Saints Have One Position Battle Everyone Should Be Watching

There are a lot of position battles going on on Airline Drive as the New Orleans Saints are using the preseason to determine the depth chart and who will make the final 53-man roster.

There are plenty of intriguing position battles. With Tyler Shough holding down the starting quarterback role, Spencer Rattler and Zach Wilson are battling for the backup role. There’s also some interesting developments on the defensive line as John Ridgeway III has become one of the biggest standouts. 

However, the biggest position battle everyone should pay attention to is in the receiving corps.

The Battle for the WR3 slot

As it stands, $132 million man Chris Olave and first-round draft choice Jordan Tyson have seemingly locked up the first two spots in the receiving corps. However, one spot remains open.

Battling for the job are third-year wideout Devaughn Vele and rookies Bryce Lance and Barrion Brown. 

Vele became a favorite target of Shough in the second half of the season, catching 26 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown in his final four games before missing the last three due to injury.

Lance was an All-American wideout at North Dakota State, accumulating over 2,139 yards and 25 touchdowns. The 6-3, 204-pound receiver was drafted by New Orleans on the fourth round.

Brown was drafted in the sixth round by the Saints after accumulating 2.060 yards and 12 touchdowns at both Kentucky and LSU from 2022-25. He made most of his noise as a kick returner, taking back a kick return for a touchdown at least once in all four years.

Brown is Making Noise in Saint’s Training Camp

Without a doubt, Brown has been making the most noise of the three as each and every practice he is making a standout play or two,

"I knew he was an explosive player, but I didn't know he could play like that,” Saints left tackle Kelvin Banks said. “He's a dog, man. Even from the first practice, I seen him make some cuts, and run some routes and explode off the ball, and I was like 'yeah, he's going to be special.'"

Saints head coach Kellen Moore has been impressed with Brown’s mental fortitude during training camp and how well-prepared he is in practice and practice out.

“I think his just focus and his urgency to be really well-prepared,” Moore said. “I think he does an awesome job. I think that's, that's one of the parts that I'm most impressed by him, because I think that's the hardest part for these young guys: the physical part. They've played football, there's an acclimation part of that, but there's so much more of a mental wear and tear on them, um, with the preparation side, and sometimes that impacts their ability to go out there and perform. And so for Barrion, he's been really assignment-sound he's been really detailed, and so, all that credit goes to him getting ready.”

Training Camp Update

Here is the schedule through the weekend:

- Friday, Off Day
- Saturday, 9:00-10:30 a.m. (SOLD OUT)
- Sunday, 9:00-11:00 a.m. (SOLD OUT)

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