5 players to watch: Saints at Chargers

After a great week’s worth of practice down in Costa Mesa, both teams are ready to put it all on display Sunday. There are many players on both teams striving to make an impact in this game as each is willing to put their best foot forward in hopes of making their teams roster. Specifically for the New Orleans Saints, there are a few players and positional battles that have been magnified these past couple weeks. Whether it be from a player's practice play or a spot that is not solidified going into the season. This week is another opportunity to find out more.

Here are five players to watch for in this week’s contest against the Chargers.

CB Alontae Taylor

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Taylor has started off his 2023 campaign on a lower note compared to what we saw last season. With high expectations from last year’s rookie, many expected Taylor to sort of run away with the #2 cornerback spot. So far, that has not been the case. Taylor got beat pretty badly twice while playing in the slot last week but made up for it with a pass break up that was then picked off by Ugo Amadi. With Paulson Adebo playing fairly well throughout camp, Taylor will have to quickly make up the slack during these next few weeks.

LB Jaylon Smith

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Newly signed Jaylon Smith has quickly entered into competition at the “next up” spot at linebacker behind Demario Davis and Pete Werner. The veteran has plenty of snaps as a starter throughout his career which gives him an edge already. He’ll be battling for the rest of camp and in these next two preseason games for that role with guys like Zack Baun, DeMarco Jackson and Nephi Sewell. Smith definitely looks the part already and has some freakish athleticism to go with it. It’ll be interesting to see if he can put it all together on Sunday.

DE Payton Turner

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Last game, the Saints defensive end play was very disappointing in some areas. Carl Granderson got manhandled a few times and rookie Isaiah Foskey looked pretty surprised to be out there. These are not good signs for a team struggling to find an answer at the position. Payton Turner though, had a few good moments getting some pressure on the quarterback and forcing errant throws. Turner must continue to show progression for the team to feel any good about where they’re at, at the position. Sunday is another opportunity to do that.

WR A.T. Perry

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A.T. Perry quickly came on the scene last game catching all six of his targets for 70 yards in his preseason debut. He ran crispy routes and made some really tough catches. A great surprise for Saints fans. Perry could become ultra important to this team in terms of depth as there are some questions at receiver with Michael Thomas and Rashid Shaheed’s injury history. Another good game and Perry could solidify his spot on this roster.

QB Jake Haener

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Saints rookie Jake Haener was an unexpected disappointment last week in his first preseason snaps. The QB looked unsettled in the pocket for much of the game and made some poor throws outside the numbers. He did settle in a little bit late in the game, but his performance was night and day compared to his training camp so far. Not that his play will dictate how this season will go for the Saints but for someone that we’ve heard such great things about in practice, it would be nice to see him put this on display sooner or later.