We’ve already taken stock of the New Orleans Saints defense in the wake of the 2023 draft — now what about their offense? Many of these position battles (and in some cases, position assignments) won’t be clarified until training camp begins in July. But we can still make an early survey of the starting lineup and top backups across the board.
Here’s where things stand offensively going into the next phase of the Saints offseason:
Quarterback: Derek Carr
Backups: Jameis Winston, Jake Haener
No controversy here. The Saints offense will go as far as Carr takes them.
Running back: Alvin Kamara
Backups: Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller
It shouldn’t take long to find out whether Kamara will be suspended once his Nevada assault case goes in front of Las Vegas jury in July. The Saints are positioned well to keep things moving without him after adding Williams and Miller.
Fullback: Adam Prentice
Backup: N/A
It’s a little surprising the Saints didn’t bring another fullback in yet given the premium they’ve put on this position before.
Tight end: Juwan Johnson
Backups: Lucas Krull, Miller Forristall, Joel Wilson
The Saints need a blocking tight end after trading Adam Trautman to the Denver Broncos. That isn’t Taysom Hill’s role, and the other players on the depth chart don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Johnson is a capable blocker but he’s at his best running routes and catching passes.
Flex: Taysom Hill
Backup: N/A
The Saints list Hill at tight end but he had more rushing attempts as a quarterback than snaps played inline last year. He has a unique role in the offense and should be regarded accordingly.
Left tackle: James Hurst
Backups: Trevor Penning, Mark Evans II
Penning needs to get healthy and win this job. It’s unfortunate injuries have slowed him down but he wasn’t ready to start even before he got hurt last summer. The Saints list the undrafted rookie Evans (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) at tackle, his college position, but he’s probably moving to guard given his subpar length by pro standards.
Left guard: Andrus Peat
Backups: Calvin Throckmorton, Lewis Kidd
Peat’s the starter here if he’s healthy, but Throckmorton has started a lot of games in his absence the last two years. Kidd also got some valuable experience as a rookie last season filling in as injuries wracked the offensive line from one end to the other.
Center: Erik McCoy
Backup: Alex Pihlstrom
McCoy should be an every-down player for the Saints but he’s been hit with some unfortunate injuries as of late. Pihlstrom has experience at all five line spots but was primarily a center at Illinois last year, and that might be his best alignment. He’s a good candidate to win a roster spot.
Right guard: Cesar Ruiz
Backups: Yasir Durant, Koda Martin
Will Nick Saldiveri (fourth-round pick out of Old Dominion) move to right guard? That’s the expectation but he’s played well all over the place, and the Saints could justify having him focus on a different spot. Durant and Martin also have real pro experience here.
Right tackle: Ryan Ramczyk
Backups: Landon Young, Storm Norton, Nick Saldiveri
Ramczyk has been limited in practice with a knee injury for much of the last year, so it makes sense for the Saints to load up on depth. Saldiveri doesn’t have the length teams tend to look for at tackle but he’s a very competent blocker who could make a strong case to stay at his college position.
Wide receiver (split end): Michael Thomas
Backups: Bryan Edwards, A.T. Perry, Shaquan Davis
The Saints have better depth behind Thomas than they did this time a year ago, and it’s lightyears improved from two or three years before. Hopefully he can stay healthy and reestablish himself, but Edwards has also played well with Derek Carr before. Perry and Davis have a lot of potential though Davis may benefit being moved to an alignment where he isn’t exposed to so much physical press coverage at the line of scrimmage.
Wide receiver (slot): Chris Olave
Backups: Keith Kirkwood, Tre’Quan Smith, Kirk Merritt
Olave makes plays everywhere but he’s a terrifying mismatch for the NFL’s slot defenders. He’s poised to continue building off of a strong rookie campaign. The Saints have so many other receivers with slot experience that it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s the only one out of these four to make the cut.
Wide receiver (flanker): Rashid Shaheed
Backups: Kawaan Baker, Malik Flowers, Sy Barnett
The Saints move their receivers around so often we probably shouldn’t put them in boxes like this, but Shaheed was dynamic when working off the line of scrimmage and he deserves more targets in his second year with New Orleans. Flowers and Barnett are intriguing athletes — Barnett is faster and more explosive, but Flowers was prolific in the return game, and that might make the difference.
