These five final games are just as much about competing each week as evaluating young players with the future in mind. Odds aren’t in the New Orleans Saints’ favor when it comes to the playoffs; with little to work with in the way of salary cap resources and draft picks, it’s even more important than usual that they better identify what they have out of players already under contract moving forwards.
So with that said, here are six young pros we’ll be watching closely as the Saints close out their season:
1
LT Trevor Penning
The list has to start with him, right? Penning only played six snaps on offense in making his debut last week, but his workload should increase exponentially as he and the Saints gain more confidence in his surgically-repaired foot. There are very high expectations for him not just as a rookie first round draft pick, but as the player the Saints traded next year’s first rounder to acquire. It isn’t fair, but that’s the NFL. Penning should be expected to start in 2023, but we’ll have a better idea of his progress with more tape to review over the next month.
2
WR Rashid Shaheed
Don’t look now, but Shaheed is already the third receiver in the Saints offense. He’s played more snaps and run more routes than everyone but Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry over the last two weeks. It’s a shame it took the Saints coaching staff this long to get him involved ahead of guys like Tre’Quan Smith, Kevin White, and Marquez Callaway, but it is what it is. What matters now is testing Shaheed out in different roles to build a better idea of what he’s capable of, and where his ceiling’s at.
3
CB Alontae Taylor
So this might be a tough one. Taylor isn’t playing ahead of Paulson Adebo at one cornerback spot, and Marshon Lattimore is on his way back at the other, so where does he line up? He doesn’t have any experience covering the slot at the pro or college level and it wouldn’t do him any favors to throw him into that role on the fly, this late into his rookie season. But whether he’s starting in Lattimore’s place while he continues to heal up or auditioning on special teams, the Saints must get Taylor on the field one way or another.
4
DT Kentavius Street
Street is in a unique position as a pending free agent (he’s expected to have restricted status, giving the Saints more options in retaining him) and he’s come on strong lately with 6 pressures against his old San Francisco 49ers teammates last week. He’s picked up a couple of sacks and looked like a good scheme fit in New Orleans. These last five games will be key in proving whether he should re-sign in the spring, but the Saints don’t have a single defensive tackle under contract for 2023, so it’s a big opportunity for him.
5
K Wil Lutz
I realize we’re stretching the definition of “young players to evaluate” with the 28-year old Lutz, but hear me out (not least because I turned 30 a few months back and need this). Lutz has posted his worst numbers as a pro in field goal completion percentage (73.9%, going 17-of-23) and on average kickoff yardage (60.0, beneath his career average of 63.0). He hasn’t looked like his old self, and the numbers back that up: Lutz connected on 87% of his field goal tries before a yearlong absence with injury in 2021. He’s been weakest from 40 to 49 yards out, missing 3 of his 7 tries, which is unlike him. He’s got to prove to the team that he’s worth his $5.57 million cap hit next season.
6
QB Jameis Winston
This past game wasn’t the one to hold against Andy Dalton given all of the drops and heightened quality of competition, but the Saints offense has regressed hard over the last month, and it’s fair to ask if it’s time to turn back to Winston. But let’s be clear about some things. This isn’t about scouting Winston to get a better idea of who he is — we know that from his five years as an error-prone starter with the Buccaneers and two years as an injury-plagued starter with the Saints. He turns 29 in January and doesn’t have much more unseen potential to tap. It’s more about seeing whether he can spark the offense and get more out of the receiving corps than Dalton has. Think of it as building a case to keep Winston on the roster for 2023 rather than releasing him to save salary cap resources.
