So much hype is built up for the annual NFL draft class, but it isn’t always fair to put such high expectations on rookie players. In many cases there are well-established veteran players in place ahead of them who they need to outwork for snaps in practice, much less in games. And that’s before other inhibiting factors like injuries and suspensions get in the way of their development.
Keep that in mind as we go through our New Orleans Saints rookie report card. The Saints’ 2024 draft class hasn’t had many opportunities to distinguish itself going up to the Week 11 bye, and the seven remaining games in the regular season are going to be critical for many of them. Here’s how we grade each first-year pro’s performance at midseason:
DT Bryan Bresee
The sacks aren’t here, but Bresee is already demanding double-team blocks and pressuring quarterbacks, and he’s done a great job batting passes down at the line of scrimmage. He’s trending in the right direction. But there’s room for improvement in finishing plays and bettering his run defense; he plays too tall and struggles to anchor his feet, which has led to too many big gains on the ground with opposing blockers moving Bresee off his spot.
Grade: B-plus
DE Isaiah Foskey
We just haven’t seen enough from Foskey. He hasn’t played enough snaps. He’s had a couple of nice rushes but he struggles to disengage and rally to the football. Run defense is the Saints’ primary concern at defensive end (for better or worse) and that’s an area Foskey must improve. He needs to do a better job shedding blockers and making plays in pursuit. But his first priority must be recovering from a quadriceps injury and getting back on the field after the bye week.
Grade: C-minus
RB Kendre Miller
It’s been a very rough rookie year for Miller, which hasn’t been helped by all the chirping he did in the offseason about coming for Alvin Kamara’s job. He’s missed too much time with injuries without producing when he has been healthy — he’s logged 28 rushing attempts for 83 yards in seven games with his longest carry gaining just 10 yards. We have glimpsed some of his playmaking ability as a receiver (he has receptions of 31 and 33 yards) doing his work after the catch, but it’s just not enough. He was the fourth running back drafted but ranks tenth in yards from scrimmage (194).
Grade: D
OL Nick Saldiveri
The Saints are afraid to play Saldiveri; he’s logged more snaps on special teams (19) than offense (18) while appearing in just four games. He played exclusively on the right side in college, primarily at right tackle, but they’ve asked him to convert to left guard. The Saints have signed veterans off the street like Cam Erving and Max Garcia to cover for injuries at right tackle and left guard, respectively. Offensive linemen picked immediately after Saldiveri are starting games for other teams. Maybe he develops into a quality starter in a year or two, but he isn’t helping the team right now.
Grade: D
QB Jake Haener
The other player the Saints traded up to get in the fourth round (spending their 2024 fourth rounder to do so), Haener has yet to dress out for his first game as a pro. He missed the first six weeks with a suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing drugs policy and has been inactive ever since. That’s not surprising with Derek Carr backed up by Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill in the mix. This was always the plan, so we won’t hold it against him; Haener should compete with someone for the No. 2 job behind Carr next summer.
Grade: TBD
DB Jordan Howden
Howden and Bresee are putting the Saints rookie class on their backs; Howden has already earned a role for himself in the dime personnel package, and he’s started a couple of games at free safety during Marcus Maye’s suspension. He’s done well with those opportunities and could compete for the starting job if Maye is a salary cap casualty in the offseason. He did give up a touchdown pass and miss one tackle, but Howden has broken up three passes thrown his way, and he’s proven a reliable tackler in space. That’s a great return for a fifth-round draft pick.
Grade: A
WR A.T. Perry
Perry made a couple of nice plays last week against the Minnesota Vikings, gaining 23 yards on his first NFL reception and scoring a touchdown from 15 yards out on the second catch (which really traveled about 45 yards through the air given Jameis Winston’s across-the-field launch point). He’s doing a solid job as a blocker. We just have to acknowledge that it took seven games of veterans like Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood playing ahead of him for Perry to get his shot. Hopefully the team has seen what he can do and will reward him with more opportunities moving forward.
Grade: C-plus
K Blake Grupe
Dennis Allen is determined to prove Grupe was the right choice at kicker after trading Wil Lutz to the Broncos (where he’s gone 17-of-19 on field goals and 15-of-17 on extra points), but it’s been rough at times for the rookie. Grupe is 19-of-24 on field goals though he’s nailed all 19 of his extra point attempts. He’s 4-of-6 on field goals from 50 or more yards, missing from distances of 51 and 52 yards while connecting on tries from 52, 54, 53, and 55 yards. Two of his missed kicks have been due to the operation, with Zach Wood and Lou Hedley not getting a clean snap and setup for him. He and the other players in that operation must perform more consistently.
Grade: C-minus
P Lou Hedley
It’s tough to evaluate the Saints punting unit given Hedley’s unique Australian-style kicking. He averages the lowest hang time in the league (4.03 seconds) by a wide margin (the next-lowest is 4.21 seconds), though he’s greatly improved in recent weeks with averages of 4.27, 4.21, and 4.26 seconds in his last three games. The Saints’ coverage team has bailed him out by getting downfield in a hurry — just 18 of his 49 punts have been returned, and the 5.1 yards per punt return allowed his the best in the NFL. But distance is a major problem. Hedley’s 43 yards per punt is the lowest number in the NFL, and his 39.9 net yards per punt is fifth-lowest.
Now, 42.9% of Hedley’s punts have been stopped inside the opposing 20-yard line and just 6.1% of them have been touchbacks, which are both above-average rates around the league. But the poor hang time and distance traveled are setting up a dangerous game. The Saints have an extremely thin margin for error in the punting game right now. Hedley hasn’t given his coverage team (or his defense) any breathing room. His issues holding for Grupe on field goal tries also need mention. He needs to keep improving down the stretch.
Grade: D
