Who stays in the TE room?

Another minicamp is planned, and the Saints waited until the final practice to create some drama with some key players.

Scroll below to see what stood out from the final practice leading up to this year’s training camp in July.

PARTICIPATION

We knew a key offensive player wouldn’t be there, but the other one missing was a surprise. More on this below. Here’s who we didn’t see on the field during the final minicamp practice this week:

-CB Alontae Taylor
-CB Faion Hicks
– Running back Alvin Kamara
-LB Nephi Sewell
– RT Ryan Ramczyk
-TE Juwan Johnson
-TE Tommy Hudson
-DT Jack Heflin
-BY Chase Young

For Johnson, the news is not good. The Saints tight end is dealing with a foot injury that developed at some point over the last month. Head coach Dennis Allen could not pinpoint when the injury occurred, but confirmed it is expected to keep him sidelined for some time. This will highlight a TE room that isn’t particularly deep.

The only new absence of the day was Kamara, who was present during the walk-through but left early without informing the head coach. The decision stems from an impasse in which the star RB is seeking a new contract.

Otherwise, there really wasn’t any courtship news to speak of. CB Kool-Aid McKinstry continues to return to action, but he has been going through team drills like he has all week. WR Stanley Morgan has also been seen working with trainers each of the last two days. Guard Nick Saldiveri also left practice early with what is believed to be a minor lower-body injury.

HOLKER’S TIME

The Saints will be splitting until training camp, so it was a good day for UDFA Dallin Holker to have his best day. Without Johnson or Hudson, there was a lot of work for him, and that translated into several targets, including two catches from Derek Carr during 7-on-7 work in the red zone.

The second catch was the most impressive, with Carr pumping to the right before coming up the seam and finding a leaping Holker for a touchdown over Demario Davis in coverage. Holker also caught passes from Jake Haener and Nathan Peterman during 11-on-11 work.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Saints bring any other bodies into the TE room — it’s likely they will — and it’s tough to make a decision before the pads are activated. Holker is also more of a tight end, and his blocking at that position could be limiting, especially early in his career. Still, he’s a young player with a lot of upside and will be interesting to watch during camp.

DON’T SLEEP ON UGO

Another player who has benefited from absences this week is Ugo Amadi. Without Kool-Aid McKinstry, the slot corner’s presumed top options, participating, it was the veteran who took the bulk of those shots and delivered them.

He had good coverage on a shot in the end zone aimed at Cedrick Wilson and took it. He just seems to show up around the ball a lot. With his versatility, special teams play, and familiarity with the system, he feels like a sure bet to land on this year’s roster.

HEAVY RED ZONE

There’s really no frame of reference for the new offensive scheme, but we’ve already seen a significant amount of red zone and situational work. We also saw the Saints pick up plays inside their own 10 yard line.

Red zone struggles were a major topic last year, and once the team put emphasis on it earlier in the week, things improved. It’s clear they’re making it a priority from the start and often this time around.

CLOSING CAREER

For the third day in a row, we saw Derek Carr take the ball in a scenario where the offense needed a touchdown to take the lead in the final minute. In both situations, he calmly led the team down the field to get the final score.

This is obviously nothing that would hold up in live NFL action, but you’d be wrong if you didn’t think the defense was doing everything they could to avoid this outcome. Here’s how today’s trip went:
– Carr to Wilson, left flat 5-8 yards
– Carr to Jamaal Williams left flat, 5-8 yards, first down
– Carr incomplete (Holker), Pete Werner on cover (possible flag)
– Carr incomplete (Olave), Marshon Lattimore on cover (potential sack by Carl Granderson)
– Carr to Wilson in the middle, 10-15 yards… 21 seconds to play
– Incomplete car to Moreau in the middle (low ball from the hands)
– Carr to Williams, left flat out of bounds… 9 seconds remaining
– Carr to Wilson, left flat out of bounds… 4 seconds remaining, ball inside the 10
– Carr to Olave, TD crossing left to right for a jump back from the end zone (Lattimore in coverage)

Yesterday’s practice featured Taysom Hill and Kamara, so we had a good spread of playmakers and pass catchers who made an impact.

We saw the Saints fail in two situations like that a year ago in back-to-back weeks (vs. Texans vs. Jaguars). If the Saints pull out one of those games, they have 10 wins and a playoff game. It’s good to see this part of the offense looking confident so far.

PERFECT GROUP AGAIN

There will be some interesting questions to answer in terms of directional kicks on kickoffs, but it’s really hard to see a legitimate kicker battle developing with Grupe looking as confident and efficient as he has this week.

Not only did he go 5-for-5 again today, but all five kicks were well in the uprights. There really weren’t any close incidents. It is important. Charlie Smyth has the stronger leg, but he has been a bit inconsistent. For now, I’m not going to spend too much time discussing hypotheses here.

LAGNIAPP…

Jake Haener was back with the 2 for the final day of minicamp, and I think we’ll continue to see him alternate with Rattler throughout camp. We may not get real answers until the preseason games. I wouldn’t say it was Haener’s best day, with his own potential nod bogging down after four games. I’d still give him the edge, but the competition looks a lot closer than it did earlier in the week. … CB Rezjohn Wright appears to be No. 5 beyond the obvious options at WR, but he missed a few opportunities to solidify that status today. He cut a ball perfectly in the back of the end zone from Rattler, but the pass – a ball, for what it’s worth – went through his hands and was caught for a touchdown by AT Perry. He later panicked on a deep ball and fouled Mason Tipton for what would have been a 30-plus yard penalty. He has time to solidify his status, but he might have opened the door for other players to move up the ladder. … STRUGGLE! It took the better part of three practices, but we finally saw our first fight at camp. This one took place between center Lucas Patrick and DE Trajan Jeffcoat. It was quickly broken, but that was just a sign of the restlessness that develops after a few days of hard training.