What We Learned From Saints Minicamp

After three days of Saints minicamp, what did we learn about the team?

After having a few days to digest the week of Saints minicamp practices, it's time to talk about what more we've learned about New Orleans.

Dennis Allen's squad wrapped up activities on Thursday, and now we've got a long break until the start of training camp on July 24. Each player has a plan for the next several weeks, whether it be staying home, getting out of the country, putting in more work, learning the playbook or a little bit of everything. Here's my biggest takeaways.

Saints Minicamp Recaps

• Day 1
• Day 1 (Video)
• Day 2
• Day 2 (Video)
• Day 3
• Day 3 (Video)

THE OFFENSE IS COMING ALONG

We've seen the progression and impact of Klint Kubiak's offense, and the results have been promising. What Saints fans should appreciate most about the journey under Kubiak is how they're viewing things. On Thursday, Kubiak said that their just focusing on getting a first down in training camp and going from there when it came to the offensive expectations.

Players like Taysom Hill are being used in a variety of ways, and that's extremely exciting. Cedrick Wilson Jr. is penciling himself in as the slot guy, and we're seeing other players get work in with the first-team like Mason Tipton and Jordan Mims. Camp will bring things more into focus, to say the least.

You can see how comfortable Derek Carr is in this offense and the play action, outside runs and attacking the middle of the field will be key staples for the 2024 New Orleans offense. Thus far, we've seen a little bit of everything from everyone and even plays we've been accustomed to seeing over the years. Don't eat the cheese just yet, but progress is good.

ALVIN KAMARA'S SITUATION IN FLUX

The unfortunate part of the Kamara situation is how positive things were going for the Saints. It's certainly a blemish and needs to be dealt with, and the hope is that it doesn't linger into training camp. On the other hand, Kamara did send a very strong message about how he feels for his contract situation.

There's varying opinions on how this should be handled, but the bottom line is it'll be between the Saints front office and Kamara's agent. In 2024, Kamara has just $1 million in guaranteed money and carries an $18.55 million cap hit. Next year sees him escalate to just over $29 million on a cap hit, which he'll never see if we're being real. New Orleans could take a page in what they've done with Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and Tyrann Mathieu, and this looks to be more about the guaranteed money and commitment to Kamara.

ROOKIES ARE PROGRESSING

Some rookies show up more than others, for one reason or another. We'll know more about the trenches when we get into training camp and the pads come on, but we're seeing early flashes from Khristian Boyd on the defensive interior. We expect to see a lot more from Josiah Ezirim when it comes to camp, as well as Taliese Fuaga in action. Fuaga has remained at left tackle, and we'll see if anything changes when we get into late July.

Jaylan Ford is getting more acclimated after being cleared to return from injury, while Bub Means is picking up things well, even if it didn't exactly show up at practice. He's also getting extensive special teams work at gunner and jammer. Kool-Aid McKinstry has worked his way back onto the field, but was limited to just stretching and individual drills before working off to the side with Matt Rhea during practices.

The biggest impact we see is from Spencer Rattler, and that's the easiest one to observe. You see progression from each day, which is what you want to see from a rookie quarterback. He's getting more of the offense each practice, and will flip-flop with Jake Haener in training camp as the Saints figure out their backup position. It's far from perfect, but Rattler shows that he can adapt and deliver in a few different areas.

As far as the undrafted rookies, Dallin Holker has made the largest impact. He's going to get even more of the spotlight now with no Juwan Johnson, but he's making plays out there, running with the first-team a good bit and is extremely intelligent. Tight ends coach Clancy Barone said recently that they look at him as their 8th Round pick. Like everyone else, we'll know more in training camp.

Most of the undrafted rookies have also made impacts, whether it be from one play or more. You can check out recaps and videos for all of the details, but we've mentioned each one in some form or fashion.