After the sigh of relief most New Orleans Saints fans let out on Tuesday morning following the good news around quarterback Jameis Winston’s injury, attention now turns to the team’s camp Day 12. While we do not expect to see Winston for the next few days (likely the rest of the practice week) there are still players to watch who get their first crack at preseason action this weekend. Here are three players to watch during Tuesday’s Saints camp, led off by the quarterback who will be executing the offense:
QB Andy Dalton
With Winston sidelined, the Saints get to show the value of one of their key offseason additions. Dalton, former Cincinnati Bengals signal caller, has been in a different offensive system in each of the last six years. For the team, having a quarterback with more than 160 NFL starts is remarkably important when losing a starting passer for any amount of time at this point in the offseason. Dalton and the offense should have no problems getting in and out of huddles and fringe players won’t lose an edge by playing with a less-experienced quarterback. Watching him pioneer the system will be interesting to watch today.
RB Devine Ozigbo
The Saints released their first unofficial depth chart this week ahead of this weekend’s preseason matchup with the Houston Texans. While it’s hard to draw any conclusions from it, some takeaways are worth at least watching. The team listed Ozigbo as in their second-string along with veteran back Mark Ingram. That should mean we’ll be seeing a healthy share of the former Nebraska Cornhusker this weekend. With that in mind, keeping an eye on the versatile and massive back will be wise.
LB Kaden Elliss
One of the performances we have not talked enough about throughout camp is that of former Idaho Vandal Elliss. He’s made great plays in the run game, but has also worked his way into great position in the passing game as well. He’s had some downs, but the ups are hard to miss. He should be the undisputed strongside linebacker going into this season and his flashes of playmaking ability are unique across the unit.
