Saints Camp: Day 4 Practice Notes and Observations

Notes and observations from the fourth day of Saints training camp, which saw the team move indoors due to the weather.

Author:
John Hendrix
Updated:
Aug 2, 2021 9:04 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 2, 2021

Practice shifted outside for the Saints due to the weather, but we still got some great insight in their fourth training camp session. New Orleans should put on pads tomorrow. Here's all of our notes and observations from Monday.

Attendance

Grant Haley, Lorenzo Neal, Dylan Soehner, and Lawrence Woods were missing from practice.

Transactions

The absence from Woods was due to him being waived along with Lorenzo Neal. Soehner moved to injured reserve.

The team added offensive lineman J.R. Sweezy in addition to cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and KeiVarae Russell.

Jersey Numbers: Amukamara (No. 6), Tommylee Lewis (No. 12), Freeman (No. 34), Russell (No. 35), Sweezy (No. 63). Alvin Kamara was wearing No. 6 again for today's session, but don't expect him to swap to it. Stevie Scott III is now No. 39

Quarterback Teaser

Jameis Winston had an outstanding day of practice after a rough outing on Saturday. He looked sharp, and there were some throws he made that had perfect ball placement. On the other hand, Taysom Hill struggled a bit more today.

We don't put much focus on the guys behind Winston and Hill, but Ian Book has been pretty impressive to start out camp. Trevor Siemian also looks pretty good. It's encouraging, to say the least. All the charting from 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are below.

Starting Rotation and Notes

Nothing shocking regarding the starting rotation used for the Saints today, as Jameis Winston once again got first team reps.

QB: Jameis Winston
RB: Latavius Murray
WR: Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris (slot), Tre'Quan Smith
TE: Adam Trautman
OL: Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk

Sub Notes: J.R. Sweezy was immediately getting work at left guard on the second team. Will Clapp was the backup center.

The defense was working out of their nickel formation, with one noticeable change getting start reps.

DE: Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport
DT: Jalen Dalton, Shy Tuttle
LB: Pete Werner, Demario Davis
CB: Ken Crawley (left), Marshon Lattimore (right)
Slot: C.J. Gardner-Johnson
S: Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins

Sub Notes: Malcolm Roach and Ryan Glasgow got some work rotating inside, while Josiah Bronson and Carl Granderson were on the edge. Bronson also got some work with the first team later on the interior, and ended up getting a sack on Winston in 11-on-11 drills.

Kaden Elliss rotated in for Pete Werner, who backfilled Davis' spot. Brian Poole worked in the slot, while Paulson Adebo (right) and Patrick Robinson (left) were the corners.

Prince Amukamara later got work on the right side with the second team opposite of Adebo (left). For those who might be paying attention, Eric Burrell was getting work at free safety, while Bryce Thompson was at strong safety.

7-on-7 Charting

This include the target, result, route, and who is in coverage along with any notes.

Jameis Winston (5/5)

Adam Trautman, complete short right (Werner)
Alvin Kamara, complete fade route of the backfield (Werner) - great placement by Winston and an even better adjustment by Kamara
Lil'Jordan Humphrey, complete intermediate middle (Robinson) - another great placement by Winston
Devonta Freeman, complete short right flat (Werner)
Deonte Harris, complete short middle (Chase Hansen)

Taysom Hill (2/5)

Chris Hogan, incomplete middle (Crawley) - Hill went to him as the 4th read
Marquez Callaway, incomplete deep right middle (Crawley) - Callaway was wide open, but Hill just overthrew him
Deonte Harris, incomplete slant (Poole) - nearly intercepted
Tony Jones Jr., complete short right flat (Elliss)
Adam Trautman, complete intermediate middle (Elliss) - probably Hill's best throw of the day and a great catch by Big Fish

Ian Book (2/3)

Kawaan Baker, incomplete right sideline (Elliss) - drop
Jalen McCleskey, complete deep right middle (Russell/Deuce Wallace) - touchdown
Easop Winston Jr., complete short right (Amukamara)

Trevor Siemian (2/2)

Jake Lampman, complete sideline right (Russell)
Tony Jones Jr., complete sideline right (Russell)

11-on-11 Charting

There were three separate rounds on this. The final one saw them work out of shotgun. Ethan Wolf actually got some work with the first team at tight end.

Jameis Winston (8/11)

Lil'Jordan Humphrey, incomplete right sideline (Lattimore) - QB rollout, credit PBU to Lattimore
Marquez Callaway, complete intermediate right (Robinson) - Winston did a great job stepping up in the pocket to avoid a blitz from Malcolm Jenkins
Marquez Callaway, incomplete intermediate middle (Crawley) - slight overthrow
Marquez Callaway, incomplete left (Lattimore) - a bit handsy, could have been PI
Tre'Quan Smith, complete inside (Gardner-Johnson) - Smith lost his helmet during the play and actually caught it while running with the ball
Marquez Callaway, complete deep right (Robinson) - My vote for best play of the day that saw Callaway make a great fingertip grab on a deep ball
Marquez Callaway, complete slant (Werner/Williams)
Juwan Johnson, complete over the middle (Jenkins)
Alvin Kamara, complete wheel route (Werner) - Vintage Kamara play in which he got a perfect throw and made an outstanding grab
Devonta Freeman, complete short right sideline (Werner)
Deonte Harris, complete deep left sideline (Crawley)

Taysom Hill (8/11)

Adam Trautman, complete short left (Adebo)
Juwan Johnson, complete intermediate sideline left (Hansen)
Chris Hogan, complete intermediate middle (Amukamara/Keith Washington II) - Hill was able to get Washington II off the ball and it led to a big completion
Garrett Griffin, complete short right (Werner)
Chris Hogan, incomplete deep left sideline (Crawley) - Could credit him for a PBU, as it was underthrown and hit his helmet
Lil'Jordan Humphrey, complete deep post (Poole) - Touchdown, good coverage but great job by Humphrey to get it
Tommylee Lewis, incomplete slant (Poole) - PBU
Kawaan Baker, complete short middle (Elliss) - Good catch and adjustment made by Baker on the reception
Garrett Griffin, complete short inside (Elliss)
Devonta Freeman, complete screen - Would have went for a loss
Chris Hogan, incomplete intermediate right sideline - Bobbled by Hogan that nearly led to an interception by Amukamara

Ian Book (6/7)

Jake Lampman, incomplete right (Washington II) - Off his hands and nearly picked, good block across the formation from Trautman
Jalen McCleskey, complete left sideline (Busted coverage) - Easy touchdown for McCleskey, and definitely honorable mention for play of the day
Kawaan Baker, complete inside slant (Amukamara)
Ty Montgomery, complete mid slant - Touchdown
Garrett Griffin, complete short right (Adebo)
Tommylee Lewis, complete shallow crosser (Zack Baun/Andrew Dowell)
Juwan Johnson, complete short right (Dowell) - Dowell stripped it later, but went out of bounds

Trevor Siemian (3/4)

Jake Lampman, incomplete deep sideline (Dowell/Poole)
Jalen McCleskey, complete slant inside (Russell/Burrell)
Jake Lampman, complete deep sideline right (Russell) - Likely called for pushing off
Devonta Freeman, complete short left (Wynton McManis)

Rhythm, Flow, and Observations

New Orleans did a lot of passing work on Monday. The skills groups worked alongside quarterbacks, while other position groups like the offensive line were working on blocks and practicing with medicine balls.

Practice also had punt return and kick return work. Tommylee Lewis worked as the primary return, while Marquez Callaway and J.T. Gray handled gunner duties. I also noted that Kawaan Baker got some work with Gray too. Blake Gillikin handled all reps today.

Devonta Freeman was very active on his first day of practice. He was in good shape, and Sean Payton talked about it afterwards. He had some good runs in the formation.

Stock Up: Talked about a few players to keep stock in Monday morning's column. Jalen Dalton and Juwan Johnson continue to impress, while Jalen McCleskey is a riser. Keep an eye on some players like Andrew Dowell too.

Practice will continue tomorrow with the pads coming on, and whether it's indoors or outdoors is up in the air.