For the most part, the New Orleans Saints know what their 2023 roster is going to look like.
There is still a solid chance the team uses some of its available cap space to strengthen some soft spots in post-draft free agency, but the majority of the framework is already in place. Counting its as-yet unsigned draft picks, New Orleans has filled 85 of its 90 roster spots.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what its depth chart might look like going into the 2023 season. This is only an estimate, and it is subject to change depending on injuries and the performance of some players in the lead up to the regular season, but it’s a good place to start.
First, let’s take a look at the offense, which is hoping for a big rebound.
Injuries have certainly taken their toll the last two seasons specifically, but this once proud unit has been, at best, marginally effective the last two seasons. The Saints are banking on their big offseason addition, quarterback Derek Carr, turning that around.
QB: Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, Jake Haener
Wild card: Taysom Hill
The lowdown: For the first time since Drew Brees retired, it feels like the Saints have a plan at the position that goes beyond a year or two.
The Saints made a $150 million bet that they can get more out of Carr than what he showed in his nine seasons with a dysfunctional Raiders organization, then made some under-the-radar offseason moves to fortify the remainder of the offense around him.
Carr will almost surely make this offense better than it has been the last two seasons, the question is really just a matter of how much? Will this just be an offense that enables the Saints to contend for a playoff berth, or to contend for something bigger?
After signing Carr, the Saints continued to invest, bringing last year’s Week 1 starter Jameis Winston back on a more team-friendly deal, then using a fourth-rounder to select intriguing rookie Jake Haener.
And, let’s not forget Taysom Hill here. He is still technically listed as a tight end on the team’s roster, but New Orleans seemed to ditch that idea midway through last season, arriving at the realization that Hill is a much more effective weapon while operating out of the backfield. It would not be much of a surprise to see Hill back in a red non-contact jersey in training camp.
RB: Alvin Kamara, Jamaal Williams, Kendre Miller
FB: Adam Prentice
The lowdown: The Saints have asked a lot from Alvin Kamara the last two years, and judging from his production, they’ve probably been asking too much. He’s been forced into a sort of bell-cow role as the Saints have shuffled several ineffective No. 2 options in behind him.
New Orleans appeared to realize that error this offseason, signing Jamaal Williams to a three-year deal after he turned in a career-best season with Detroit in 2022 (1,066 yards, 17 touchdowns) and using the No. 71 overall pick on talented TCU running back Kendre Miller.
Miller will likely sit on the sidelines for much of the summer as he recovers from off-season knee surgery, but New Orleans is really excited about the rookie’s power-speed combination. There should be a role for him in this offense.
Even if Kamara serves a likely NFL suspension, New Orleans should have options to hold down the fort until he returns. And when he does return, the Saints should have a deep rotation in the backfield that, in theory, would allow Kamara to return to a role that better suits him.
After all, the last time Kamara was in a true timeshare (in 2020), he enjoyed the best season of his career, with 1,688 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns.
WR: Michael Thomas, Bryan Edwards
WR: Chris Olave, Tre’Quan Smith
WR: Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry
The lowdown: For the second straight year, New Orleans is going into the season with what looks like a strong receiver corps on paper. But nobody around here cares what it looks like on paper, and rightly so. Just think back to the Saints’ Week 6 wide receivers last year, when Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Keith Kirkwood and Kevin White led the wideouts in offensive snaps.
The Saints desperately need Michael Thomas to return to the field and to stay on the field. He is that important to what they do offensively, and nobody else on the roster can recreate what he does.
Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed were electric as rookies, and hopefully a full off-season allows them to improve on the areas of their game that were lacking last season. For Olave specifically, that is strength at the catch point.
Bryan Edwards was an interesting offseason addition. He’s still young (24 years old) and enjoyed the best year of his pro career with Derek Carr throwing him the ball, but he’s also coming off a year in which he caught just three passes in seven games for the Atlanta Falcons.
Rookie A.T. Perry has some exciting traits, but the team would be wise to bring the sixth-rounder along slowly. While Perry brings long, lean athleticism to the position (6-3, 198), he’s not the physical threat Thomas is.
Thomas has played 10 games in three years. He is clearly frustrated and motivated. If he can return to the form he showed in the first two weeks last season — which, considering his recent history, cannot be taken as a sure thing — the Saints should have an exciting receiver corps. Now they just need to prove it.
TE: Juwan Johnson, Lucas Krull, Miller Forristall, Joel Wilson
The low down: The Saints rewarded Johnson with a second contract after he showed some exciting traits as a field-stretching tight end last season. Johnson has improved in each of his first three years as a pro, and his best football might still be in front of him.
Still, this is a unit that could use some help. Beyond Johnson, the rest of the true tight ends on the Saints roster have appeared in a combined seven NFL games and have caught zero passes.
New Orleans wants to be a physical offensive team, and it likes using two tight end formations. Either it really trusts Lucas Krull, Miller Forristall and undrafted rookie Joel Wilson, or there’s another move on the horizon.
LT: Trevor Penning, James Hurst
LG: Andrus Peat, Nick Saldiveri
C: Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz
RG: Cesar Ruiz, Calvin Throckmorton
RT: Ryan Ramczyk, Landon Young
The lowdown: The Saints returned their top nine offensive linemen from a year ago (including Lewis Kidd, who is not listed here), then added to the group by trading up to select Nick Saldiveri in the fourth round.
Health is the biggest question here. The only one of the Saints’ regular starters who did not miss a game to injury last year was right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who was a constant presence on the team’s weekly injury reports.
Trevor Penning is the presumed starter at left tackle, but is still recovering from a Lisfranc injury he suffered in Week 18 last season. He is also a bit of an unknown, because two separate injuries limited him to 124 offensive snaps in 2022.
Right guard Cesar Ruiz is on the way back from his own Lisfranc injury, which cost him the final three games of last season. Ruiz was enjoying the best season of his NFL career before the injury, but is now in a contract year.
But, depth is a strong point here, especially if rookie Nick Saldiveri shows he’s ready to make the leap from Old Dominion. Saldiveri mostly played tackle in college, but he’s expected to play guard in the NFL.
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