When the Ravens line up against the Saints on Sunday, one of Baltimore’s key voices on offense will be someone New Orleans knows well.
Declan Doyle will handle the play-calling for the Ravens, bringing the Saints face to face with a coach who got his NFL start in New Orleans. Doyle joined the Saints as an offensive assistant before the 2019 season, coming over after two seasons as a student assistant at Iowa. He was only 23 at the time, and he spent four seasons on staff working under Sean Payton and Dennis Allen.
Doyle’s rise has been fast. After leaving New Orleans, he followed Payton to Denver in 2023, where he worked as tight ends coach for the Broncos.
Last season, he served as Ben Johnson’s offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears. The Ravens hired him this offseason to be their offensive play-caller, and he was 29 when that move became official.
In Baltimore this week, Doyle said he still checks in on some of the players he knew from his Saints days, including tight end Juwan Johnson. Doyle was part of the staff that helped Johnson make the jump from undrafted receiver to tight end, a transition Johnson says he needed plenty of guidance to pull off.
“I needed all the help I could get,” said Johnson, who last year ranked among the NFL receiving leaders at tight end. “...
I didn’t know anything in the run game, I didn’t know defensive techniques, I didn’t know fronts … I didn’t know any of that stuff. He took the time to help me out with that.”
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Saints Front Could Expose A Real Ravens Problem
The Ravens just rolled up 41 points and 506 total yards even while their offensive line drew multiple penalties, but the bigger concern for Baltimore is what comes next. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley and left guard John Simpson are dealing with injuries that leave their status uncertain for the matchup with New Orleans, and that is exactly the kind of setup the Saints front likes to exploit.
New Orleans opened the season with five sacks and has the sort of pass-rush depth that can make even a productive offense uncomfortable. If Baltimore is forced to patch together the left side of its line, the Saints will have a real chance to turn those protection questions into pressure, and possibly into the kind of disruption that changes the flow of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Saints May Have Found The Answer At Receiver For Now
Devaughn Vele wasted little time making his case in the Saints' season opener, hauling in seven of nine targets for 69 yards and a touchdown while working 91% of the offensive snaps. For a player who arrived in the league as a seventh-round pick after starting as a walk-on at Utah, the early usage was a clear sign that New Orleans already trusts him as a major part of the passing game.
With Jordyn Tyson sidelined by injury, Vele has stepped into the No. 2 receiver role and given the offense a reliable target when it needed one. His path has already included a midseason contribution for the Saints last year before an injury cut that run short, so the question now is less about whether he belongs and more about how long he can keep this role once the rest of the receiver room gets healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Get A Timely Boost Before Their Toughest Test Yet
Cam Jordan and Alvin Kamara are back on the practice-to-game track for New Orleans after both were removed from the injury report, a welcome development as the Saints prepare for their toughest early-season assignment against the Baltimore Ravens. Their absence in Week 1 showed up in the places the Saints could least afford it, with the run game sputtering and the pass rush not creating enough disruption.
Jordans return gives New Orleans a much-needed edge on defense, especially with Derrick Henry looming as the centerpiece of Baltimores ground attack. For a team trying to steady itself quickly, getting two proven playmakers back in time for a matchup like this changes the tone of the week, even if the challenge ahead remains as difficult as advertised. [Read more 🡒]