SmashMouth

Earlier I profiled two of the New Orleans Saints' veteran sleepers to crack the 53-man roster - linebackers Jay Richardson and Baraka Atkins. Here's how I rank the undrafted rookies most likely to crack the 53-man roster, based on what we've seen so far:



1. OLB Eric Martin. The pass-rush specialist from Nebraska may not play tonight because of an undisclosed injury that limited him in practice this week. But he has clearly vaulted himself to the front of this pack so far. Not only has he shown his dynamic ability as a pass rusher, but he has also shown his prowess as a hammer on special teams - another strength of his in college.

2. CB Rod Sweeting. The Georgia Tech standout has made a number of standout plays, and he has drawn some strong praise from defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. He's in a very crowded competition at cornerback, along with the likes of veteran Chris Carr and young corners Corey White and A.J. Davis for one or two roster spots. But he's got a shot if he can keep making plays.

3. ILB Kevin Reddick. Reddick hasn't had a ton of dynamic highlights during camp, and he's been buried pretty far down the depth chart. But he's been consistently solid, and it's tougher for inside linebackers to shine since they don't do much live tackling in practice. I would've ranked the North Carolina standout first on this list before the Saints started training camp, and he has a chance to vault back up the list during the preseason games.

Glenn Foster, Rufus Johnson & Khiry Robinson: Saints Camp Sunday, July 28, 2013

Defensive end Glenn Foster (74) and linebacker Rufus Johnson (59) knock down running back Khiry Robinson (29) during practice at Saints headquarters in Metairie on Sunday, July 28, 2013. (Michael DeMocker, Nola.com / The Times-Picayune)
4. DE Glenn Foster. The Illinois product has had a few standout moments in camp. More importantly, he plays a position that became even thinner when the Saints lost veteran Kenyon Coleman to a season-ending injury this week. With veteran Tom Johnson also banged up, Foster will get an opportunity to move up the depth chart.

5. OLB Chase Thomas. Thomas was the biggest name among the Saints' undrafted free agent class after starring at Stanford. So he can't be ruled out. But the Saints keep giving other linebackers opportunities with the first and second string ahead of him (Martin, Atkins, Richardson, sixth-round draft pick Rufus Johnson).

HONORABLE MENTION:

- RB Khiry Robinson has been impressive so far during camp - a power runner from West Texas A&M who looks a lot like Chris Ivory, right down to the flowing hair and No. 29 jersey. And there's a great chance that he will rack up a bunch of yards and highlights against third-string defenses during the preseason, turning him into an Ivory-like fan favorite. But it's hard to imagine the Saints keeping five tailbacks if none of the guys in front of him gets hurt. So the practice squad is a more likely destination.

- QB Ryan Griffin has also impressed so far. But he, too, looks destined for the practice squad like young quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield before him. He's a long shot to bet out veterans Luke McCown and Seneca Wallace for the backup job, and the Saints typically only keep two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

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