Saints' Stars Shine in Day 3 of Training Camp With Offense and Defense Excelling

Everything you need to know following Day 3 of Saints training camp.

Dennis Allen and Johnathan Abram have a chat during stretch on Day 3 of Saints training camp. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

IRVINE -- Three days into Saints training camp and we're learning plenty about the team. New Orleans wrapped up their Friday session, which gave us even more action from the hour and a half we were able to observe the team. The defense got another two picks, but today also saw the offense find more success.

Here's all of my notes and observations from Friday's practice. As an added bonus, we were able to record some of the plays in 7-on-7, so those highlights are linked in the article. You can also get caught up on all of our video recaps on Second And Saints.

Saints Training Camp Recaps: Day 1 Notes (Video Recap) | Day 2 Notes (Video Recap)

Saints Training Camp Recap - Day 3

Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave and A.T. Perry at Day 3 of Saints training camp. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

ATTENDANCE

Three players were not spotted during Friday's practice, which were Shane Lemieux (ankle), Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow) and Justin Herron (ankle). Kendre Miller (hamstring) was an observer of practice, while Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles) was walking around the field prior to practice and Juwan Johnson (foot) made an appearance as well. I saw Johnson catching some passes after practice, so it's going in the right direction it appears.

LATTIMORE EXITS EARLY: Marshon Lattimore left practice with a hip flexor, and the severity is unknown. At the beginning of practice, he was working by himself but was also a part of position drills and 7-on-7. We'll keep tabs on him for sure, but that's not particularly a good sign.

JAKE HAENER: Jake Haener revealed on Friday that he has a rare form of skin cancer on his face, as he was sporting a bandage on it. He had a bump pop up, and it was removed and then a biopsy was performed. They'll know more on the prognosis Aug. 1, but as of right now it's not life-threatening. We'll have more on this during our Second And Saints broadcast on Friday.

STARTING LOOKS AND MORE

The offensive line was the same during walkthroughs today, with Lucas Patrick filling in at left guard at times and Landon Young going at both right and left tackle. Zander Horvath was a part of the first team walkthroughs, as well as Jordan Mims, Dallin Holker, A.T. Perry, Equanimeous St. Brown and Michael Jacobson.

On defense, the Saints showed their nickel look during walkthroughs after starting in base. Alontae Taylor was in the slot with Pete Werner and Demario Davis at linebacker. Cam Jordan, Nathan Shepherd, Khalen Saunders and Carl Granderson were on the line, with Paulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore on the outside. Tyrann Mathieu and Johnathan Abram were at safety.

From a rotational standpoint, players that were a part of walkthroughs with the first team included Jaylan Ford, Bryan Bresee, Payton Turner, Khristian Boyd, Chase Young, J.T. Gray and Roderic Teamer.

QUARTERBACK PERFORMANCE

Jake Haener got the nod above Spencer Rattler today, but they got an equal amount of reps. Here's the breakdown for them on Friday.

• Derek Carr: 10/12 (4/5 in 7s, 2/2, 1/2, 3/3)
• Jake Haener: 8/8 (3/3 in 7s, 1/1, 2/2, 2/2)
• Spencer Rattler: 4/5, INT (1/2 in 7s, 2/2, 0/0, 1/1)
• Nathan Peterman: 2/4, INT (1/2 in 7s, 0/0, 0/1, 1/1)

7-ON-7 HIGHLIGHTS

DEFENSE GET TWO MORE PICKS: Secondary coach Marcus Robertson talked about the team's emphasis on getting tipped passes, and it's showing up in a pretty big way early in training camp. Rezjohn Wright picked off Nathan Peterman, while Jordan Howden got one on Spencer Rattler. Each Saints quarterback has thrown at least one interception three days into camp.

Derek Carr hit his first four passes, most of them being short ones to start. He connected with Taysom Hill, Foster Moreau and Dallin Holker, and then hit Alvin Kamara on a crosser (right to left) for a nice connection. His final throw was intended for Moreau, but Willie Gay Jr. made a nice play to break up a would-be catch.

Jake Haener hit all three of his passes, finding Cedrick Wilson Jr. to start for an intermediate gain on the right side working against Shemar Jean-Charles. He then hit Rashid Shaheed on a strong connection, one of the better ones of the day. His final pass a short completion to the flats to Jordan Mims.

Spencer Rattler's first pass was interception by Jordan Howden, as it was intended for Stanley Morgan Jr. with Shemar Jean-Charles in coverage. It was one of those in and out of the hands plays. Rattler came back to find Bub Means for a short completion in the flats to finish his reps.

Nathan Peterman was picked off on his first pass attempt by Rezjohn Wright. There was some clear miscommunication on the play, as Dallin Holker was in the area but the intended player looked to be Bub Means. He followed that play up by connecting with a short middle pass to Jermaine Jackson.

TEAM PERIOD ONE

The Saints had three team periods on Friday, with the first starting on the opponent's 40-yard-line. Derek Carr's first play was a toss right to Jamaal Williams with Taysom Hill as the lead blocker, but Pete Werner had a nice stop on the play. The next one was a Kamara run off tackle to the left that went for a short gain due to a nice play by Carl Granderson.

Carr's first pass found Cedric Wilson Jr. deep down the right sideline off play action for a good gain, as he was working against Kool-Aid McKinstry. On that play, Trevor Penning had a great rep against Cam Jordan. Jamaal Williams got a run left on the next play, with a trio of Saints defenders being there for the stop (Shepherd/Granderson/Werner). Carr's next play was a intermediate connection to Chris Olave off play action with D'Marco Jackson and Tyrann Mathieu being the closest.

Jake Haener's series started with a run to the right with Jordan Mims that Payton Turner stopped. Before the next play could happen, the offense had to re-huddle, which would happen again in a later team period under Haener. The ensuing play was a short middle run with James Robinson that was stopped by Will Harris, and then the lone completion was to Jordan Mims in the left flats after play action with him.

Spencer Rattler hit both of his passes on his series, with the first play being a short pass to James Robinson and then a short run to the right with Jacob Kibodi. Rico Payton had good positioning on the play. The other pass was a completion to Bub Means, a pretty deep right connection that also saw Josiah Ezirim with a solid rep against Isaiah Foskey.

Nathan Peterman's lone play was a short run to the right with Kibodi that Jaylan Ford stopped.

TEAM PERIOD TWO

Derek Carr's second series saw him throw two passes, with his first going out of bounds intended for Chris Olave deep down the right sideline with Paulson Adebo in coverage. Carl Granderson had the pressure on the play.

The other pass was a big sideline completion down the right side to Cedrick Wilson Jr. with a trio of Saints defenders around the area that likely would have went for a touchdown. However, to be clear, this was allowed to play out despite Trevor Penning being beat by Carl Granderson, who would have earned a sack.

The runs with Carr in saw a nice stop by Nathan Shepherd on a toss play to Alvin Kamara, Carl Granderson making another stop on Kamara and a Taysom Hill run up the middle (Pete Werner/Willie Gay Jr.).

Jake Haener's second series got off to a rocky start, as the offense had to re-huddle, but his first pass after a run to start connected to Mason Tipton off play action for an intermediate gain. Payton Turner jumped before the snap too. The following play was a deep right connection to Rashid Shaheed near the right sideline with Johnathan Abram there. As Shaheed was on the ground, it appeared Rezjohn Wright knocked the ball out, which Abram recovered and returned, but the play looked to be over with. The first play was a run with Jordan Mims to the right side, which saw Turner get the stop.

Spencer Rattler's series was just three runs, with a short one to the right with James Robinson that got to the second level after a nice block from Kyle Hergel. Jacob Kibodi got the next two carries, one that went for a short gain to the right and then the other ending up being a tackle for loss with the combined efforts of Jack Heflin and Anfernee Orji.

Nathan Peterman just came in for one play, which was an incompletion off play action to Tommy Hudson. Isaiah Stalbird had nice coverage there and Payton Turner applied the pressure.

TEAM PERIOD THREE

Carr's final series saw Lucas Patrick start at left guard over Nick Saldiveri for the first couple of play, for what it's worth. The drive started from the offense's 15-yard-line, but no adjustments were made regardless of the play outcome. Carr hit all three of his passes, with the first going to Foster Moreau for a short gain. Credit Pete Werner for being right there to make the stop. Jamaal Williams got a run to the right with Taysom Hill also being by him in the backfield, as Trevor Penning got a nice block on the play.

Alvin Kamara got a short pass left that saw Moreau put a nice block on Alontae Taylor. The next play saw three Saints defenders in a position to make a sack on Carr, with Nathan Shepherd, Carl Granderson and Cam Jordan all being there. Carr responded on the next play by threading a needle to Chris Olave for a deep left gain working against Alontae Taylor, who was in a prime position for coverage. That had a little extracurricular vibe to it, as Johnathan Abram and Olave had a couple of words for each other, but cooler heads prevailed.

Haener's work wrapped up with him completing passes on both of his first reps, a short one to James Robinson in the flats and then a deep right connection near the hashes to Equanimeous St. Brown (Shemar Jean-Charles/Jordan Howden). The last play was a run with James Robinson to the right, but Payton Turner had a tackle for loss.

Spencer Rattler's final series saw him have a strong connection to Bub Means to start on his lone pass attempt, connecting for a deep pass near the left hashes with Anfernee Orji and Jordan Howden being the closest. However, the next play saw Rattler fumble the ball with Niko Lalos and Isaiah Foskey around. We'd credit Foskey with a sack.

Peterman's final series started with a Jacob Kibodi toss to the left that would have been nullified by a Mark Evans hold on Jack Heflin, and the lone pass was complete to Jesper Horstead for a short left gain after he came in motion.

LAGNIAPPE

• We're still seeing some Taysom Hill at tailback reps, something that carried over from OTAs and minicamp. It's unclear what the plan will be there, but he's busy between a couple of different rooms.
• Chase Young is ramping up a bit more, as he was a lot more active in individual drills today, which included some pass-rushing ones. He has some strong bend in his rush.
• I'm not sure if it's been pointed out before, but Taliese Fuaga doesn't wear gloves. I'm not sure if this is the early process or what, but it's just an observation.
• We do make a lot of who plays fullback and such, but Foster Moreau was being used a little bit more in pass protection there today.
• When there were some rotations in place defensively, the Saints showed a look at linebacker with Demario Davis, Jaylan Ford and Willie Gay Jr. Gay Jr. was the WILL and Ford played over at SAM.
• The linebacker group had a drill where they specifically worked on play action boots under Michael Hodges. The goal looked to be assignment based with communication, but every simulated play included it.
• D'Marco Jackson was making some of the defensive calls during walkthroughs as part of the second team. Ugo Amadi was also playing in the slot there, with Rezjohn Wright and Kool-Aid McKinstry on the outside. Will Harris and Jordan Howden were at safety.
• Blake Grupe made all 7 of his kicks today and is 15/15 through his first couple of days in training camp. I don't have to tell you, but that's a great sign. He hit from various distances today, including 42, 44 and 52 yards out.
• Lou Hedley handled punting duties Friday, and here were his hang times, as they started from the back of the end zone: 4.20, 4.41, 4.78, 3.50, 4.15, 4.78, 3.75, 4.71, 4.50, 4.43, 4.42, 4.31, 3.44, 4.62. He had at least three kicks that looked really good, with them pinning the opposition inside the 5.
• Punt returners included Mason Tipton, Rashid Shaheed and Jermaine Jackson today. The Saints also got some kicker return work in. Pairings were Rashid Shaheed and Jermaine Jackson, Taysom Hill and Jamaal Williams, Alontae Taylor and Mason Tipton, Jordan Mims and Taysom Hill and Jordan Mims and James Robinson.

The Saints have one more practice to knock out on Saturday before getting a break, and we'll be there to break it all down from California.