By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints have wrapped up their first day of rookie minicamp. While there’s no contact or pads, it doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of context to be gained from the day of work.
Here are a few takeaways from the practice, including the standout group of the day: wide receivers.
Questions Remain About Commitment On RB Alvin Kamara’s Future
It’s been the biggest question mark remaining about the Saints’ offseason thus far, but the clarity hasn’t been coming in a hurry. Head coach Kellen Moore was asked multiple times during his post-practice presser about the team’s expectations with Kamara and his future with the team. But answers remain uncertain and tied to roster evaluation.
“We’re just continuing to evaluate this roster,” he said. “So much of our time last week has been just on building up for this rookie camp and giving these guys as many opportunities as we can. That’s really been the focus getting this thing dialed up and ready. And so we’re excited about these young guys, and then we’ll just continue to work through this roster.”
When Moore was asked about the specific evaluation of Kamara being on the roster, Moore’s response was eerily similar to the vague responses given in his introductory press conference a little over a year ago when asked about then-starting quarterback Derek Carr.
“I think just evaluating the roster as a whole,” he said. “We’re always trying to acquire as many different talented players as we can. This rookie process will be a part of it. We know what Alvin means to us. We love Alvin. We’ve gone through this process, and so we’ll continue to go through it.”
Wideouts Show Speed, Athleticism
It’s no surprise that rookie first-round receiver Jordyn Tyson looked the part on Friday. His routes were crisp, he showed strong hands making some catches outside of his frame and looked incredibly smooth with his movements. He’s not hard to identify as a remarkably talented pass-catcher.
Canadian Football League’s No. 1 overall selection in 2025, Damien Alford, is hard to miss on the field. His dominant presence with his size (6-foot-6 and 224 pounds) combined with his surprisingly smooth movements make him stand out among the group. It was hard not to wonder if a tight end position switch was in his future when the Saints’ signed him, but after seeing his agile nature, one can easily see him continuing the wideout path as a big-bodied go-get-it type.
Fourth-round selection Bryce Lance made an impression as well with his sharp cuts and working at all three levels of the offense. His speed and athleticism shine. But it was an intangible piece to his game that stood out as well.
WR Bryce Lance Shows Accountability
At one point, Lance ran a slant route and the ball careened off of his hands. Not being able to reel it in, he quickly moved out of the drill’s space and dropped down to do push-ups. That wasn’t something we saw any other pass-catcher do. Lance said, after the practice, that this has been a part of his process for some time.
“I was raised in a household where you do your best, and if you don’t, then you work at it,” he told LouisianaSports.Net. “As a receiver, I pride myself in catching the ball. Just a quick reminder for me, it’s an easy way for me to drop it, (move on to the) next play. Move on.”
Lance said that number of push ups changes depending on the severity of the situation, with the base at 10 and no known ceiling.
“It depends on how mad I am,” he said. “The base is 10. I don’t know how much you can get up to.”
DT Christen Miller Managing Injury
Head coach Kellen Moore explained that Miller’s absence today during practice (he is at and in the facility with the rest of the players) was tied to an injury that he came in with after being drafted. It doesn’t seem to be an injury that is causing concern, however.
“He’s fine,” Moore said. “Just a couple of these guys come in, you put guys in different levels as far as the maintenance plan, just to make sure these guys are ramping up the right way. And so that’s part of this process. Checking in on them from a body standpoint. So he wasn’t out there necessarily doing any field work. But he’ll be fine.”
Later, Moore clarified that the management of Miller’s time is all about an injury, not body composition or shape and conditioning.
“He just had a little injury coming in,” he said.
Pace of Practice Up
When we entered the indoor facility, we were immediately met with the offense going through walkthroughs. Typically walkthroughs are slow, meticulous and detail-oriented. And while these were the latter two, the pace felt like a hurry up offense coming out of the huddle. The team would break huddle, three teams of rotation deep, and players would hurry to line. Of the display, Moore said this is a very important part of their evaluation process.
“The pre-snap of a walkthrough still needs to look just like a regular game,” he said. “The urgency, the attention to detail and we’ve got to be able to evaluate that you’re making the right decision. Whether it’s a blocking decision, a route decision, quarterback’s eyes, defenders, where their eyes are at, who’s setting the edge, every little detail. We can still evaluate that in a walkthrough setting while still controlling the ultimate intensity and outcome of the play. It’s really important for us.”
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