3 takeaways from the Saints win over the Chiefs

1. Derek Carr looks like what we hoped for

In his first outing as a Saint, Derek Carr led an impressive 12-play 80-yard touchdown drive on the Saints first drive of the game. Carr completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards a touchdown pass to Keith Kirkwood in the back corner of the end zone. Carr completed two passes for 29 yards to tight end Juwan Johnson and got Michael Thomas involved with a 16-yard pass. The sample size is small, but nevertheless you can’t help but be encouraged by what we saw out of the New Orleans Saints new quarterback this week.

2. The Saints should get Darrel Williams ready as fast as possible

With Alvin Kamara’s three game suspension looming to start the season, the Saints signed former LSU and Chiefs running back Darrel Williams on Monday. Williams is a good pass catcher, something that Kamara brings but is not a feature of many of the other backs on the roster. Jamaal Williams only caught 12 passes last year in Detroit and Kendre Miller only caught 16 last year at TCU. Miller did suffer a knee injury that does not seem to be severe but may keep him out for the rest of the preseason. The Saints need to get Darrel Williams incorporated in the offense soon over the next two preseason games, as he spent most of last year on injured reserve and may be asked to carry a heavy load as the main pass catching back over the first three weeks of the season.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

3. Jake Haener still needs some work

Saints rookie QB Jake Haener looked quite impressive throughout camp and OTAs, but his first outing in a live game left a bit to be desired. Haener completed 10 of 17 passes for 105 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Haener threw incomplete on four out of five third downs in the second half, leading to the Saints offense stalling and the Chiefs eventually taking the lead. Haener was eventually able to lead a touchdown drive that got the Saints within one, but the hype generated based on his performance in camp was not quite lived up to. One game does not tell the whole story however, but I think it can put to bed any notions that he had a chance to compete with Jameis Winston for the backup slot, especially given Winston’s solid performance to close the second half.

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