Saints HC Kellen Moore Reveals His Thoughts on Travis Etienne, New Additions

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The New Orleans Saints have finally started to get ready for the regular season after spending the final days fine-tuning their roster, adding reinforcements and determining how several pieces will fit into Kellen Moore's plans.

During his latest media availability, Moore touched on several of those topics. While most of the press conference focused on finalizing the roster, he touched on several of his star players and the depth at wide receiver.

Here are three notable takeaways from Moore's press conference.

Etienne’s Evolution as a Three-Down Back

In yesterday’s media availability, Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier mentioned that Saints running back Travis Etienne had the stigma of being a pass-catching running back coming out of college going into the 2021 NFL Draft.

Now, Etienne is one of the best three-down running backs in the National Football League, rushing for 1,000 yards in every season except for one.

Moore noted that teams often fixate on finding matchup players for trendy positions and can mistakenly force players into those roles.

“I think Trav's a pure running back as it is. I watched him loosely from afar while he started his career in Jacksonville.,” Moore said. “Studying his film last year, the zone running scheme, the way he kind of ran it, I thought he did an excellent job.”

New Additions to the Saints' Roster

The Saints recently added two key players to their roster: cornerback Decamerion Richardson and wide receiver Cedric Tillman.

Drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth round in 2024 out of Mississippi State, Richardson spent two seasons in Las Vegas, appearing in 27 games with seven starts. He contributed primarily on special teams in 2025, recording 10 tackles to rank second on the team.

“He does have that ability to, even if he's not a starter, contribute to our football team in the kickoff coverage unit, the punt unit,” Moore said. “So that'll be beneficial for him as he kind of learns and gets acclimated to the defensive system. Hopefully, he can get acclimated to our special teams system as well quickly and provide some depth there.”

Tillman, a 2023 third-round pick by the Cleveland Browns out of Tennessee, spent three seasons in Cleveland (2023–25), playing in 38 games with 19 starts. Over his tenure with the Browns, he caught 71 passes for 833 yards and five touchdowns, including 21 receptions for 270 yards and two scores in 2025.

“(I) obviously watched his film from Cleveland. He had a good role there," Moore told the media. "I think we can add him to that room, add him to the mix, and he'll be a good piece,”

“We gotta develop him. We gotta get him acclimated to the system and all that sort of stuff. So there'll be a little bit of time on task for that, but he'll come around.”

Moore Likes the Saints' Receiving Depth

Bringing in Tillman gives New Orleans even more strength in a wide receiver group that Moore views as exceptionally deep.

Alongside proven options like All-Pro Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele, the team has introduced several fresh talents. Over the course of training camp and preseason play, a group of young receivers—notably rookies Barion Brown, Bryce Lance and Jordyn Tyson—took full advantage of their snaps. Additionally, standout efforts from Kevin Austin Jr. and Jalen Cropper earned them spots on the Saints' practice squad.

These impressive outings created tough decision-making for the coaching staff while securing crucial insurance behind the primary starters.

"Credit to those guys," Moore noted. "Bryce, Barion had an excellent training camp. Kevin's always been just Mr. Steady. Cropper, I thought, was impressive just getting him here.

"So we have a lot of time on task with a number of these guys. They know the system really well. They can all play football at a high level, and then we're able to add [Tillman], I think, which was a nice little bonus for us."

Because a grueling 17-game season routinely brings physical strain and injuries, leaning on reserve talent is almost unavoidable—even with dependable starters in place. Having a corps that understands the playbook inside and out could be a game-changer as the year progresses.

What reassures Moore is that these backups aren't starting from scratch. Having dedicated the entire offseason to grasping the system and competing hard in camp, they have shown they are ready to contribute when called upon. Integrating Tillman simply adds another reliable weapon as Moore continues to fine-tune the Saints' passing attack.

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