Every NFL training camp produces a few names that start buzzing long before the games count. In New Orleans, that list has a familiar shape this summer: a handful of players who keep turning heads, piling up plays and making fans wonder whether they’ve found something real.
The Saints have had their share of these camp favorites over the years. Sometimes the summer hype turns into a genuine roster win, the way it did when the team moved on from Dante Stallworth in 2006 because a little-known seventh-round receiver named Marques Colston kept climbing the depth chart. More often, though, the excitement fades fast, leaving behind a trail of names that old Saints fans still remember - Emmanuel Butler, Adrian Arrington, Onome Ojo and plenty more.
So who is making that kind of noise this year? Here’s a look at the Mason Tipton All-Stars, named for the Saints receiver who would have owned this honor in each of the last two seasons.
At the top sits Barion Brown, the sixth-round rookie who has gone from intriguing draft pick to full-blown camp darling in a matter of days. Brown was taken 190th overall, and the early belief was that he’d have to carve out a role as a return specialist just to stick.
Even that wasn’t a lock. Instead, he’s shown enough in practice to make people think there may be more here.
The 22-year-old has flashed in 1-on-1 drills and in 11-on-11 work, and his 4.4 speed has shown up on the field. The volume of highlight-worthy moments has grown by the day, and his play has clearly energized teammates and the crowd alike.
Right behind him is defensive end Michael Heldman, an undrafted rookie from Central Michigan who has repeatedly forced people watching camp to ask the same question: “Wait, who is No. 63?”
Heldman has been beating blockers cleanly off the line and disrupting plays in the backfield. He’s still working with the third unit, but the production has been hard to ignore.
At 6-foot-3, he is the Saints’ shortest edge rusher, ahead of only 6-foot-2 Anfernee Jennings. Before the draft, Dane Brugler of The Athletic described Heldman as a “MAC-level version of Joey Bosa,” which helps explain why New Orleans showed interest in him, especially with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley having coached Bosa with the Chargers.
Heldman also put together a breakout 10 ½-sack season as a fifth-year senior last fall.
Moliki Matavao lands third after spending part of the offseason as one of the most noticeable players on the field. The seventh-round tight end from UCLA, taken last year, was impossible to miss at OTAs and mandatory minicamp, when the ball seemed to find him over and over again, even with first-team quarterback Tyler Shough.
The pace has cooled some since then, but the appeal remains obvious. Noah Fant summed it up simply: “He’s a big dude,” Fant said, referencing the tight end’s 6-foot-6 frame.
“He can catch the ball really well, too.”
Jayden Price comes in at No. 4, and he’s made a solid early case for more than just practice-squad depth. Price spent last season on the Saints’ practice squad after previous stops with the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades, and now he’s started camp well working mostly inside with the second unit.
That could matter if Jonas Sanker gets hurt, because Price would be in line to be next up. The 5-foot-11 corner has shown good physicality and has already logged several pass breakups, especially in 1-on-1 work - a tougher setting for corners than most drills.
With the Saints looking thin at the position, that kind of start stands out.
Rounding out the list at No. 5 is kicker Tanner Brown, whose arrival in June brought immediate curiosity because he was brought in to push incumbent Charlie Smyth. So far, Smyth has looked sharper through the first week, which keeps Brown from climbing higher.
But the intrigue around Brown has never really been about a straightforward camp battle. He is the only player in football history to make two field goals of at least 60 yards in the same game, and his path through the UFL - with the Louisville Kings - has already put him in the same conversation as kickers like Brandon Aubrey and Jake Bates, who used the league as a springboard to bigger things.
That alone gives Brown a storyline worth watching.
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For Carolina, the bigger story may be stability rather than a dramatic reset, especially with Canales shifting more of his attention to individual player development. In the same division, the Falcons are bracing for possible turbulence on defense and at quarterback, while the Saints are sorting out their own depth chart behind Tyler Shough and Zach Wilson, making every bit of continuity count as the season gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
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Mickey Loomis and others in the organization have long pointed to Brees arrival as something bigger than football, because the impact reached beyond the huddle and into the city itself. He became part of the sense of hope New Orleans was looking for, and the Saints rise under him reflected how one player can alter not only wins and losses but the culture around an entire organization. [Read more 🡒]