Saints preseason finale: Shough, Wright among winners

By Ross Jackson

The New Orleans Saints may have lost their final preseason contest to the Denver Broncos, but there were more than a few winners from the day. Some in battles, others looking to carve out a role, these players did themselves some favors on Saturday or had performances at their position highlight their value.

QB Tyler Shough

Whether he did enough to win the starting quarterback job remains to be seen, but Shough definitely did enough to keep building excitement around his potential. His escape from pressure on a first down dump off to running back Devin Neal followed later by an 11-yard scamper on a zone read keeper for a rushing touchdown likely opened some eyes to his promise. What Shough will have to do next is figure out how to start faster in his eventual opportunities. 

The rookie could have been a loser at the conclusion of the final preseason game by being outperformed by second-year passer Spencer Rattler and the starters. However, Shough put up enough of a positive performance to not be overtly outshined. That’s a win in a tight position battle.

CB Rejzohn Wright

Wright tied with rookie safety Jonas Sanker for the lead in combined tackles, but led the team in solo takedowns. In coverage, Wright was stellar. Per Pro Football Focus, the third-year cornerback was targeted five times in primary coverage allowing three receptions and forcing an incompletion on those opportunities. He saw 39 coverage snaps and allowed just 5.6 yards per target.

Wright had a strong preseason before his injury last year. His continued upward trajectory couldn’t be better timed, as fellow corner Rico Payton is managing an injury and may miss some time.

WR Devaughn Vele

He may not have played, but the other wide receivers that did left no questions as to why Vele’s addition was an important one. On Saturday, Saints receivers were targeted four times in contested catch situations and only one of them was caught. Vele could immediately help in that area once he’s ready to be on the field in his new offense.

Additionally, the Saints were only 5/13 on third down, which is another area where he could prove helpful as a known chain-mover during his rookie season in Dallas. For a team that also had four passes dropped, three by wideouts, adding a player that charted no drops last year through 13 games should prove beneficial.

RB Kendre Miller

Miller looks to have locked up the second running back role in New Orleans. This was made obvious by head coach Kellen Moore choosing to have starter Alvin Kamara take only one snap with the starting offense and allowing Moore to take 11 of the 16 available reps with the unit. A much deserved win for the third-year back that’s looking to change the narrative around his early career. 

K Charlie Smyth

Smyth wouldn’t have been able to beat kicker Blake Grupe for the role in 2025 with just about any performance because of how well Grupe has done this camp and preseason. But Smyth has bounced back in a major way after missing several field goals throughout early training camp. He hasn’t missed since the preseason began, capping things off with a 52-yarder against Denver. He may not have won the job, but it’s becoming clearer and clearer that Smyth will be kicking in the NFL eventually.