It sure feels like New Orleans Saints training camp is a lifetime away, but it’ll be here before we know it. And when the black and gold gather for a month-long workout under the grueling Metairie sun, it’s safe to say that the coaching staff will have some questions weighing heavily on their minds.
We have three of those problems already written down in pen, circled, and highlighted. These are the most important issues facing the Saints this season, and they won’t even sniff Super Bowl LV if they don’t solve each problem before September. New Orleans must act quickly to gets its 2020 rookie class on the same page as its veteran pickups and the nucleus of players returning from the 2019 team.
Who starts at center and guard?
New Orleans sent both guards to the Pro Bowl last year, but the Saints offensive line got even deeper in the 2020 draft by picking Michigan center Cesar Ruiz. While Andrus Peat is entrenched at left guard (having signed a five-year contract extension earlier in the offseason), the center and right guard spots are all but settled. If anything, they might be the most competitive roster battles we’ll see in training camp.
Ruiz and Erik McCoy, the incumbent, will both compete for the right to start at center. They’ll also work into the lineup at right guard, three-time Pro Bowl alternate Larry Warford is entering the final year of his contract (which carries the second-highest salary cap charge for the Saints this year, behind Drew Brees). With just those two spots available, the Saints will be benching either a draft pick selected in the first two rounds of the last two drafts or one of their best free agent acquisitions.
It’s possible Warford gets traded to help make that decision easier. Moving him would allow the Saints to work around the salary cap a little easier, while also getting both Ruiz and McCoy on the field together. While McCoy was graded very well by Pro Football Focus in 2019, Ruiz is one of the best center prospects in years — his college coach allowed him to make all the line calls for the Wolverines, and credited Ruiz with getting it right “99% of the time.”
How does the linebacker rotation shake out?
Another area of heavy competition figures to land in the middle of the defense. While Demario Davis, named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press last year, is a no-doubt starter at weakside linebacker, the Saints can attack the spot next to him from several different angles. Unlike some NFL teams, the Saints use their nickel package as the base defense, fielding just two linebackers at a time for long stretches during games (they trotted out three or more linebackers together on fewer than 200 snaps last season).
Enter Zack Baun, a rookie out of Wisconsin who figures to push both Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso for playing time right out of the gate. While Anzalone predominantly played snaps at middle linebacker, Alonso is more of a strongside enthusiast, but responsibilities and alignments can shift and change from one snap to the next in New Orleans’ versatile defense. Anzalone and Alonso both ended the 2019 season on injured reserve (as did Kaden Elliss, last year’s seventh-round pick who quickly earned the trust of the coaching staff as a top backup).
Adding to the drama is the long-term vision of the unit. Davis, Anzalone, Alonso, and first-man-up Craig Robertson are each going to be free agents next year, barring an early contract extension. The Saints need Baun to outright win a starting job right away so that the team knows it has a building block for the future.
Who rounds out the wide receiver corps?
The top of the depth chart is locked in, with Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders eager to set every secondary in the NFC South on fire. That duo is as impressive as any pairing you’ll find around the NFL; the idea of what Sanders will be able to do with Thomas demanding lopsided coverage from defenses is exciting, to say the least.
Things get questionable immediately after those two, though. Third-year pro Tre’Quan Smith is entering a make-or-break year. While he has plenty of physical ability and has caught 10 touchdowns in his first two seasons, Smith has struggled to nail down his responsibilities in the Saints offense with consistency. He also missed five games in 2019 after rushing back too soon from a high-ankle sprain.
We should expect more touches for Deonte Harris, the returns specialist who made the jump from small-school Assumption College and went on to earn recognition at the Pro Bowl, on the All-Pro list, and just about every other honor roll you’ll find in the NFL’s orbit. But he’ll be pushed hard by Marquez Callaway, a rookie free agent out of Tennessee who averaged 21.2 yards per catch last year and brings great size and agility to the equation. Other Saints receivers who got on the field last year and return in 2020: Krishawn Hogan and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
