The Saints spent a lot of Thursday’s seventh training camp practice moving the ball well against the starting defense, but the offense still walked off with that familiar training camp itch: close, productive, and not quite clean enough.
Tyler Shough was at the center of it. He completed 11 of his 14 passes, but the day ended with two interceptions in the end zone, and those were the kind of mistakes that linger even when the rest of the workout looked sharp. One of his incompletions also came on a throw that was a little too low and inside to an open Devaughn Vele in the end zone.
The picks weren’t exactly the same kind of disaster. The first came in the red zone when Shough was trying to throw the ball away, only for the pass to stay too low and let Kool-Aid McKinstry make a remarkable leaping grab in the back of the end zone. The second was a last-gasp throw toward Chris Olave at the end of a two-minute drill, and Quincy Riley tracked it down and snared it in the back of the end zone.
Even with those plays, the bigger theme on offense remains the same: New Orleans is still searching for consistency, though there have been encouraging signs from several individual players.
The running back picture is already getting crowded, and that’s before the preseason games even arrive to sort things out. Alvin Kamara and Travis Etienne look locked in, and neither has shown any sign of slowing down in camp. Kamara, in particular, has looked rejuvenated.
Behind them, though, the Saints may have a real numbers problem.
Devin Neal, Audric Estime and Kendre Miller all entered camp looking like candidates for one or two roster spots, and each has flashed something useful. Neal showed vision and burst before tweaking his hamstring Thursday, while Miller’s situation is complicated by the back issue he is dealing with now and the injury concerns that already come with him. Estime remains in the mix as well.
Ty Chandler has forced his way into the conversation, too. The offseason addition from Minnesota popped Wednesday with a big explosive run, then came back Thursday and made the most of second-team work with a pair of consecutive explosive runs off left tackle.
Then there’s undrafted rookie CJ Donaldson, who has made a habit of earning yards the hard way. At 6-1 and 230 pounds, he’s been using that frame to run through defenders and pile up dirty yards. He doesn’t have the sudden burst of some of the others, but he could carve out a role in short-yardage situations.
That’s what makes the competition tricky: nobody in the group looks out of place. The final call may come down to fit, special teams value, and which backs complement the top of the depth chart best.
There were also some notable absences and injuries to track. Alvin Kamara rested, while defensive tackle Christen Miller was out with a toe issue.
Receiver Mason Tipton and defensive linemen Keeshawn Silver and Bryan Bresee also did not practice. Coach Kellen Moore said Miller was “day-to-day” after practice.
Kendre Miller was present in uniform but did not participate because of a back issue, and offensive guard Jeremiah Wright and defensive lineman Zxavian Harris were also in uniform but sidelined. Devin Neal left early with a hamstring injury, and linebacker Chris Rumph exited with an ankle injury.
Barion Brown kept his strong camp rolling. The rookie receiver from LSU capped practice with a 46-yard bomb from Spencer Rattler for a “game-winning” touchdown in a two-minute situation. Brown entered the league with a reputation as a kick returner, but he has kept showing he can make splash plays as a receiver, too.
The day was less kind to kicker Charlie Smyth, who had been enjoying a strong camp before missing three straight tries from 39, 45 and 51 yards. He had connected on 15 of 16 attempts before Thursday, then steadied himself by making his final two kicks on retries from 39 and 51. Kellen Moore downplayed the uneven stretch afterward.
The Saints held practice indoors, something Moore said had been planned to avoid pushing players too hard in the heat while they were working in pads. New Orleans will have Friday off before returning for two consecutive outdoor padded practices this weekend.
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