Saints training camp notebook from Aug. 4: Secondary shines under Kris Richard

New Orleans Saints training camp had a few firsts on Day 6: the first time in full pads outside, no downpours and less sweltering heat, the first quarterback hit, and a turnover from under center. The offense donned dark jerseys and the quarterback competition was slightly underwhelming; the same can’t be said for the defensive unit who broke up several passes and recorded three total interceptions.

Today’s offense largely favored the running back unit – though it’s hard to surmise whether by design or the imposing pass rush. The quarterback competition seemed almost a tertiary afterthought. In absence of a heavy aerial game, I took some time surveying a bit of the behind-the-scenes action on the sidelines and in between drills. With that, here’s what stood out to me in Wednesday’s session.

Quarterback competition round-up: A draw

New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) and quarterback Jameis Winston (2) throw during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

Winston saw first team reps, Taysom with the twos, and Book with the threes. As aforementioned, the “competition” element was a bit disenchanting. Winston completed a few throws to rising undrafted rookie Jalen McCleskey, Chris Hogan (with notably good footwork), and is establishing a connection with now No. 1 donning Marquez Callaway – though some passes were slightly underthrown. I didn’t see it, but Demario Davis intercepted Winston during the 1-on-1 drills, and Book was similarly intercepted by rookie Paulson Adebo. The first interception in 11-on-11 drills went to Jameis Winston in today’s session. The turnover spiral would certainly be premature as it came on Winston’s 56th pass attempt of camp per Luke Johnson of Nola.com. Yes, it was reminiscent of Winston’s concerning past; his deep pass to rookie Kawaan Baker was risky with complete lack of separation on Ken Crawley. It wasn’t a bad throw per se, and Winston has been practicing similar sideline throws with Tre’Quan Smith over the summer – this pass was just a little too far from the right sideline. One can’t ignore Winston’s history, and this is certainly something to keep an eye on. But it ultimately felt unimportant on a day largely dedicated to backfield work. I’d also give credit to Crawley more than anything for great technique and speed on the play. Taysom threw the pass of the day to continuously impressive Jalen McCleskey. McCleskey ran a crisp route, did a quick double-move stutter against Patrick Robinson, and Hill frankly threw a fantastically placed ball right at the break. He also recorded a solid back-shoulder throw to Chris Hogan, which my short-hand depicts, “good throw, smart catch.” Outside of that, Hill was a bit meh – as was Winston. The needle didn’t move much today.

Sean Payton playing chess in the backfield

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) carries the football as running back Devonta Freeman (34) watches during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

The play of the day was checkdown central, and the run-heavy install on offense heavily featured play action and some illuminating two-back sets. The team ran 1-on-1 drills with Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill on separate fields; Hill and Ian Book split reps closest to the sidelines. Comparative to Friday’s more amalgamated practice, Day 6 was largely specific to position groups. Running backs were up first with the quarterbacks, followed by 1-on-1 drills with the receivers, and an eventual full offense for the final 11-on-11 session – which almost exclusively ran play action. It’s clear Sean Payton has a vision for Devonta Freeman, but it’s one still developing. He saw the most checkdowns and carries of any back by a high margin; I didn’t catch every rep, but he had at least 9 carries and a couple checkdowns and dump offs. Comparatively, Alvin Kamara saw about 5 checkdowns and dump offs and I recorded only two carries (noting the inability to see the far-field session with Winston). Latavius Murray recently expressed his desire to see some more carries in training camp – he was likely disappointed with about 1-2 checkdowns and carries total. But to me, his role is already carved out – it’s the curious use of the other backs that caught my eye. Notably, fullback Alex Armah was lined up wide in several sets, had at least one dump off, and of the five two-back sets I took note of, he was in four of them. It’s hard to tell if this is all resultant of the receiver depth, a vision for an offense behind a particular quarterback, or Payton’s propensity for running backs and misdirection elements taking center stage. Whichever it may be, it’s a curious trend to keep in mind as camp continues to ramp up.

Payton Turner turns up the dial

New Orleans Saints defensive end Payton Turner (98) runs a drill during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

I had a feeling we’d all be removing our Draft Night foot from mouth as the season went on; I wasn’t expecting Turner to be such an imposing presence the second day of full pads. Turner had two sacks on Ian Book – one of which literally flung Book to the ground. Off the edge, Turner promptly shoved tackle Kyle Murphy so hard through the pocket that he stumbled straight into very-short Book. There were a few plays where he continued to be imposing and had a pressure in the backfield as well. It appeared Marcus Davenport had the day off, but thanks to Turner, no one even noticed until Book was flat on the ground. It particularly stood out to me and Ross Jackson, who keenly noted that was an explicit quality Jeff Ireland pointed to in the team’s decision to draft him. I said this on Day 2 of camp – Turner doesn’t look like a rookie at all. Nor has he played as one in the trenches against an all-time unit.

A potential darkhorse quarterback in the mix?

New Orleans Saints quarterback Ian Book (16) stetches during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

I am aware I’m actively inciting a firestorm, and this is mainly in jest. But let’s be clear: Ian Book is at minimum making the roster as QB3. To me, Book got nearly if not as much time under center as the two potential starters. Given Trevor Siemian’s pro experience, the fourth-round rookie prospect has frankly outperformed him as the reps clearly reflected today. The biggest criticism coming out of his time at Notre Dame was his propensity to scramble at the first miniscule sign of a collapsing pocket. Book’s pocket presence immediately stood out to me the first time I saw him last week; today simply reinforced this hunch, particularly in the Turner play. When he was throwing simultaneously with Siemian, he had cleaner footwork, quicker reads, and more timely releases. I noted more “good” Book passes today than any other quarterback by far; that’s not to say he didn’t have his missteps. When asked in the pre-training camp presser which traits Sean Payton considers unfixable in quarterbacks, his answer was illuminating: “intangibles.” Read: leadership reminiscent of Brees. There was a play that for some reason didn’t pan out between Book and Kawaan Baker. After the drill died down, it looked like Book wanted to run it again, and threw a quick solo pass to Baker as initially intended. He later threw a poor pass to Tommy Lee Lewis whose valiant effort nearly saw him hit the goalpost. I watched Book track down Lewis across the field, have a quick conversation, and ended with a fist bump. If we’re talking intangibles, Book has displayed them in spades thus far. Oh, and his pump fake in the last team session that led to a wide-open completion by rookie back Stevie Scott III elicited a wild reaction on the sidelines. Specifically, my notes read: “Wait, how did he just do that?”

Kris Richard rightfully loud and proud of his unit

New Orleans Saints defensive back Patrick Robinson (21) in a coverage drill during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

There were three interceptions today, with one being the first thrown in 11-on-11 drills. Two of these picks were by rookie Paulson Adebo and second-stint Saint Ken Crawley. It would be impossible to commend these performances without a due nod to new secondary coach Kris Richard. Richard was prominently in the backfield the entirety of practice that focused on secondary coverage. And he was hollering like a proud soccer mom the whole time – rightfully so. If you ask me, today’s performance was less on the quarterbacks and more a result of the physical and tight secondary play. Let’s give credit where it’s equally due to Ken Crawley, the unexpected star of training camp. He wrapped up Callaway and his disruptive play knocked the ball loose – invoking a loud clap from Richard. Lil’Jordan Humphrey barely made a contested catch against Patrick Robinson with tight coverage. Humphrey was less successful against Crawley who made a great play on the ball – and it wasn’t a bad throw by Hill. Book threw to Ty Montgomery, who was promptly met with a hard tackle from Marshon Lattimore. Lattimore has played hard and physical through camp, which is encouraging. Robinson later contested a catch thrown by Hill to Callaway and added another pass break-up to his arsenal. And his subsequent tackle on Devonta Freeman elicited another vocal cheer from Richard in the backfield. For a unit explicitly noted as a rare weakness by Payton, they’ve ran camp sessions through the first week.

Quick Hits

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Jalen Dalton (77) stretches during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

1. Chris Hogan, who I’ve now deemed “Progan,” is leaning fully into the mentorship role in the young position unit. There were several times I saw him with various receivers encircling him including Easop Winston Jr., Jaelan McCleskey, Jake Lampman, and Marquez Callaway. Hogan appeared to be talking routes with Winston Jr. until the others joined him; he then started doing some stutter steps and hand-positioning for the rookie-dominant group to see. If he can not only make pro catches (of which several came today), but mentor the group dropping like flies by the day, he could be the sneakiest signing this offseason.

2. There were some fun dynamics and solo work on the sidelines at several points today. Jake Lampman spent some time working on routes by himself, and Paulson Adebo stood out several times in his footwork routine on the sidelines. My eyes kept drawing over to his shuffle work; it seemed like a process well-rooted in his head almost subconscious. He followed it up with an interception, several contested catches and ultimately tight coverage through the day. Taysom Hill and Terron Armstead had a fairly long chat off to the side during drills – made me wonder if a similar teaching moment like the “he ain’t coming Taysom” in the Atlanta Falcons game was transpiring. They seem to have chemistry. Later, Sean appeared to be teaching…something to Siemian, Book, and Hill for a bit with some interesting moves by the head coach.

3. Demario Davis played like his best friend was coming back after a long hiatus – oh wait. While Kwon Alexander unfortunately wasn’t present, the energy of the impending reunion was palpable. That said, I saw Pete Werner wrap up Kamara for a solid tackle and he lined up to blitz off the edge several times – reminded me of Zack Baun’s college tape. Will be an interesting position to follow and see how the team employs the growing group of linebackers.

4. Jalen McCleskey makes the practice squad at minimum or I will riot. He’s not just a strong bet for special teams – he saw reps from all three quarterbacks today in the absence of Deonte Harris. His 4.28 speed certainly helps. But my favorite play of his I watched today wasn’t even a play that came to fruition; it was the effort and forethought. While practicing return drills, McCleskey had a punt fall a bit ahead of him – and he made everyone pause while it took a few bounces for him to snatch up. The way he commanded the unit made it seem like he’d practiced and prepared for this exact type of play.

5. Today’s playlist was an all-timer, and it was fun to see the chemistry develop on the team as they danced around through warmups. “My Boo” and “Kiss Me Thru the Phone” were hilarious to listen to – and apparently weren’t played on shuffle. The rookies serenaded the vets last night to these songs, which is why Fred McAfee played them at camp today. Very curious as to whether Turner hit Usher’s high notes in his song of choice.

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