Saints Mailbag: Linebackers, UDFA Outlook, and Draft Pick Performance
Welcome to the new and improved Saints mailbag for Saints News Network! We'll look at answering questions more often, so be sure to send them our way through our social channels. You can also interact through our Twitter post or e-mail them. Here's our first few questions for 2023.
Will the Saints bring in any veterans at linebacker?
The short answer is, they should. Kwon Alexander doesn't feel like the right person to bring in, but bringing in someone who can end up filling out the Kaden Elliss role will be important. What I will say is that most of the tryouts and interest will be closer to training camp, and we'll keep an eye on any post-June 1 fallouts too. Michael Hodges is a heck of a coach, and he deserves a ton of credit for getting players where they need to be.
One of the things that made Kaden Elliss so special last season is that he went to Dennis Allen and asked where he could get better approaching the 2022 season. It was clearly being a better 'off-the-ball' linebacker, and he made an incredible play in the preseason which solidified that he was there. It was hard not to put him on the field after seeing him work hard to get where he needed to be.
How have Isaiah Foskey and Bryan Bresee looked so far, and will they contribute?
They'll absolutely contribute in their first season. As far as how they've looked, here's what I'll say regarding things. At OTAs, we're not seeing contact. So, it's hard to somewhat assess how someone is doing there based on the lack of action. That doesn't mean things aren't there, as we pointed out Cam Jordan and Payton Turner making some splashes during team drills.
Foskey and Bresee are in prime positions to be big role players, and the Saints drafted them for specific reasons. They have to learn the ropes as a rookie first, and Todd Grantham will be key in helping develop them. I fully expect both of them to shine when we get into training camp.
What UDFAs have stood out? Who has the best shot of making the team?
Sticking with what was said about the small sample size at OTAs and Rookie Minicamp, most of what you will see stand out now is on offense. You might see a play or two defensively, but this is a time for the offense to shine. When I previewed the undrafted class, I had high hopes for Joel Wilson, but failing his physical caused him not to sign with the team, and they also signed Foster Moreau shortly after. I think Shaq Davis and Malik Flowers have big opportunities in the offense, as well as Mark Evans on the offensive line.
I'm very intrigued by Blake Grupe, and want to see more of how Anfernee Orji and Nick Anderson fit in defensively, as well as more from Jerron Cage. Injuries and no Alvin Kamara led to someone like SaRodorick Thompson being RB2 from our first session we saw, and Alex Pihlstrom was the backup center.
What's Zack Baun's outlook?
Baun is entering a real important year, to say the least. He's someone you could easily say is on the roster bubble, but has done things on special teams to help solidify a spot on the team. Ideally, we'd love to see Baun take a Kaden Elliss kind of leap this year. He feels like he's better suited as a pass-rushing threat right now.
The linebacker depth behind Demario Davis and Pete Werner leave a lot to the imagination, and we're hoping to see players like D'Marco Jackson blow us away during training camp. I'd be shocked if the Saints don't bring in any competition at the position, but Baun is absolutely fighting for a roster spot and will need to shine wherever New Orleans puts him.
