Saints OTAs: What We Want to See In Week 2
The Saints will be back at it this week with their second week of OTAs, as Phase Three of the NFL offseason keeps moving along. The team can have up to 10 days of practices without pads that allows 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills as long as there is no contact. Here's what we're looking for when we see the team on Tuesday.
MORE DEREK CARR: The first impressions of the Saints quarterback were strong. Carr didn't miss any of his passes last Tuesday, going a combined 8-for-8 in team drills and in the 7-on-7 period. These weren't just check downs either, as he hit big passes to Juwan Johnson on a seam route and then a deep connection to Chris Olave.
Carr said last week that this was the time to make mistakes, and that he's really getting a sense for how his players are running routes. He watched a good bit of film on each player and has only focused on the positives of how he wants them to do certain things. The chemistry game will obviously be important, so naturally we want to see more. Again, there is no quarterback battle going into this season, so Carr should get full exposure with the first team and be able to get up to speed over the next few months.
SAINTS OTAS NOTES, TAKEAWAYS AND OBSERVATIONS
MORE ROOKIES: OTA sessions make it easier for the skill positions to be the standouts during observations, so rookies like A.T. Perry and undrafted ones like SaRodorick Thompson were among those who were more noticeable in the first week. That's not saying that other players like Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey weren't doing well, but they're also learning the ropes and are not able to completely show everything due to the lack of contact. Essentially, they're a little more buried on the depth chart right now, but we fully expect that to change.
THE OTHER SPECIALISTS: We saw everything we needed to see from Wil Lutz on the first day of observations, as he went a perfect 13-for-13 in all of his field goal attempts last Tuesday. We also saw plenty from Blake Gillikin on the day. The team is carrying two other kickers (Alex Quevedo, Blake Grupe) and a punter (Lou Hedley). The particular intrigue is around Blake Grupe to see if he can push things, but perhaps we might have to wait until training camp for any real battles.
RISING STOCK: Lucas Krull was one of the players who was fairly active during last week's session, and he made the most of being TE3 on the day. Along with D'Marco Jackson, those are two players with intriguing outlooks in their second year. Others like Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave looked great in their first action of the offseason, as well as the first glance of free agents like Foster Moreau.
RETURNING FACES: The Saints had strong attendance for their first session open to the media. Among those who we're hoping to see return who were missing from last week include Demario Davis, Ryan Ramczyk, Taysom Hill, James Hurst, and Andrus Peat, Marshon Lattimore, Andrus Peat, and J.T. Gray. Davis has been at the facility for workouts, so that's nothing to be concerned about. Also, remember that these sessions are strictly voluntary. Nick Saldiveri and Michael Thomas will likely not be in attendance.
Keep things tuned to Saints News Network for more coverage and breakdowns of Tuesday's practice.
