The pads came on, and the New Orleans Saints offense enjoyed its best performance to date.
After a handful of days where things looked half a click off, Tyler Shough completed 11 of 14 pass attempts. The offensive line gave him a relatively clean pocket to operate from for much of the practice, and when pressure broke through, Shough would answer by using his legs to find space and extend the play.
It wasn’t just Shough making plays. A rookie wide receiver popped a couple of times Monday morning, and a veteran running back made an impact as a receiver out of the backfield. In both cases, it might not be the player whom you think.
Here is what happened during the roughly 100-minute practice Monday morning in Metairie.
Attendance
There were no changes in attendance Monday: Receiver Mason Tipton, and defensive linemen Keeshawn Silver and Zxavian Harris continued to miss practice with injuries suffered before camp began, and right guard Cesar Ruiz missed practice with an excused absence.
New Orleans has not yet made a roster move with defensive lineman Bryan Bresee, who is expected to miss the 2026 season with a torn ACL, but it will soon have two roster spots to fill after Ja’Lynn Polk’s sudden retirement.
Offense shines
Nobody was really worried about the offense this early in training camp, but Monday’s practice was the first one decisively won by the starting offense.
Shough easily had his best day, both in terms of the passes he completed and the rhythm he had the offense in. Only three of his passes during team drills hit the ground — two of them deep shots that he put just beyond his receiver’s reach, and the other a throwaway as he was escaping pressure while rolling left.
The Saints’ pass-catching depth showed up, too: Shough’s 11 completions went to seven different players — three receivers, two running backs and two tight ends.
First-round pick Jordyn Tyson made a nice sliding catch over the middle of the field, going to his rear end to corral a low throw from Shough. Fellow rookie Oscar Delp got in the action by catching Shough’s first pass of the day in the left flat and turning upfield.
Importantly, the run game also produced a couple of big plays — at least, they looked like they would be big plays. While the players were in pads, they were not fully tackling their teammates to the ground.
Devin Neal hit a hole off left guard and rumbled downfield for a gain of about 10 yards before he was touched by a defender, and Alvin Kamara continued to show he still has something in the tank when he cut through the heart of the defense on a draw for a nice gain.
Day 5 of Saints Training Camp—and Day 1 in pads. The intensity is rising, the competition is heating up, and every rep matters. ⚜️🏈
Odds and ends
- Barion Brown made a name for himself as a return specialist during his time at LSU and Kentucky, but shortly after the Saints selected him in the draft, coach Kellen Moore said he believed he could help as a receiver. Monday’s practice was the best evidence in support of Moore’s statement. Brown started things off by beating Rejzohn Wright deep downfield in 1-on-1 drills. He missed another opportunity in team drills when the defense lost him on a scramble drill, failing to track the ball to his hands, but then rebounded with a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch from Spencer Rattler near the end of practice.
- Travis Etienne prides himself on his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, and his pass-catching skills flashed Monday. He was running to the flat on one play as Shough evaded the rush and rolled to his left. Seeing Shough point downfield, Etienne broke off his route and sprinted, catching an over-the-shoulder pass for a big gain. When the first team took the field again, Etienne set up a screen perfectly, catching the pass and following his blocks for another big gain. He caught all three of his targets.
- Defensive back Isaac Yiadom and linebacker Danny Stutsman both took some first-team snaps during full-team periods Monday. Moore said the Yiadom move, which briefly sent Quincy Riley to the second team, was “no big deal” and that “we’re just giving ourselves different rotations.”
- Tyson went through all the full-team drills, but he did not participate in the 1-on-1 period.
- Kicker Charlie Smyth had his first miss of training camp, pushing a kick wide from 44 yards. But he made his other five attempts, ending with a 54-yarder that cleared the uprights by a good margin. Smyth is now 15 for 16 on his training camp field goal attempts.
- For as well as the first-team offense played, the second-team defense got its hands on a couple of balls. Dalys Beanum undercut a downfield throw from Zach Wilson intended for Bub Means to pick it off, and backup defensive backs Jayden Price and Lorenzo Styles both had interceptions in 1-on-1 drills.
- The kick-return group included the following players: Brown, Price, Ty Chandler, Trey Palmer, Bryce Lance, Kendre Miller and Jalen Cropper.
