Canal Street Chronicles
New Orleans Saints football is officially back. The Saints will take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday to open up their preseason. There are plenty of position battles and depth players to hone in on, and in what some consider a meaningless game, lots of implications for the roster going forward.
The longest tenured Saints quarterback is Jake Haener, who is entering his third season in the NFL. With such a young quarterback room, the Chargers will likely try to send plenty of pressure towards the young signal-callers and force them to make mistakes.
Second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler has been the most consistent passer during training camp. Rattler has looked poised leading the offense and calm in the face of pressure. However, preseason is significantly different from training camp, where the biggest standout is the possibility of quarterbacks getting hit for the first time by pass rushers.
Most interestingly, going into the team’s first preseason game is how rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will handle pressure. Shough’s biggest knock coming out of college was how antsy he gets in the face of pressure, and that issue has followed him into training camp. The rookie passer’s ability to handle the pass rush on Sunday will be a large factor in his chances to win the starting quarterback job.
Outside of quarterback, the biggest question marks for New Orleans entering the 2025 season are their defensive backs. The team traded former All-Pro Marshon Lattimore before the trade deadline during the 2024 season and let promising cornerback Paulson Adebo walk in free agency. The team added veteran safety Justin Reid opposite of Tyrann Mathieu in free agency, but Mathieu would surprisingly announce his retirement the day before training camp.
The Saints have promising stars such as Kool-Aid McKinstry, who is being predicted to have a big season for New Orleans, but it is a completely different unit from just a season ago. The Chargers have plenty of depth in their wide receiver room, including draft picks Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who each contributed during the Hall of Fame game.
Down the cornerback depth chart, the Saints have rookie Quincy Riley and second-year Rico Payton. New Orleans still has a spot open on the starting defense for a cornerback to play opposite McKinstry, while Alontae Taylor takes the slot. Strong performances from these young defensive backs could earn them a spot to play every Sunday.
New Orleans has focused on solidifying their offensive line over the years. The team has spent back-to-back top 15 first-round picks on tackles and has continued to add depth to the unit. The Saints, for the most part, know what they have on the right side of the line with RT Taliese Fuaga, RG Caesar Ruiz, and C Erik McCoy, but the left side has more questions.
The Saints used the ninth overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft...
