Saints TE Adam Trautman is Special

New Orleans' TE Adam Trautman is a special player, person, and draft choice for the Saints. He has all of the intangibles to instantly become a fan favorite in the Who Dat Nation.

New Orleans Saints TE Adam Trautman is a special player, person, and draft choice.  He has all of the intangibles to become a fan favorite in the Who Dat Nation and NFL.

Head Coach Rick Chamberlin has 45 years with the University of Dayton’s football program as either a player or coach.  He has seen a few NFL prospects to come through his football program over the years.  Despite coaching many a talented young men, none have been a huge success in the NFL. The day Adam Trautman entered the Dayton Flyers locker-room was the day the Dayton Flyers had a legitimate NFL draft prospect after four decades.

Chamberlain was confident Trautman had the potential to become an NFL player.  Matter of fact, he is the first Dayton player drafted in 43 years.  The last player was Chamberlin’s former Flyers teammate OT Bill Westbeld.  Seattle drafted Westbeld in the 11th round of the 1977 NFL Draft.  Over forty years later, Adam Trautman becomes a Dayton legend. New Orleans surrendered their entire Day 3 draft picks to the Minnesota Vikings and selected him in the 3rd Round at the 105th pick. 

Jan 25, 2020; Mobile, AL, USA; North tight end Adam Trautman of Dayton (84) runs a reception through South safety Kyle Dugger of Lenoir Rhyne (23) during the 2020 Senior Bowl college football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

When Sean Payton met with the local media via Zoom within minutes of drafting Adam, his body language exuded confidence in the team’s Day 2 picks of LB Zack Baun and TE Adam Trautman.  Payton was asked about the Trautman pick:

“Well we see him as a true Y (blocking tight-end). I do think for a small college player, we feel like he’s got real good inline strength. He’s also someone that that I think has got very good hips, so he's changing direction. You know, you can see that in how he sets up his routes. So for someone who played at a smaller level you see a dominant player. And, see him as someone that can help us as an inline tight-end.  And obviously, you build. In his first year build on some of the things that that we feel like he can do outside.  One of the challenges we talked about this yesterday with maybe the lack of offseason program that teams are going to have.“

Saints Head Coach, Sean Payton

Feb 25, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Dayton tight end Adam Trautman (TE17) speaks to the media during the 2020 NFL Combine in the Indianapolis Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

I asked Coach Chamberlain what advice did he have for Adam as he heads to the NFL?  Chamberlin's response was for him [Trautman] to "just be himself."

"....but, my personal advice for Adam would be continue as you are. He has everything he needs to be successful in the NFL.  All those intangibles you look for sure, he's a great athlete, he can catch the ball and he's got great size.  But, of all those other intangibles are spoken about, his determination and his intelligence and he's conscientiousness.  Just be himself, and he'll be fine."

Dayton Head Coach, Rick Chamberlin

Adam Trautman is a special player.  Equally, a special person.  Coach Chamberlin beamed with pride during the media session with reporters.  He shared his experiences on Adam the person and his abilities as a football player.  Trautman had Chamberlin and the Flyers coaching staff debating how they would use him when he arrived at Dayton.  He  suggested for Adam to switch from quarterback to tight end, and the rest is history.

Chamberlin said, “I tell ya, I thought he grasped it, he worked hard at it, and you can just see that he’s an athlete. He can do a lot of things...He was giving us fits every practice when he was running the scout team tight end. It was hard to cover him..his athleticism, the speed that he ran his routes there, I could really see this was the position for him. And, he was picking up on the nuances of a tight end right from the start.” 

He matured into one of the team's leaders.  Coach Chamberlin recalled a time when Trautman took over and gave the pre-game speech to the team before taking the field.  Adam is a smart player, leader, and a good student.   While playing football at Dayton, he graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree.  "Electrical Engineering at Dayton is not easy.  What they're [Saints] getting is a person that is conscientious.  He wants to do things right.  Whether it was school, or his workouts, his football practice, whatever it is, it's important to him to do it right."

The Saints selected well on paper with Trautman. He has yet to suit up in a practice or a meaningful game for the team. Yet you get a feeling Adam Trautman will be one of those special players in the NFL. Coach Chamberlin spoke fondly of Trautman because he trusts Adam will be an outstanding representative for the Dayton Flyers program for years to come. Mickey Loomis and the team’s front-office gave up significant draft picks to gain Trautman. New Orleans has a clear vision for Adam as the player. All indicators point to fans will fall in love with Adam Trautman the person, when he debuts this season in the NFL.