Saints share unofficial depth chart for first preseason game vs. Chiefs: Analyzing offense

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The New Orleans Saints shared their first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 season, ahead of their upcoming preseason game with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. We’ve already made some observations in light of the various listings, but let’s take a deeper dive and break it down by position groups. Here’s how the team laid out their roster on offense:

Quarterback

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1. No. 4 Derek Carr
2. No. 2 Jameis Winston
3. No. 14 Jake Haener (rookie)

No surprises here. Expect a lot of Haener in the first exhibition game with Carr and Winston only playing the first quarter or two.

Running back

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1. No. 41 Alvin Kamara
2. No. 30 Jamaal Williams
3. No. 25 Kendre Miller (rookie)
4. No. 33 Kirk Merritt
5. No. 35 Ellis Merriweather (rookie)

The Saints are looking to add more depth here after Eno Benjamin was lost with an Achilles injury, but the Chiefs game is a great opportunity for Merritt and Merriweather to make a name for themselves. Merritt has missed practice time with hamstring issues.

Fullback

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1. No. 46 Adam Prentice
2. No. 47 Jake Bargas

This is a good competition to monitor, but Bargas has his work cut out for him unseating an established pro.

Tight end

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1. No. 83 Juwan Johnson OR No. 7 Taysom Hill
2. No. 82 Foster Moreau
3. No. 80 Jimmy Graham
4. No. 81 Jesse James
5. No. 87 Lucas Krull
6. No. 86 J.P. Holtz

Holtz was brought back after injuries sidelined James (groin) and Krull (tailbone). Graham has been given several veteran rest days in training camp and appears to have a secure roster spot.

Wide receiver

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1. No. 13 Michael Thomas
2. No. 22 Rashid Shaheed
3. No. 18 Keith Kirkwood
4. No. 11 Bryan Edwards
5. No. 17 A.T. Perry (rookie)
6. No. 88 Shaq Davis (rookie)

Thomas was given a day of veteran’s rest but he’s otherwise been a full participant at camp. Shaheed isn’t expected to play against Kansas City while recovering from a groin injury. The Saints need one of those rookies to step up.

Wide receiver

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1. No. 12 Chris Olave
2. No. 10 Tre’Quan Smith
3. No. 89 James Washington
4. No. 15 Kawaan Baker
5. No. 84 Lynn Bowden Jr.
6. No. 16 Keke Coutee
7. No. 85 Jontre Kirklin

Olave has been wildly impressive throughout camp and has greatly improved on contested catches, which were a problem for him last season and in college. There isn’t much to write home about in the rest of the group based off their performance so far.

Left tackle

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1. No. 70 Trevor Penning
2. No. 67 Landon Young
3. No. 66 Lewis Kidd

James Hurst will start if Penning isn’t healthy, but he’s only missed two practices (one prescribed for rest/load management) and is well on his way to locking down the left tackle job.

Left guard

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1. No. 76 Andrus Peat OR No. 74 James Hurst
2. No. 64 Nick Saldiveri (rookie)
3. No. 62 Tommy Kraemer

Peat and Hurst are competing for this job — or they would be, if Peat wasn’t still out of commission with an injury. Hurst is the starting guard until Peat is available to push him. Saldiveri played on the right side in college (and most often at tackle, not guard) so this is a big change for him.

Center

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1. No. 78 Erik McCoy
2. No. 73 Max Garcia
3. No. 65 Alex Pihlstrom (rookie)

No big changes here.

Right guard

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1. No. 51 Cesar Ruiz
2. No. 76 Calvin Throckmorton
3. No. 68 Mark Evans II (rookie)
4. No. 61 Chuck Filiaga (rookie)

Ruiz is continuing to improve after his much-needed growth in 2022. Evans was a college left tackle so he’s dealing with a lot of changes early on.

Right tackle

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1. No. 71 Ryan Ramczyk
2. No. 72 Storm Norton

Landon Young has also cross-trained at right tackle before, but Norton could be a better option to back up Ramczyk given his greater pro experience.