Canal Street Chronicles
Not a lot went right in the New Orleans Saints’ 31-point loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Saints were outplayed through all phases of the game, and it wasn’t an entertaining watch. However, New Orleans was able to get some solid performances from their rookies despite a blowout loss.
Cornerback Quincy Riley finally got his first taste of NFL action in the Saints’ loss. The rookie replaced veteran cornerback Isaac Yiadom in the fourth quarter and made an immediate impact. Riley forced a fumble on a Seahawks run, immediately igniting the Saints sideline.
Riley’s strong performance on Sunday will hopefully see the fourth-round pick eventually take over for Yiadom, who has struggled through three weeks of football. The signing of Yiadom has the chance to take away a compensatory fourth-round pick from the Saints if the veteran corner were to play enough snaps this season.
Safety Jonas Sanker played in 93% of the team’s defensive snaps on Sunday, and despite allowing a touchdown catch to Seahawks standout wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he has been a hidden gem for the Saints. Media outlet theScore has named the rookie safety as the Saints’ best offseason addition, crediting him with just one reception for five yards in 67 coverage snaps.
Sanker will likely get the start for the rest of the season due to a season-ending injury to standout safety Julian Blackmon. With his impressive tackling abilities and development in coverage, New Orleans may have found their future at safety.
First-round pick Kelvin Banks Jr has quietly been one of the best offensive linemen of the 2025 NFL draft, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t struggled. Banks had a rough showing against the Seahawks, like the rest of the team, and was given a 62.2 grade from Pro Football Focus. Despite the lackluster grade, the rookie tackle was named to PFF’s rookie team of the week due to his 81.3 run-blocking grade.
The Saints called on punter Kai Kroeger to punt the ball quite a lot in the team’s big loss. Kroeger punted six times in the loss, with one getting blocked and another returned for a touchdown. The rookie punter also failed to pin the Seattle offense inside their own 20 even once.
Despite the unfortunate circumstances of Kroeger’s day, the five punts he was able to kick traveled 243 yards, with each punt averaging 48.6 yards. The rookie punter also had a punt travel 61 yards. Kroeger didn’t have as bad a day as it looked on paper, but if the Saints want to win games anytime soon, the special teams issues need to be solved.
