With the preseason winding down and the regular season vastly approaching, all 32 NFL teams must go from a 90 man roster dramatically cut down to a 53 man roster.
There will be some very tough cuts the Saints and even all teams must make to get down to 53. Some cuts may even be surprising, and some may even easy to see. Below will be my prediction for the Saints' 53 man roster going into week 1.
Quarterbacks (3)
Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, & Jake Haener
The Saints don't always carry three Quarterbacks, but Jake Haener played well enough and has showed enough moxie that you cannot risk putting him on the practice squad. Derek is a lock at QB1. Jameis looks likely to make the team as well but i would not be surprised if he was cut for an offensive linemen .
Running Backs (4)
Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller
Adam Prentice (Fullback)
I think the Saints roll with Jamaal and Kendre for the three weeks time that Alvin is out. Ellis Merriweather is an easy practice squad candidate. The team recently signed Darrel Williams as well, but he is a late arrival to the team and also dealing with a groin injury. Jamaal and Kendre can hold down the fort for three weeks.
Wide Receivers (6)
Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, AT Perry, Keith Kirkwood, Lynn Bowden.
Saints carried six WRs last year and for the most part that is how they have always maneuvered. Shaq Davis barely misses the cut but makes the practice squad, and the Saints finally say goodbye to long time friend Tre'Quan Smith.
Tight Ends (4)
Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, Jimmy Graham, Taysom Hill
Three true Tight Ends and one Swiss army Knife that is Taysom Hill. Krull and JP Holtz miss the cut while 36 year old Jimmy Graham makes the 53. I expect to see a ton of old school three Tight End sets this year especially in the red zone.
Offensive Line (8)
Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramcyzk, Nick Saldiveri, Andrus Peat, Landon Young
This group seems to be average at best. None of the backups have stood out thus far in preseason. A couple could be practice squad bound like Norton or Throckmorton. Both Saldiveri and Young are swing linemen and bring more value.
Defensive Ends (5)
Cameron Jordan, Payton Turner, Isaiah Foskey, Carl Granderson, Tanoh Kpassagnon
The Defensive Ends making the 53 are who we all expected to make it, even Payton Turner (who has looked much better this preseason. Each end provides different defensive abilities and will rotate in and out in certain situations of course.
Defensive Tackles (4)
Khalen Saunders, Nate Shepherd, Malcolm Roach, Bryan Bresee
The Defensive Tackle unit seems well balanced in a sense of their specialties as is the same case for the ends. Malcolm Roach is the only player in the unit who is a returning player. As with all good roaches he is just hard to get rid of, but jokes aside he is a good player. Niko Lalos misses the cut but could be an easy practice squad guy.
Linebackers (6)
Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Zack Baun, Jaylon Smith, D'Marco Jackson, Anfernee Orji
This group will be filled with young talented backups who will of course have to play special teams a ton to make their bones. Jaylon Smith makes the 53 and I compare the signing to the time the Saints signed Manti Te'o once upon a time. Jackson and Orji make the team and will play Special Teams predominantly. It pains me to not have Nick Anderson on the 53 but he has not received a ton of preseason reps. Anderson could be a practice squad candidate.
Cornerbacks (4)
Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor, Paulson Adebo, Bradley Roby
You may look at the number of corners and think it is ludicrous to have that few corners on the roster, but with the Saints' nickel base defense it calls for more safeties than corners. No real surprises in the cornerback room. This room could be top 5 in the league this year.
Safeties (6)
Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Ugo Amadi, Lonnie Johnson Jr., JT Gray, Jordan Howden
Tyrann and Marcus were automatic locks from the beginning, but the real surprise this entire offseason and preseason is newcomer Ugo Amadi who has been just very surprising on the field. Amadi is listed as a Safety buy can also play the cornerback position as well. Lonnie Johnson and JT Gray will be the Saints' Special Teams aces, and rookie draft pick Jordan Howden rounds out the group and could be the PJ Williams Dime-back player. Johnathan Abram who came over from Vegas was quiet this preseason but is very serviceable so he seems like a good practice squad candidate.
Special Teams (3)
Wil Lutz, Blake Gillikin, Zach Wood
No surprises here at all. It was fun to see Grupe and Hedley give Wil and Blake competition throughout camp, but the veterans prevailed over the rookies in this competition.
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