We’re still over a month away from training camp start and we still have OTAs in the interim, but now that the 90 man roster has taken shape there are a lot of questions surrounding a number of players. As always, there’s a list of players that are circled as big question marks and the Saints will need at least some of them to work out for their roster to feel competitive and balanced. With that said, here are the players we should all be paying close attention to:
Josh Hill, TE: I think most of us picture Hill vaulting past Benjamin Watson as the starter and having himself a monster season while thrust into a prominent offensive role. Whether it’s been special teams or situational play on offense, we’ve seen Hill excel every time he’s been asked to do something. But this season will come with a lot more snaps and a lot more responsibility. He will either thrive with the added playing time or we’ll finally get a high enough dose of him to realize he’s just a hard working role player/decoy. I think we’re all hopeful he can turn into a 50+ catch machine with multiple touchdowns for the season, but if Watson stays ahead of him all season on the depth chart it would be a disappointment.
Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB: The consistent refrain we’ve had on this blog so far is questioning whether or not he even makes this team. There is a lot of competition at corner this season and I doubt the Saints will be willing to stomach another redshirt season. He needs to show significant improvement or the Saints need to re-consider tying up a roster spot for him. I think expecting a contribution of any kind this season from SJB is likely misguided, but his freakish height for a corner and his high draft pick investment (2nd round) still leave that twinkle of hope that he might turn a corner (pun intended). The Saints could really use a guy of his size, especially in the red zone, if he can start to perform.
Tim Lelito, G: He’s penciled in as the starter and he no longer needs to look over his shoulder. The main reason he lost the starter’s role to Jonathan Goodwin last year were his struggles with snapping. That duty is now removed with the addition of Max Unger and he can concentrate on playing guard. I think most of us expect him to be the starting left guard, though there will be competition from Senio Kelemete. Assuming he is the starter, how well does he play? He is without question the biggest concern on the offensive line. The good news is the Saints have options if Lelito doesn’t pan out, but many have hope he’ll turn out to be better than Ben Grubbs was last season.
Jairus Byrd, S: Before the knee injury even happened, Byrd was playing really poorly. He also had back surgery in the offseason which limited his reps on camp and made us all extremely nervous. His first season in New Orleans was a disaster on every level. And as good as he’s been in the NFL during his career, we haven’t seen anything close to that yet in Black and Gold. This is a big season for Byrd. He can rebound from 2014 or he can be well on his way to a once impressive career that is close to being finished. Crossroads season for Byrd.
Kenny Vaccaro, S: Vaccaro 2013 vs. Vaccaro 2014 is utterly shocking by comparison. One was a borderline rookie of the year candidate on a top 5 defense in the NFL, the other was arguably the worst performer on the worst defense in the league. And before you disagree too strongly with that last statement, consider that he was one of three players on that unit to get benched (Corey White and Patrick Robinson were the others). We’re all hoping and assuming he can return to 2013 form but that ankle injury turned out to be more devastating that most of us cared to admit.
Nick Toon, WR: At the end of last season he started to show signs of finally reaching some of this crazy potential we all see in OTAs and training camp. Toon is the prototypical monster performer in camp that can’t cut it in games. At least until late last year. With the Saints doing a poor job of improving the receiver corp after the trade of Kenny Stills (and missing out on Greg Jennings), Toon is penciled in as the #3. And as much hype as Seantavius Jones and Brandon Coleman are getting right now, Toon is ahead of both of them, has more experience, and should be able to get more playing time if he continues to improve. The Saints need someone to step up in the passing game with the loses of Pierre Thomas, Jimmy Graham and Stills. Is Toon ready to finally turn that corner?
Delvin Breaux, CB: He’s the best corner the CFL had to offer and many NFL teams wanted him. But the Marcus Ball experiment makes me nervous about how this will turn out. If he can become as good as everyone says he is, the Saints have a pretty terrific backfield trio tandem all of a sudden. Brandon Browner already makes the coverage unit better and more physical but if Breaux can develop into a solid contributor that’s what this defense will need to rebound.
Dannell Ellerbe, LB: He’s more versatile than Curtis Lofton but he’s not a tackling machine, and he’s coming off an injury that he’s still rehabbing. I thought landing him as a replacement was a bit of a head scratcher. I am not assuming that he’ll beat out David Hawthorne and/or Stephone Anthony. Clearly Jeff Ireland and Sean Payton have faith in him, though. But he’s probably going to start, at least at first, and I’m honestly not sure what to expect.
Anthony Spencer, LB: With Junior Galette causing problems, getting injured and flirting with suspension I think the Saints may need to rely on Spencer a bit early in the season. You have Kasim Edebali and Hau’oli Kikaha will definitely factor in on passing downs, but if Spencer can perform at the level he was playing last year the Saints will benefit from having him. He won’t be explosive and flashy like Galette, but he’ll be more well rounded and make the occasional play. He’s older, though, and had a horrible knee injury two years ago. He seems recovered from it but his time in the league may be limited.
Whoever the kicker is: Zach Hocker and Dustin Hopkins seem to be doing fine so far but if the idea of either of these two guys kicking for the Saints full time in 2015 doesn’t make you a little nervous, I’d like some of those meds.
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