Saints Training Camp Day 19 Notes and Observations

Jimmy Graham returned to practice on Wednesday, and there were a handful of players who stood out for Day 19 of Saints training camp.

METAIRIE -- Day 19 is in the books for the Saints, as they continued indoors with practice in pads. We saw a few players return to the mix, as well as plenty of highlights from New Orleans on both sides of the ball. Here's all of the notes and observations from Wednesday.

TRAINING CAMP RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | What We've Learned | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 (Offense) | Day 16 (Defense) | Day 17 (Offense) | Day 17 (Defense) | Day 18

Saints Training Camp Notes and Observations from Day 19

ATTENDANCE

Let's start with who returned, as that's probably the bigger news of the day. Marshon Lattimore, Smoke Monday, Niko Lalos, Calvin Throckmorton, and Jimmy Graham all were out there today. Lattimore and Throckmorton only participated in individual drills, while Graham returned in full. Graham also made a couple of plays out there and ran with the first team some, so it's great to see him back in that capacity after everything that happened last week.

Absences for Wednesday included Taysom Hill, Tre'Quan Smith, A.T. Perry, Rashid Shaheed, Kirk Merritt, Darrel Williams, Ryan Connelly, Landon Young, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Cam Jordan. Perry has an illness, while Jordan was a veteran rest day. I did see Ryan Ramczyk before stretches, but he left the field and did not practice.

Bryan Bresee left early due to an eye injury. He was being looked at on the sideline after the 7-on-7 period, getting checked out and then eventually left the field.

STARTING LOOKS AT MORE

With Ramczyk not practicing, the offensive line had Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz and Storm Norton. The second pairing had Lewis Kidd, Andrus Peat, Max Garcia, Nick Saldiveri, and Norton again. Going to the third team for anyone interested, but that saw Saldiveri flip to left guard. That line was Mark Evans, Saldiveri, Alex Pihlstrom, Tommy Kraemer, and Chuck Filiaga.

For the defense, New Orleans rolled with a nickel look that had Tanoh Kpassagnon, Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepherd, and Carl Granderson along the line. Demario Davis and Pete Werner were at linebacker, with Bradley Roby in the slot. Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor were on the outside, with Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye at safety.

We got to see a little bit more of the team's NASCAR package today, with Tanoh Kpassagnon being flipped inside on some reps. They also used a look of Payton Turner, Nathan Shepherd and Carl Granderson. The team would use Demario Davis and Zack Baun up there as rushers, with Jordan Howden being the extra defensive back.

1-ON-1 DETAILS

All three quarterbacks were in for 1-on-1 throws, with Jake Haener and Jameis Winston getting things kicked off. Derek Carr later joined them. Here's all the results, as they worked from the 12-yard-line to start and then moved up to the 6. I'll note when the change happened.

• Jontre Kirklin vs. Alontae Taylor (Haener) - Incomplete, fade left end zone, pass breakup.
• Keith Kirkwood vs. Anthony Johnson (Winston) - Complete, inside middle for a touchdown.
• Kawaan Baker vs. Paulson Adebo (Winston) - Complete, left side touchdown.
• Shaq Davis vs. Ugo Amadi (Haener) - Incomplete, fade left, pass breakup.
• Jontre Kirklin vs. Isaac Yiadom (Haener) - Incomplete, backshoulder left end zone.
• Michael Thomas vs. Troy Pride (Carr) - Complete, inside middle to the 2-yard-line.
• Chris Olave vs. Isaac Yiadom (Carr) - Complete, inside middle. Nice rep and route for Olave.
• Keith Kirkwood vs. Adrian Frye (Carr) - Complete, touchdown left. Kirkwood ran a nice route going outside to inside and then cutting back to the end zone.
• Kawaan Baker vs. Marcus Maye (Haener) - Incomplete, left fade route on a stop and go route.
• Shaq Davis vs. Anthony Johnson (Haener) - Complete, touchdown post middle.
• Michael Thomas vs. Bradley Roby (Carr) - Complete, post middle end zone for touchdown.
• Jontre Kirklin vs. Jordan Howden (Carr) - Complete, touchdown left side at the goal line. Great catch by Kirklin here.
• Keith Kirkwood vs. Ugo Amadi (Carr) - Complete, inside middle to the 1. Kirkwood made the catch despite being grabbed. It was definitely defensive holding.
• Team shifts to 6-yard-line.
• Chris Olave vs. Troy Pride (Carr) - Incomplete, fade left. Olave made a one-handed grab look too easy, but was out of bounds.
• Kawaan Baker vs. Paulson Adebo (Winston) - Incomplete, fade left.
• Jontre Kirklin vs. Adrian Frye (Winston) - Incomplete left short, pass breakup.
• Shaq Davis vs. Anthony Johnson - Incomplete, inside right.
• Michael Thomas vs. Bradley Roby (Carr) - Incomplete, fade left. Pass was off the mark.
• Keith Kirkwood vs. Isaac Yiadom (Carr) - Complete, end zone left for a touchdown. Good route and move by Kirkwood to get free and catch for the score.
• Shaq Davis vs. Ugo Amadi (Winston) - Complete, fade left for a touchdown. My notes said 'Wow' from Davis going up over the top to get the catch.
• Jontre Kirklin vs. Alontae Taylor (Winston) - Incomplete, fade left. Kirklin pushed off on the route and would have been called for OPI.
• Kawaan Baker vs. Adrian Frye (Winston) - Complete, inside middle.
• Michael Thomas vs. Marcus Maye (Carr) - Incomplete, fade left end zone. Nice coverage by Maye, who had the pass breakup.
• Chris Olave vs. Paulson Adebo (Carr) - Incomplete, fade left end zone. Another great catch by Olave, but he was out of bounds. He made a one-hander that looked way too easy.

7-ON-7 DETAILS (RED ZONE)

Defensive personnel: Pete Werner, Alontae Taylor, Bradley Roby, Marcus Maye, Tyrann Mathieu, Demario Davis, Paulson Adebo

Derek Carr (5/6)

• 15-yard-line: Complete, short left to Kendre Miller (Pete Werner). Good coverage by the defense here.
• 12-yard-line: Complete, curl left to Michael Thomas for 6 yards (Tyrann Mathieu).
• 9-yard-line: Complete, touchdown left side to Chris Olave (Pete Werner/Alontae Taylor).
• 6-yard-line: Incomplete, end zone left intended for Michael Thomas (Alontae Taylor). Taylor had a pass breakup after a handsy fight between the two off the line.
• 4-yard-line: Complete, touchdown left side to Michael Thomas (Alontae Taylor). My notes said 'Nasty' for the route Thomas ran. He went inside and then cut perfectly to the outside to get free for an easy hookup.
• 14-yard-line: Complete, inside right short to Keith Kirkwood (Jordan Howden) with some YAC.

Jameis Winston (4/5)

Defensive personnel: Johnathan Abram, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Isaac Yiadom, Troy Pride, Nephi Sewell, Jaylon Smith, Ugo Amadi

• 12-yard-line: Complete, curl left short to Jamaal Williams (Isaac Yiadom/Nephi Sewell).
• 8-yard-line: Complete, short right curl to Jontre Kirklin (Nephi Sewell). Good immediate tackle to stop Kirklin for a small gain.
• 6-yard-line: Incomplete, short right intended for Shaq Davis (Troy Pride). Ball was thrown low into the ground, no chance for Davis.
• 4-yard-line: Complete, slant right to left for a touchdown to Jimmy Graham (Troy Pride).
• 15-yard-line: Complete, flats right short to Alvin Kamara (D'Marco Jackson).

Jake Haener (1/4)

• 12-yard-line: Incomplete, post middle end zone intended for Juwan Johnson (Ty Summers). Pass sailed way too high.
• 8-yard-line: Incomplete, end zone left side intended for Kawaan Baker (Ugo Amadi). Amadi should have had a pick here, but dropped it. He was in perfect position to make the play, but couldn't finish.
• 6-yard-line: Complete, left end zone touchdown to Keith Kirkwood (Jordan Howden). Notes said 'Wow, insane.' after Kirkwood came down with a one-handed catch. It was one of the highlights of practice.
• 3-yard-line: Incomplete, curl right end zone to Lucas Krull (Troy Pride). Krull got a hand on it, but it was off target.

TEAM SERIES DETAILS

Three team series today, with none of the drives being in the red zone. The first series had the Saints offense operating from their own 30-yard-line and moving up in slight increments, never passing the 39 for any quarterback.

TEAM SERIES NO. 1 (CARR 2/2, WINSTON 2/3, HAENER 1/1): Carr's series started with a short run to the left with Kendre Miller, as Khalen Saunders had the stop for a minimal gain. His first pass attempt connected with Chris Olave deep right working against Bradley Roby well across midfield. The next play was a run inside with Kendre Miller to the left that went for a short gain, and then Carr hit Kawaan Baker on a left curl for a small gain working against Nephi Sewell. However, I will point out that Tanoh Kpassagnon got home for a sack, beating Foster Moreau. We still chart the passes, but in real time, it was a sack.

Winston's first pass was a nice deep hookup near the right sideline to Shaq Davis working against Isaac Yiadom. There was a small bobble by Davis, but he caught it. Jack Heflin saw a little more action in place of Bryan Bresee, and did apply some pressure. The offense committed a false start before running the next play, an outside run to the left with Jamaal Williams that saw Payton Turner stop him for a loss. Turner made a nice play on the next rep, batting down the Winston pass intended for Kawaan Baker at the line of scrimmage. Winston completed the next pass underneath to Alvin Kamara working against Ty Summers, but we would have to credit Jack Heflin for a sack.

Haener's series started with a run to the left for a short gain with Kendre Miller. He tripped over Juwan Johnson on the play, but also Isaiah Foskey did a nice job of being there to help stop the run. Haener's lone pass was a deep one left for Juwan Johnson that saw him get some YAC. No one was there for coverage, as Anthony Johnson was closest. Consecutive running plays then happened, with a short run to the left with Ellis Merriweather with a D'Marco Jackson stop, and then another one inside left with Adam Prentice from shotgun that had Foskey make first contact and stop.

TEAM SERIES NO. 2 (CARR 3/5, WINSTON 3/4, HAENER 2/4): This series started on the offense's own 35-yard-line. The defense featured their NASCAR package here, and it's also worth pointing out that the Saints pumped in loud music and crowd noise to try and trip up the offense.

Carr's first pass was off the mark in the flats for Alvin Kamara, and Pete Werner had nice coverage on the play. Carr then hit Juwan Johnson on the curl for an intermediate gain with some YAC. He then hit Foster Moreau on the drag route coming right to left with Alontae Taylor in the area. Demario Davis brought the pressure. The next play saw pressure from just about everyone, resulting in a low throw intended for Michael Thomas. Carr came back to hit Foster Moreau for an intermediate gain on a middle curl route with Davis and Marcus Maye being the closest defenders.

Winston operated mainly in shotgun, hitting his first pass in the left flats to Jamaal Williams. However, Isaiah Foskey was there and we'd have to give him the sack. Jontre Kirklin had an intermediate gain off the right side after a nice hookup from Winston. The offense then had another false start penalty, as it appeared to be Storm Norton moving first, but Andrus Peat also jumped. Winston tried Foster Moreau on a middle crosser, but Ugo Amadi made a nice play on the ball to force a pass breakup. The offense then tried an inside zone read to Alvin Kamara that Zack Baun blew up for a loss. The final pass was a successful screen to the right side with Kendre Miller that saw a pretty decent gain.

Haener's first pass attempt sailed on him, as he tried Keith Kirkwood deep down the right seam. Had it been on target, it likely would have been a completion. Ellis Merriweather got a inside run to the left that was stopped by Smoke Monday on the next play, and then Haener completed a pass to Jontre Kirklin on a curl to the right with some YAC. Haener then tried Kawaan Baker near the left side in the intermediate range, but couldn't connect. Troy Pride had pretty good coverage and Ty Summers nearly got a hand on the pass. The final play of the series was a quick one short left to Kendre Miller, who turned it upfield for some extra yards.

TEAM SERIES NO. 3 (CARR 4/5, WINSTON 6/6): This drive started at the team's own 25-yard-line, mainly focusing on some down and distance situations. Just Carr and Winston got work here.

Carr's first pass was a middle curl to Jamaal Williams that was dropped. Williams got an outside carry to the left on the next play for a short gain, with a good run stop by Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Carl Granderson. The next play saw Nathan Shepherd and Tanoh Kpassagnon combine for a sack on Carr after getting through the line. Kamara got a run outside to the left, but was stuffed by Carl Granderson and Pete Werner. Carr with with the checkdown on the next play, hitting Michael Thomas on a short left curl. 

Carr then had a nice hookup to Chris Olave on a 3rd Down play on a quick out route to the right working against Bradley Roby. Jamaal Williams got a run to the right on the next play, with Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders combining for a tackle for loss. Carr then had two great back-to-back throws, threading a needle to Chris Olave deep right despite good coverage from Paulson Adebo. He then had another similar throw to Juwan Johnson for an intermediate gain left middle to Juwan Johnson. Another threaded needle pass by Carr with good hands by Johnson on the play.

Winston's first snap was a hookup to the right sideline for a short gain to Shaq Dvais. Tanoh Kpassagnon had the pressure and got his hands up, maybe being able to be in a position to make a sack in real time. Jimmy Graham then got involved on the next play, getting a short pass to the left and getting some YAC in the process. Winston then hit Davis again for a 30-plus-yard gain out of the slot working against Isaac Yiadom.

The next play was a weird sequence, as Kyle Phillips got a hand on the pass, but it still ended up getting completed to Foster Moreau on an attempted tight end screen for a minimal gain. Winston went back to Graham on the next play off play action, hitting him deep left down the seam for a big hookup. There were then three straight runs, with a middle one left by Kendre Miller stuffed short and another left to middle inside for another short gain. The last play was going to be a pass for Winston, but Isaiah Foskey provided the pressure and forced Winston to keep right and scramble.

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

• Today was very evident how thin the Saints were at running back and wide receiver. We'll see what happens between now and the final preseason game, but six were missing between the backs and receivers.
• Doug Maronne looked like he was ratcheting up the intensity for the offensive linemen today. He was getting onto some of the tackles today.
• Something we've seen in camp before is receivers doing over reps when it doesn't look like or work in offensive drills, and Keith Kirkwood was a good example of this today. I still think he makes the final roster.
• Think this was one of the best practices for Isaiah Foskey. He's definitely growing here, even if the film doesn't totally support it. Dennis Allen also said as much talking about him after practice.
• Had Wil Lutz going 5-of-5 in kicks today. He made the extra point and hit from 39, 41, 44, and 49 yards. On the contrary, Blake Grupe went 4-of-5, hitting the extra point, being wide right from 41, and then hitting from 44 and 49. This battle is close, and again, if I had to choose a kicker right now, tie goes to the runner in Lutz.
• The Texans plan to play all of their starters when they come to the Superdome on Sunday. That's going to be a nationally televised game on FOX, if you didn't know. We'll see what happens with the Saints.
• Michael Thomas still looks good. He's really getting in and out of his breaks well and is cutting on a dime. I still believe he's in for a strong season.