The New Orleans Saints shared their first unofficial depth chart ahead of Sunday’s preseason opener with the Kansas City Chiefs, and it’s got some interesting details for us to pore over. We’re so close to seeing live football again.
It’s important to remember that this depth chart was assembled by the media relations staff, not the coaches, so it may not be entirely accurate to what we’ll see when the first-, ,second-, and third-string units rotate into Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
But this does seem to largely match up with what we’re seeing at training camp practice each day. Let’s get to it:
1
Open competition at left guard
The Saints list Andrus Peat “or” James Hurst as the starter at left guard, and that’s been the case in training camp when Peat has been healthy enough to practice. Hurst is seriously pushing him for the starting gig next to Trevor Penning at left tackle. Hurst has started entire seasons at guard in the past with the Baltimore Ravens so it makes sense to give him a real look there. It would be tough to keep Peat on the bench with an $8.8 million cap hit but the Saints owe it to themselves to play the best guy for the job. Peat needs to heal up and prove that’s him.
2
The Taysom Hill farce at tight end is still ongoing
Hill is listed as the starter “or” Juwan Johnson, which doesn’t really line up with what we’ve seen at practice. Hill has had days where he’s running two-minute drills as the quarterback or practicing handoffs with the running backs. He’s still a tight end in name only, but the Saints need to put him somewhere on the depth chart, so he ends up here. Johnson has been Derek Carr’s go-to target much like Darren Waller was when he was suiting up with the Raiders. He’s the top tight tend, not Hill.
3
One more "or" at cornerback
Here’s another high-profile training camp competition to watch: Paulson Adebo versus Alontae Taylor. They’ve traded off days running with the first-string defense while competing to start opposite Marshon Lattimore, and so far neither player has really emerged as the better option. Adebo has had some impressive moments in practice but they haven’t appeared consistently enough. He still has some work to do in order to win this job from Adebo. Playing well in preseason against new competition would be a big step forwards.
4
Carl Granderson unquestioned starter at RDE
Payton Turner has been one of the pleasant surprises this summer, with the third-year pro making a splash play or two in every single practice session. He’s on the right track which is really good to see after his early-career frustrations. But he hasn’t done enough yet to unseat Carl Granderson as the starter at the right defensive end spot. Dennis Allen recently shared that Granderson has bulked up to about 280 pounds and the coaching staff is very high on his potential in a starting role. But Turner still has time to make this a battle.
5
Specialists already set?
Neither Wil Lutz nor Blake Gillikin have been hit with the “or” tag at kicker or punter, which suggests they’ve done a good job fending off rookies Blake Grupe and Lou Hedley (which does line up with what’s been reported at training camp). Each of the first-year pros has had some nice moments but the veterans appear to be holding up well under duress. Hopefully that continues under the bright lights after they each regressed a bit last season.
6
No rookies projected to start
It’s not that there aren’t any first-year players penciled into the starting lineup — the Saints only have two rookies listed on the second-string units, with first-round defensive tackle Bryan Bresee slotted in behind Nathan Shepherd and fourth-round offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri backing up Peat and Hurst at left guard. That’s a realistic expectation for Bresee given his role in college and durability concerns. Saldiveri, though, was primarily a right tackle in college. He’s continued to practice on the right side so we’ll see if that changes in Sunday’s preseason game.
7
Mix-up at safety
This is weird: Marcus Maye is listed as the starting strong safety while Tyrann Mathieu is projected to start at free safety, which is a reversal of their roles last season and in training camp thus far. Maye’s greater speed in the open field has prompted the Saints to line him up over the top of the defense while Mathieu’s versatility keeps him closer to the line of scrimmage. We’ll chalk this quirk up to the media relations staff putting this together, not the coaches.
