The New Orleans Saints won’t roll out their starters against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, but the preseason opener still offers plenty to watch.
This roster has more depth than recent Saints teams, which means there are real battles for a limited number of jobs. It also means several rookies and young players still need game reps after being held back by injury or practice restrictions. The result: a preseason opener that should say a lot about who’s moving up the depth chart.
Audric Estime looks like the running back to watch first. Travis Etienne and Alvin Kamara are locked into the top two spots, but the fight for No. 3 is open, and Estime appears to have the early edge.
He closed last season strongly with 198 yards in seven games, highlighted by a 94-yard outing in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans. He also caught 12 passes for 103 yards, showing he can help in the passing game too.
On Thursday, he got a handful of first-team reps in the joint practice with Jacksonville, and that matters even more with Devin Neal dealing with a hamstring and Kendre Miller nursing a back issue.
C.J. Donaldson is a different kind of watch point.
He probably isn’t going to make the 53-man roster, but he has put himself in the mix for a practice-squad role. At 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, he’s the biggest back on the team, and the physicality jumps out.
He’s not a twitchy runner, but he’s shown good vision in camp and has found a couple of cutback lanes. The real question is how that translates when the contact is live.
Saturday should help answer that.
The wide receiver group may draw the most attention, especially with Bryce Lance, Barion Brown and Kevin Austin likely to be on the field early. Brown and Lance have both flashed in camp, and each hit on an explosive downfield play during Thursday’s joint practice against the Jaguars.
Both are close to roster locks, but the preseason still matters for figuring out how they’ll fit once the games count. Brown could also get a first real look in the return game, which many expected to be his immediate lane after his college career.
Austin is a familiar name for Saints fans because of his repeated stints with the team as a practice-squad call-up when injuries hit the receiver room. Now, with Ja’Lynn Polk’s surprise retirement, there may be room for him if New Orleans keeps six receivers. He has size, he has NFL game experience, and he has worked more with the first-team offense than any receiver not named Chris Olave, Jordyn Tyson or Devaughn Vele.
Up front, Jeremiah Wright and Christen Miller are two big interior linemen who still feel like unknowns. Both missed time early in camp because of injury, and both play positions that are tough to evaluate from field level.
Training camp settings also don’t really let their best traits show up the way game action does. It’s possible neither one starts a game this season.
It’s also possible they wind up playing far bigger roles than they do right now and position themselves for starting jobs in 2027.
Jayden Price may have been the surprise of camp so far. Coming into the summer, the Saints looked thin behind Jonas Sanker, especially with Sanker making a major move to the Star position this offseason.
That concern has eased some over the past couple of weeks because Price, a former UFL standout who has never played a snap in a meaningful NFL game, has been making plays all over the ball. He may have led the defensive backs in camp production, and the preseason should give the Saints a couple more chances to see whether they can count on him when needed.
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Jayden Price Is Making Noise In A Saints Battle That Isnt Settled
The Saints cornerback competition has been one of the more watched position battles in camp, and Jayden Price has made himself part of the conversation with a steady showing and the kind of versatility teams look for when sorting out the back end of the roster. He has been working as a backup slot cornerback option, which gives him a path to carve out a role if he keeps stacking solid practices and preseason snaps.
Prices place, though, is still very much up for grabs. New Orleans has not settled its depth chart at the position, and the competition around him remains tight as the preseason moves forward, leaving his roster chances tied to how well he can separate himself from the rest of the group before cut-down decisions arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Take An Intriguing Camp Swing On Defensive Line Help
The Saints added another arm to their defensive front by signing former Kentucky tackle Kahlil Saunders, giving training camp a fresh look along the line after placing offensive lineman Dillon Radunz on injured reserve. Saunders arrives as an undrafted rookie, but he brings SEC experience and the kind of athletic traits that tend to get a staffs attention once the pads come on.
For New Orleans, the appeal is pretty straightforward: a player with some versatility, some pass-rushing juice and a chance to carve out a spot in the rotation if he can hold up through camp. The challenge is just as clear, though, because the Saints are still sorting through a crowded competition and Saunders will have to do more than flash to stick on the final roster. [Read more 🡒]