's been one of the most improved players this offseason uh C Hudson gives you special teams Acumen starting experience all those good things and and honestly has looked impressive at certain points throughout Camp the big wrinkle here is DeMarco Jackson DeMarco Jackson went down with a calf injury in Wednesday's practice while chasing down and trying to make a play and he's made a lot of them this offseason so if that calf injury holds Jackson back for a while then it might be tough for him to steal a spot or he gets on the initial roster but then goes to injured reserve or something like that if the injury is serious enough right but if Jackson is ready to go by the time the season comes and it was just like a weird kind of tweak or something like that then I think you maybe swap him and K Hudson out and then you try to get K cuts into the practice squad or something like that or you shave the numbers elsewhere but that's that's my one caveat for that position all right so that wraps up the defense for a specialist uh I'm not budging on specialist I think it's Blake groupy at kicker it's Lou Hedley at punter and then it's Zack wood at Long Snapper this is me predicting what the Saints will do um and I I just don't see the Saints going away from their familiarity Trend uh even though they did it last year so maybe I'm wrong but the familiarity trend of not only keeping your kicker and your punter who have more predictable you know you have more predictable experience with uh you also have the flexibility of Charlie Smith you have to cut him and get him through waivers but then you can get him back on your roster as a roster exemption and then he sits there for a year for you you can't use him but he sits there for a year and then he could potentially be your kicker of the future at a later time but I think that this team is going to Value consistency within 50 yards more than they're going to value a 65 yard kick when it comes to field goal and I think that the New Orleans Saints have just been so cozy with Lou Hedley and they feel like they have some predicting you know fashion with him in terms of predictability with him in terms of knowing where the ball is going to go location wise and all those other things that I don't think they're going to disrupt that and then the Long Snapper to hold her to kick her operation keeping that together obviously has uh its values as well and Zack wood might be the most secure player uh on an NFL team because he ain't going nowhere and and by the way deserves the captain's badge again for a second season all right there you go that's our 53 man roster if you want to see all written out head over to louisian sports.net so you can check it out uh and we'll do further breakdowns on this I'm going to send some more takeaways over to our Insider program as well so if you want to join that just text Saints or HUD at to 504 28574 73 join you get film studies exclusive q&as all that good stuff as well and of course we appreciate you for making us your first listen don't forget we'll be back with you later on today as the New Orleans Saints wrap up their training camp uh with a final Superdome open practice and please say hello if you're there we appreciate you very much as always make a on Saints a part of your day part of your routine for saying yes to me on the show as always if you see me please say hi and if you need anything else around your New Orleans Saints in between these episodes make sure you follow me on your favorite social media Ross Jackson n l a hit me up let not a family zo let know how you living let me know how you moming them and Trust to. Nation I'll holl at you [Music]