Aug 10, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore reacts after the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Saints Position Battle Heating Up As Preseason Winds Down

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The New Orleans Saints have a lot of big decisions to make before Week 1 of the regular season. The biggest decision to make, as everybody seems to know, is the quarterback position. Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener are all engaged in a heated position battle for the most important role on the team.

But that's not the only position up for grabs. In fact, the Saints added a lot of young talent this year to try to plan for the future a bit. This young talent could take over for some older veterans as soon as Week 1.

Ben Strauss of ClutchPoints recently suggested the free safety position battle was one of the more intriguing battles in Saints camp. Strauss seemed to suggest rookie Jonas Sanker could steal the starting spot from veteran Julian Blackmon.

Saints free safety position battle could heat up in coming weeks

"As the veteran, Blackmon is the starter on paper for the Saints at this point during training camp. However, that could easily change with enough strong practices from Sanker," Strauss wrote. "Sanker admitted himself that he is still working on learning New Orleans’ scheme and building his fundamentals. This could keep him from playing at full speed until he feels more comfortable playing in the NFL. As such, earning a starting job in Week 1 could be tricky.

"This assumes that Blackmon will be a better starter in Week 1, which is a reasonable assumption. After all, he started in four out of the last five seasons in Indianapolis. If there’s one saving grace for Sanker, it could be Kellen Moore’s willingness to give younger players more reps during a retooling season for the Saints."

Both Sanker and Blackmon are new to New Orleans this season, Sanker coming through the NFL Draft and Blackmon through free agency.

But it seems like the job is Blackmon's to lose, especially as Sanker continues to try to learn and adjust to the speed and pace of the NFL.

Head coach Kellen Moore might give Sanker a bit of an edge as he looks to make the team younger, but the gap between Blackmon and Sanker might be too big for the rookie to start in Week 1. This is a better position battle to look at around the mid way point of the year. That's the more realistic time for the rookie safety to take over.

More NFL: Saints QB Battle Ramps Up; Rookie Expected To Start?

This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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