The New Orleans Saints preseason is nearly upon us, with a home-opener against the Minnesota Vikings scheduled for Friday night. The Saints usually field their most-important players sparingly in this one, so don’t expect to see much of guys like Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, or Cameron Jordan.
On the other hand, this will give us a good look at other players who either haven’t drawn as much attention in training camp or stand to benefit from action beneath the bright lights. Here’s seven Saints players to watch when they kick off against the Vikings.
QB Teddy Bridgewater
Bridgewater didn’t get any preseason action with the Saints last year, joining them days before their final exhibition game in a trade with the New York Jets. He’s had a year to practice with them and learn the offense inside-and-out, and is in strong position to prove he can be the answer for life after Brees. While his Week 17 performance was mostly filled with good decisions, it wasn’t a very inspiring outing. He can turn his narrative around immediately with a good preseason.
QB Taysom Hill
Fun things happen until Hill is asked to throw the football. He got off to a fast start in the preseason last year but bottomed out after the first two games and never recovered. With just two non-Brees quarterbacks on the roster between Bridgewater and Hill, fans should get plenty of exposure to Hill this summer and a better idea of whether his NFL future lies at quarterback. Hopefully, the Saints will just ask him to run around and make plays with his always-impressive athleticism.
RB Devine Ozigbo
Ozigbo has had a nice training camp, holding up well in a number of different areas. He’s looked comfortable in pass protection and when asked to run wheel routes. He’s shown an elusive running style, rare for a bigger back. He should get the lion’s share of touches among the Saints running backs this preseason and could cement himself as the third guy on the depth chart behind Kamara and Latavius Murray — if not better, should Murray miss more time with injuries.
WR Emmanuel Butler
Saints head coach Sean Payton was tight-lipped about Butler’s status after getting injured in an awkward fall on July 30, but admitted, “He’s real close. We’re hopeful he can play this Friday,” after Butler returned to practice on Aug. 7. Butler’s wide catch radius, run-after-catch ability, and high effort level have been on display throughout training camp. He has as much to gain as anyone in the preseason, if he’s able to suit up.
DL Mario Edwards Jr.
Edwards has been a quiet producer in stops with the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, but the Saints have been impressed with what he’s shown them this summer. This is a good opportunity for him to show everyone else what the hype is about. With starting defensive tackles Sheldon Rankins and David Onyemata out for the regular season opener, Edwards is the projected starter, and he should run with the first-team defense on Friday.
DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Gardner-Johnson has kind of taken a backseat to another rookie safety (we’ll get to him in a minute) on the training camp highlight reel, but he consistently showed up in college on the biggest stages. This preseason game will be his first chance to do that for the Saints, with Gardner-Johnson locked in a three-way competition to start in the slot with Patrick Robinson and P.J. Williams.
DB Saquan Hampton
The training camp hype beast award, so far, goes to Hampton. He’s been a force in the passing game and might lead the team in interceptions through two weeks of practice (if anyone is tracking that kind of thing). Hampton’s demonstrated good field vision and understanding of passing concepts, and he has the wheels to go sideline-to-sideline in the open field. He just might show out on Friday night.
