Saints Rookie Wide Out Continues to Impress

Deep ball adjustment hauls in a 48-yard TD to end practice.

Saints wide receiver Barion Brown ends practice with a TD reception | New Orleans Saints X Accoun

That's how Thursday's practice ended, with New Orleans Saints rookie receiver Barion Brown getting open during the two-minute drills, making adjustments mid-route and mid flight on the ball thrown by 2nd string quarterback Spencer Rattler.

"We're going through two minute situations," Saints head coach Kellen Moore shared, talking about the final play of today's training camp. "We'll be going through those the next few days.

"It was a challenging situation for the offense," Moore continued. "We're backed up pretty good. Spencer got out of it (pressure). Got out of a sack. There's always a debate of a sack or no sack," Moore said with a smile. "It's never-ending.

"Barion (Brown) did a great job," Moore explained. "Adjusting to that ball, tracking it. Those deep balls, (they) usually tail one way or the other because the quarterback is running. (It was an) awesome job making the play."

"We got the play call from the coach," Brown said explaining the deep route. "Honestly, man, I knew I had the deep shot. I got to the line, lickin' my chops, hoping Spencer will give me a chance. When the ball was in the air, I was just thinking, 'Make a play on it, try to win the game.'"

Not to belabor the point, or pat ourselves on the back too much (even though we are doing both), On SI Saints reporter Colin Cummings did his best Jeane Dixon imitation when he chose Brown as his rookie who would have an impact on Saints training camp, which you can read right here.

Indoors for Thursday

Day seven of training camp was moved indoors with players donning pads. Moore told the media it was a chance to take a respite from the heat after yesterday's hottest day of camp in pads and this Saturday and Sunday practices, planned for outdoors, weather permitting.

Offensive Line Lineup

Toward the beginning of practice, during 11-0 drills with starter Tyler Shough at quarterback, the front five were
- Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy, Taliese Fuaga, David Edwards, Kelvin Banks Jr

When Rattler was in at QB, the front five were
- Barry Wesley, William Sherman, Toricelli Simpkins III (easily one of our favorite first names in years), Dillon Radunz, Asim Richards

When third stringer Zach Wilson was signal caller, his front five were
- Alex Wollschlaeger, Xavier Truss, Easton Kitty, Torricelli Simpkins III, Alan Herron

11-on-11

There were two sets of full squad versus full squad today. When second string was taking on other second stringers, wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr made a great catch over the middle. In that same sequence, Rattler kept the ball on a sweep, picking up 20-plus yards. For the third stringers, Wilson tried to do the same thing as Rattler, but didn't succeed.

Saints defensive backfield awaits their turn | On SI Saints - Doug Joubert

During those drills, we saw these defenders lined up first:
- D-line - Carl Granderson, Nathan Shepherd, Vernon Broughton, Chase Young
- Linebackers - Pete Werner, Kaden Elliss
- D-backs - Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, Justin Reid, Julian Blackmon, Jonas Sanker

The second line included:
- D-line - Miles Cole, Khristian Boyd, John Ridgeway III, Tyree Wilson, Anfernee Jennings
- Linebackers - Danny Stutsman, Chris Rumph II
- D-backs - Jordan Howden, Terrell Burgess, Jayden Price

Emptying Out Our Notebook

- Defensive lineman Christen Miller was out today with a continued issue with his toe. Moore didn't seem worried about it.
- The Saints D was playing fast and tight all practice today. Except for a play or two, New Orleans defenders are excelling in the run game.
- Rattler had not one, but two great scrambles for big plays, one for a TD
- Place kicker Charlie Smyth missed one 51-yard field goal, but set up for another a couple of live snaps later and nailed it.
- McKinstry picked off a Shough pass in the end zone on what was supposed to be a throw away, but ended up too short.
- First time to see kickoff drills. Back to return at one time or another were Barion Brown, Trey Palmer, Bryce Lance, Rezjohn Wright, Ty Chandler, and Lorenzo Styles Jr.
- Also during the two-minute drills at the end of practice, we saw Cam Jordan guarding Juwan Johnson. The pass was completed.
- We saw returner, 2nd string wideout, and camp sensation Brown take a couple of snaps with the 1st string.

Training Camp Update

Here is the schedule through the weekend:

- Friday, Off Day
- Saturday, 9:00-10:30 a.m. (SOLD OUT)
- Sunday, 9:00-11:00 a.m. (SOLD OUT)

Mailbag Submissions

Mondays, On SI Saints will answer your questions about what we see from our vantage point. To submit your thoughts or inquiries click here.