A number of players impressed for the New Orleans Saints during the team’s preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While many have seen their time in the limelight like quarterback Zach Wilson, cornerback Jayden Price, wide receiver Bub Means and others, some standouts haven’t seen a lot of attention.
Before the page turns completely away from the preseason opener, here are a few other names that stood out over the course of the matchup.
DL Christen Miller
The defensive lineman only saw limited snaps before exiting with a shoulder injury, but second-round selection Christen Miller looked dominant in the trenches, especially against the run.
Pro Football Focus rated Miller as the highest-graded rookie defensive linemen in the first preseason game. He was also the highest-graded player selected in the first two rounds.
He notched three stops on only eight run defense snaps, charged an average depth of tackle of just 1.3 yards and added a pressure in the pass rush game. That’s outstanding production for the rookie.
RB Audric Estime
The noise around running back Audric Estime has been surprisingly quiet. He’s shown well in training camp and capitalized on a good opportunity against the Jaguars by punching in the team’s first touchdown on a nine-yard run.
Beyond the touchdown, he went on to gather an additional four carries for 19 yards, an average of 4.75 yards per carry. Altogether, he averaged 5.6 in the day and 4.6 after contact. During the game, he forced three missed tackles as well.
With running backs Kendre Miller and Devin Neal having been sidelined for a number of practices, Estime has been making his claim for the third running back spot.
However, the back is now dealing with his own injury, after leaving Saturday’s game with an ankle injury following an awkward hit in the flats.
OL William Sherman
The 2021 sixth-round pick was the team’s highest-graded pass blocker, just ahead of fellow lineman Easton Kilty. The difference is that the versatile William Sherman earned his ranking on a whopping 45 pass blocking snaps.
In those snaps, he was credited with only one pressure, a hurry. He had no pressures allowed on his true pass sets, which include pass blocking reps where there is no play fake, no screens, no short dropbacks and at least four rushers are present.
Sherman’s ability to play all five spots in the offensive line is already a desirable trait, but after the loss of Dillon Radunz for the season, the value of versatility on the offensive line has skyrocketed. Sherman played 45 snaps at left guard and 21 at center during the preseason game.
