METAIRIE, La. – The New Orleans Saints will look a little different when they open the 2021 NFL regular season against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 12 at the Caesars Superdome. The Saints finished 2020 with a 12-4 record, at the top of the NFC South, before losing a divisional round game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints will have at least ten new starters in Week 1, thanks to the retirement of Drew Brees, an off-season salary purge and a handful of injuries and premature suspensions. And there’s some intrigue about whether they’ll make a change with their No. 2 spot as well.
The roster will be reduced to 53 players at 4pm ET on Tuesday, but should continue to evolve over the next two weeks as they seek to plug holes in the corner, defense and closing with players available for others. equipment.
Here is an initial projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Ian Book
There’s a good chance the Saints will keep veteran Trevor Siemian as insurance on the active roster or on the training roster. But Book has seemed polished enough as a rookie fourth-round draft pick to be a viable backup option on game days.
RUNNING BACK (4): Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Tony Jones Jr., Dwayne Washington
There’s some intrigue after coach Sean Payton told ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew he was leaning toward sophomore Jones, who hadn’t been recruited as No. 2 runner. It could mean a possible change. or release for veteran Murray, who has to pay more than $ 3 million this season? For now, I will stick with Murray for the cheaper Devonta Freeman veteran option due to Murray’s trajectory over the past two years. And Washington is here because he’s been a basic player on special teams.
COMPLETE RECOVERY (1): Alex Armah
One of the few veteran New Orleans free agent signings this offseason, the fifth-year professional gets the lead here over turned defender Sutton Smith.
LARGE RECEIVER (6): Michael Thomas, Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Ty Montgomery, Lil’Jordan Humphrey
I hate to leave Chris Hogan off that list after he’s looked so good all over the camp. But I thought the Saints could make a handshake deal with the veteran – who briefly decided to play in the Premier Lacrosse League before returning to football – to join his training squad or sign again. in the active list once Thomas is placed. in the short-term injury reserve (players must make the initial roster of 53 men to be eligible for IR in the short term). Hogan could also get on the list ahead of Montgomery or Humphrey. Young receivers Kawaan Baker and Easop Winston Jr. and newly signed veteran Kevin White are also candidates on the long shot list who could easily end up in the training squad.
TIGHT END (4): Adam Trautman, Juwan Johnson, Nick Vannett, Ethan Wolf
I chose Wolf to receive an additional receiver or offensive line player due to New Orleans injury issues at the position. Trautman and Vannett are expected to return soon, but it’s unclear if they’ll be back in time for week 1. So there’s a good chance Wolf and veteran Garrett Griffin could form the starting roster.
OFFENSIVE LINE (8): Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, Erik McCoy, Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Will Clapp, JR Sweezy
The choice of sixth-round rookie Landon Young was tough, but he doesn’t seem willing to supplant veteran backups Hurst, Clapp and Sweezy. The Saints should be able to keep him on his training team to continue his development. Return backups Derrick Kelly II and Calvin Throckmorton could also remain on the active roster or training squad, among other candidates.
DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, Payton Turner, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Carl Granderson, Malcolm Roach, Shy Tuttle, Christian Ringo, Albert Huggins
David Onyemata is suspended for the first six games of the season, so he will not have the starting roster of 53 men. But it remains to be seen how the Saints will replace him because one of his top candidates, Jalen Dalton, has just landed on the season’s injured reserve with a triceps injury. The Saints will closely analyze the defensive attacks that will be available in the league next week. The good news is that the depth of New Orleans DE looks fantastic at the moment with the top five names on this list.
LINEBACKER (6): Demario Davis, Kwon Alexander, Zack Baun, Pete Werner, Kaden Elliss, Andrew Dowell
Speaking of depth, the saints suddenly overload themselves in this position after it seemed like an area of concern heading to camp. They re-signed Alexander after his impressive recovery from a torn Achilles. Meanwhile, young players, such as Baun, Elliss and Dowell, have been one of the biggest lifts this summer. I hate cutting young security mates Chase Hansen and Wynton McManis, but there’s not enough room for all of them.
SECONDARY (9): Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins, CJ Gardner-Johnson, Ken Crawley, Paulson Adebo, PJ Williams, JT Gray, Grant Haley
The Saints could still try to add another corner for depth issues, especially if Crawley won’t be healthy in time for the first week.
SPECIALISTS (3): Wil Lutz, Blake Gillikin, Zach Wood
The Saints will start the season without stitches! For a day, at least. On Wednesday they will put Lutz on IR while he recovers from central muscle surgery. Then they will re-sign veteran Aldrick Rosas or find a new replacement who arrives free from another team.