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Observers of Friday night’s preseason opener between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome shouldn’t blink too hard or they might miss the starters.

The exhibition games are a tool for the Saints coaching staff as part of the evaluation process before the team establishes the initial 53-player roster for the regular season.

And with so many clear starters on an already loaded roster, the Saints’ upcoming preseason slate should feature plenty of backups commanding playing time while jockeying for position on the depth chart.




TEDDY TIME

With Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints’ established starters not likely to play much –– if at all –– Friday night, other players should see extended action on the field. With just three quarterbacks on the roster, Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill project to see plenty of playing time.

Of the two signal-callers, Bridgewater provides plenty of intrigue outside of facing his former team. He’s coming off his first full offseason with the Saints and has enjoyed strong performances with a variety of throws during 11 days of training camp practices.

While the Saints brought back Bridgewater on a one-year deal in March, the path to a potential long-term deal in New Orleans effectively starts now.

RUNNING BACK DEPTH

Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray project as the top two running backs, and Dwayne Washington currently pencils in at No. 3.

Washington, whom coach Sean Payton recently pointed out is having a good camp, originally joined the Saints practice squad in early September 2018 before being elevated to the active roster. He faces competition from rookie Devine Ozigbo, recently signed Jacquizz Rodgers and Matthew Dayes, who has missed the past two practices for undisclosed reasons.

Ozigbo has quietly had his moments, including a play during the night practice at Tulane when he picked up a blitzing linebacker to allow Brees time to step up and find wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith for a touchdown during 11-on-11 drills at the goal line.

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K Major

Teddy
Murray
Ozigbo
Cobbs | Humphries | Cyril Grayson
Hampton

And of course the guys who I believe will have an impact year 1 ...

Chauncey Gardner - Johnson and Erik McKoy.

jeanpierre

Five Questions I have for this 2019 New Orleans Saints Squad:

First, starts up front, offensive line - Can McCoy take charge? Can Peat right the ship? Have we seen Warford's best? What's the GPs under/over for Armstead? Can Easton, Tom, Clapp win jobs?

Second, on the other side, defensive line, what kind of depth do we really have? Does Jordan maintain his elite play? Can Davenport finally step up? Is Trey our third edge rusher? Does Malcolm make our line elite?

Third, want to see what we have at RB after Kamara. Not gonna lie - I'm concerned we made another mistake with Ingram as we had with Sproles. Can the O still go with Ozigbo? (Couldn't resist)...

Fourth, who wins the regular nickel slot? Do we keep six CBs and five safeties this year?!? Does any of these guys earn an extension before Lattimore's pending big deal blows the budget?

Fifth, who wins the PR/KR job? Winner affects a minimum of twelve players making the roster (yeah, it has that big of an effect). Want the best man and would love Grayson to win it outright...

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

ChrisXVI

I’m pretty interested in seeing Justin Hardee’s development at CB. I think he’s a lock anyway as a special teams beast but we could really use him as a viable backup outside CB.

saintfan

I just wanna see some football...I haven't done any illegal streaming since last season. Wait...I've never done that. Move along. Nothing here to see.

jeanpierre

Other than our elite starters, Chris I don't think anyone's a lock unless that player can perform in more than one role, so I'd agree with your first inclination and Hardee will need to show ample development as a CB...

SmashMouth

Meghan Peyton, SP's daughter, to be sideline reporter for the game.
Here's an interview of her father.

How to Watch: New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings - Preseason Week 1

The New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings in week 1 of the 2019 NFL preseason at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Friday at 7 p.m. (CT).
Fans can catch the action on WVUE-Fox 8 and regionally on the Gray Communications family of stations. The new broadcast team for the preseason will make its debut Friday night, featuring Joel Meyers (play-by-play), Jon Stinchcomb and Jonathan Vilma (color analysts) and Meghan Payton (sideline). A half-hour prior to the 7 p.m. kick, a half-hour pregame show will air, featuring pre-game interviews with Sean Fazende and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and linebacker Demario Davis along with analysis from hosts Juan Kincaid and former Saints linebacker Pat Swilling from the Fox-8 studios. A half-hour pregame show will follow with analysis from Kincaid and Swilling, as well as a visit to the booth with Meyers, Stinchcomb and Vilma.

More Details Here

SmashMouth

For tonight's game.

Umpire: #11 Fred Bryan
Down Judge: #6 Jerod Phillips
Line Judge: #108 Gary Arthur
Field Judge: #42 Nate Jones
Side Judge: #80 Greg Gautreaux
Back Judge: #119 Greg Wilson
Replay official: Tom Sifferman
Replay assistant: Gavin Anderson

Referee: #19 Clay Martin ( graduated from USL (now ULL) )