The New Orleans Saints kept starting quarterback Drew Brees on the sideline for their preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings, which opened the door for backups Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill. Rookie linebacker Kaden Elliss also seized his opportunity on special teams and in extensive action with the defense. Here’s the snap count distribution for Saints players on offense, defense, and special teams:
Offense
- OT Marshall Newhouse: 49 snaps
- OT Michael Ola: 46 snaps
- OG Patrick Omameh: 46 snaps
- OC Cameron Tom: 45 sanps
- OG Will Clapp: 41 snaps
- QB Teddy Bridgewater: 38 snaps
- QB Taysom Hill: 35 snaps
- WR Simmie Cobbs: 30 snaps
- OC Erik McCoy: 28 snaps
- WR Travin Dural: 28 snaps
- WR Austin Carr: 27 snaps
- TE Dan Arnold: 25 snaps
- WR Cyril Grayson: 25 snaps
- WR Tre’Quan Smith: 25 snaps
- RB Jacquizz Rodgers: 24 snaps
- RB Dwayne Washington: 22 snaps
- TE A.J. Derby: 22 snaps
- WR Rishard Matthews: 20 snaps
- OG Ryan Groy: 18 snaps
- OC Marcus Henry: 18 snaps
- WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 16 snaps
- TE Josh Hill: 15 snaps
- OG Nick Easton: 15 snaps
- WR Michael Thomas: 15 snaps
- OG Larry Warford: 15 snaps
- OT Terron Armstead: 15 snaps
- OT Ryan Ramczyk: 15 snaps
- WR Ted Ginn Jr.: 13 snaps
- TE Jared Cook: 13 snaps
- RB Alvin Kamara: 10 snaps
- RB Devine Ozigbo: 9 snaps
- TE Jake Powell: 9 snaps
- OT Derrick Kelly: 9 snaps
- FB Zach Line: 8 snaps
- RB Latavius Murray: 8 snaps
- OT Ulrick John: 6 snaps
And now for some notes:
- Latavius Murray only took the field eight times, and the Saints were very deliberate with how they deployed him. He touched the ball six times (three as a runner, three as a receiver). The Saints clearly wanted to try him out in some specific down-and-distance situations as a pass-catcher, and he delivered with 36 yards from scrimmage.
- The second-string offensive line got a ton of looks, with the principle backups each seeing 41 to 49 snaps. Albert Breer of SI.com visited Saints training camp a week ago and noted that the team wants to develop more depth on that unit; we saw why in this preseason game, with the backups getting Teddy Bridgewater sacked twice and stalling out on several drives.
- Bridgewater (38 snaps) and Taysom Hill (35 snaps) split time almost evenly between the first and second halves, with Bridgewater running the first- and second-string offense. Hill spent most of his game time in the second-string offense, but he also closed out the game surrounded by third-stringers. Expect the Saints to maintain this ratio moving forward.
- Top draft pick Erik McCoy started at center (28 snaps) with the first-team offense, and stayed in until about halfway through the second quarter when the backups came off the bench. Nick Easton (15 snaps) is listed as McCoy’s co-starter at center, but he filled in for injured left guard Andrus Peat. It’s McCoy’s job in all but name, especially after he played well against the Vikings.
Defense
- LB Kaden Elliss: 32 snaps
- LB Porter Gustin: 32 snaps
- LB Craig Robetson: 31 snaps
- CB Patrick Robinson: 30 snaps
- DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 29 snaps
- DE Geneo Grissom: 28 snaps
- CB Ken Crawley: 27 snaps
- CB P.J. Williams: 26 snaps
- NT Taylor Stallworth: 25 snaps
- LB Vince Biegel: 23 snaps
- FS Chris Banjo: 23 snaps
- DT Ziggy Hood: 22 snaps
- DT Sylvester Williams: 22 snaps
- DE Corbin Kaufusi: 21 snaps
- DT Shy Tuttle: 21 snaps
- CB Kayvon Webster: 20 snaps
- DE Trey Hendrickson: 20 snaps
- SS Vonn Bell: 20 snaps
- LB Darnell Sankey: 19 snaps
- DE Marcus Davenport: 19 snaps
- CB Eli Apple: 19 snaps
- DE Mario Edwards: 18 snaps
- DB Terrell Williams: 16 snaps
- SS J.T. Gray: 13 snaps
- CB Justin Hardee: 13 snaps
- DB Saquan Hampton: 12 snaps
- FS Marcus Williams: 12 snaps
- CB Marshon Lattimore: 12 snaps
- LB Demario Davis: 12 snaps
- LB Josh Martin: 11 snaps
- LB A.J. Klein: 11 snaps
- LB Alex Anzalone: 8 snaps
- DT David Onyemata: 8 snaps
- DT Malcom Brown: 8 snaps
And here’s our observations:
- This defensive game plan was as vanilla as they come. The Saints trotted out a base defense with three linebackers, something they haven’t done often in regular season games. Rookies Kaden Ellis and Porter Gustin (32 snaps each) led the way in playing time, with veteran Craig Robertson (31) right there with them.
- C.J. Gardner-Johnson played more than twice as many snaps (29) as the other rookie safety making waves in camp, Saquan Hampton (12). These two aren’t really competing with each other for playing time — they line up in different spots — but it’s noteworthy that the Saints saw enough in Hampton’s time with the first- and second-team units to give him the night off after just a dozen plays.
- Marcus Davenport (19 snaps) and Trey Hendrickson (20) started on the edge with Cameron Jordan held out for a day of veteran’s rest. Hendrickson showed good hustle in a couple of moments, while the Vikings offensive line was determined not to let Davenport abuse them again (he logged two sacks in their regular-season game last year). He was assigned double-team blocks on multiple plays.
Special Teams
- LB Kaden Elliss: 20 snaps
- LB Vince Biegel: 16 snaps
- LB Darnell Sankey: 13 snaps
- DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 13 snaps
- K Wil Lutz: 12 snaps
- LB Josh Martin: 12 snaps
- SS J.T. Gray: 11 snaps
- CB Justin Hardee: 11 snaps
- TE Dan Arnold: 10 snaps
- DB Saquan Hampton: 9 snaps
- FS Chris Banjo: 9 snaps
- P Thomas Morstead: 7 snaps
- LB Colton Jumper: 7 snaps
- KR Deonte Harris: 6 snaps
- DE Geneo Grissom: 6 snaps
- RB Jacquizz Rodgers: 6 snaps
- WR Rishard Matthews: 6 snaps
- RB Devine Ozigbo: 6 snaps
- OG Ryan Groy: 5 snaps
- WR Cyril Grayson: 5 snaps
- OT Marshall Newhouse: 5 snaps
- OT Michael Ola: 5 snaps
- OC Will Clapp: 5 snaps
- CB Ken Crawley: 5 snaps
- DB Terrell Williams: 5 snaps
- FB Zach Line: 5 snaps
- OC Marcus Henry: 4 snaps
- RB Dwayne Washington: 4 snaps
- LS Nick Moore: 4 snaps
- DT Ziggy Hood: 4 snaps
- TE Jake Powell: 3 snaps
- LS Zach Wood: 3 snaps
- OC Cameron Tom: 3 snaps
- WR Simmie Cobbs: 3 snaps
- NT Taylor Stallworth: 3 snaps
- TE Josh Hill: 3 snaps
- OG Nick Easton: 2 snaps
- TE A.J. Derby: 2 snaps
- DT Sylvester Williams: 2 snaps
- DE Corbin Kaufusi: 2 snaps
- OT Ulrick John: 1 snap
- DT Shy Tuttle: 1 snap
- CB P.J. Williams: 1 snap
- WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 1 snap
Here’s what we picked up on:
- Taysom Hill and Craig Robertson led the Saints in special teams snaps per game last year, but neither of them suited up for the first game under new coordinator Darren Rizzi. The Saints have a good idea of what both of them can do in that area and probably wanted to scout other players.
- Kaden Elliss didn’t just lead the team in defensive snaps (32); he also set the pace on special teams (20). That’s exactly what he needs to do so he can make the team as a rookie. He’s competing with other backups like Vince Biegel (16), Darnell Sankey (13), and Josh Martin (12) for just two or three roster spots.
- J.T. Gray (11 snaps) was a force, which was good to see after his quiet first few weeks of training camp. His aggression did get the better of him close to halftime with an unforced penalty in punt coverage, but he still did a great job of streaking downfield and taking good angles to the ball.
