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Everyone has a Sean Payton story.

From his game-day antics, which have been caught on camera more than once, to his legendary motivational tactics, which might include wheeling in loads of cash to put on display, there are plenty of stories to tell. And those in the know swear we only know the half of it.

Over the last few weeks, I've been asking his former players to share their favorite story or memory of the Saints coach. Some of them are funny. Others shared some lessons they picked up from Payton.

Here is what a few guys had to say.***premium***

Jonathan Vilma

"I guess you guys must have heard of how Sean Payton turns Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think that's the saying. Where he is cool, calm and collected all during the week and then turns into this big badass on Sunday and he's trying to fight everyone. He is like Mr. Tough Guy.

"I remember in 2008, I just got there, and I had not seen this other side of Sean on Sundays until we got a defensive stop and scored a touchdown. It was against Atlanta at home, and he comes over like a big badass and is like I want another turnover, give me the ball back, give me the ball back.

"I was like who is this guy, what's going on. We go out there, and we actually got another turnover, and he has that like big strut when he walks around and has that little face going. I go over there, and I push him, and I'm like, 'What's up now!' He looked at me, and he was at first was surprised, then he got back into his mode like I told you to get the ball back. That was the first time I ever dealt with the other Sean.

"I call him the other Sean or Mr. Tough Guy, but having him as a coach like that is awesome. Because you always want someone with a chip on their shoulder, and you know he's passionate about the game."

Lance Moore

"I'll go back all the way to 2006, obviously Sean's first year, my second year with the Saints. And I didn't play against the Browns in the opening game. I had to attend a funeral for my grandfather, rest in peace. So, I play in the second game against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field. Very first play I'm in the game, punt return. I have a beautiful return, 25 yards, and I come to the sideline. Everybody's congratulating me, and I get a high five, and I feel pretty good.

"The very next play I'm in the game, I believe it was a third -and-4 or something. I get in the game, and I'm open for first down, drop the ball. Come to the sideline, and the first person that I see is coach Payton, and he's just giving me this scowl, and he's like, 'Is this too big for you? Is this too big for you?' And I'm like, inside I was just shook, scared and really didn't know at that point like, 'Man, this is kind of crazy.'

"But thankfully, I got it together, made some plays, and obviously ended up having a pretty good career, and learned to love Sean on game day with his crazy scowl and demeanor."

Usama Young

"I was fortunate to go to London twice during my NFL years. And the first time was when we played San Diego in 2008. And I wanted to host the trip. I wanted all the guys there, my boys, to go to Amsterdam and take the train to different places in London. And to do this, I wasn't going to ask for permission. I was just going to do it. So, I organized all the guys, and I was ready to go, and before we got on that train, I get the call from our head of security at the time. And he's like, 'Hey, get back here. Sean wants to speak to you.' And I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. I'm about to get cut in London. I'm about to get cut in London.'

"And I get back, and we have our talk. And he's like, 'We're already overseas. We're in a different continent. Why are you trying to go visit?' I'm like, 'Coach, I don't know if I'm ever going to come back to London. I don't know if I'm ever going to get to do this again. I just want to enjoy myself.' And he reminded me at that time; this is a business trip. We were about our business. We'll win this game. And he didn't say this verbatim, but I understood it. I will probably get cut. And that's Sean Payton to a tee. Like, 'Hey, this business. We're going to handle our business. Now, after we win, we can party. But while we're here, let's handle this.' So, I mean, I've got several stories, but I got to take it to when -- I'm glad we won out in London that week."

Jahri Evans

"Coach comes back all buffed out from the BS league suspension. You can tell he's been in the gym. He starts really pushing CrossFit and how it's awesome. I'm trying to apply the new conditioning test and how it's beneficial for 300 pounders on the offensive line and defensive line. Not liking all the conditioning test circuits presented, I did like them better than running that damn 300-yard shuttle.

"Long story short, we all take the new conditioning test, and he has to get back to us on players' effort and times to see if there would be any guys that have to retake the test. After the players took the test, he has the CrossFit trainers that he works with take the test, and their times are worse than every player, even the 300 pounders. And we're all like, 'He better not say we have to do this damn test again.'

"If I remember correctly, no one had to take it. And that was the last time he had CrossFit trainers take the conditioning test after pro athletes."

Caught by surprise

One of the biggest differences between the 2006 draft class and the 2017 class is that, for the most part, everyone knew the players coming in during 2017 has the potential to be unique. No one knew Alvin Kamara was going to be as good as he is, but, for the most part, everyone had a pretty strong pedigree.

That wasn't the case in 2006. Reggie Bush was pretty high profile, but Roman Harper wasn't high profile, no one knew Evans, and Zach Strief and Colston were unknown. Even the guys who were part of that class had no idea.

"We got there, (Marques) Colston was way overweight, so I didn't think he'd turn out to be the great player that he was," Harper said. "Everybody was so high on Mike Hass. We had this very, very tall, enormously big white guy named Zach Strief in the seventh-round who everybody was all excited about too. It was just crazy. Jahri had these big glasses on. These big, like really big thick glasses, so how can this guy be an O-linemen, be as tough and great he is.

"It's just funny we did not look the part, but we definitely came together and were very much so a vital part of getting that organization turned around and immediately we were all thrown in the fire and I think we all responded the right way."

Many people talk about the 2017 draft class as if it might be the best of all time, and it very well might, but those players will need to enjoy a considerable amount of longevity to become pillars of the franchise like the guys in 2006 had become.

A lot of that will depend on if the team can retain Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk and Alvin Kamara. If Marcus Williams sticks around, he'll need to become more consistent to achieve his full potential. The upside in 2017 is much higher, but those guys need to achieve and stack some years.

Brees' MVP odds

One of the great travesties of this era is that Drew Brees never won the MVP. He probably should have won in 2011 but came up against Aaron Rodgers, who might have had one of the most efficient seasons of all time. The greater travesty was that he lost the award to Peyton Manning in 2009. Brees was better than Manning that year and should have won the award.

So, if this is his last season, Brees will probably finish his career without winning the award despite leading the NFL in both touchdowns and passing yards.

In a league where Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson now exist, it's hard to see a scenario where Brees wins the award. But he was firmly in the conversation in 2018 until suffering an injury. While he missed some games last year, his numbers, stretched over a 16-game season, would have given Brees 4,333 yards on 74.3 percent passing with 27 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Not bad.

Updating draft capital

The Saints will have the following picks in 2021:

Round 1

Round 2

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

The third-round pick was traded to the Browns to acquire Pick 74 in the 2020 draft, which was used to select linebacker Zack Baun.

New Orleans is expected to receive a compensatory pick in the third round for losing Teddy Bridgewater in free agency to the Carolina Panthers.

There seem to be differing opinions about whether or not Jameis Winston will count against the compensatory pick formula. Since it was reported there was an agreement in place before the date passed to sign without it counting against the formula, Winston is not free and clear from it, which means he could erase the seventh-round pick the Saints should have gotten back for losing A.J. Klein.

However, a source said that Winston shouldn't count against the formula unless he earns the incentives in his contract, which is currently unlikely. A lot of this stuff and how it works is shrouded in mystery and is subject to best guesses, so no one knows for sure except the NFL.

Worst contract on the team?

I was recently asked who has the worst contract on the team during a radio interview and was a bit surprised that nothing immediately came to mind.

A few years ago, the answers would have been easy, and quite often, the names would belong to players who were no longer on the team but still counting heavily against the salary cap. It's been a while since an albatross was hanging on the books.

Larry Warford counts as $5 million in dead money, but the team created cap space by cutting him. Teddy Bridgewater and his $4 million hit is probably the ugliest thing on the books right now, and that isn't really bad at all.

The worst contract, just from a usage perspective, is probably guard Nick Easton's $5.8 million cap charge. He's an excellent insurance policy, but New Orleans might not even need him if things work out quickly for Cesar Ruiz.

Still, given the youth on the offensive line, having Easton around doesn't feel like a bad idea, even at that price.

Biggest concern

New Orleans has one of the best rosters it has put together during the Sean Payton era. However, it is thin at a few spots. How injuries play out on the defensive line and linebacker is one critical component, as well as how Adam Trautman emerges at tight end.

"When you're depending on some of these younger guys to come in and step up, that is tricky," former Saints running back Deuce McAllister said. "Then you have two guys coming off of (season-ending injuries) in the linebacker room (Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso). You lose A.J. Klein. So, the question comes, how do we address it?

"Dennis (Allen) will get creative with the ability to have some of those safeties (involved). Yes, they can play a little bit more nickel, a little bit more dime, but you have got to get teams in long-down situations because if not they are just going to run it at you, and so that is a concern. It has to be a concern. You wonder how (Marcus) Davenport's progressing. You wonder how Sheldon's (Rankins) truly progressing. Now they're able to get these guys in the building. Most of these guys have been in the building already, but you talk about once the games start, how are they going to hold up?"

We've heard that Rankins is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, but there is no doubt that depth and health at these spots will be one of the biggest keys of the season. A couple of things go wrong, and a strong defense could be in trouble real quick.

As McAllister noted, one of the things that could help the depth at linebacker is having a bunch of safeties. If things get too thin, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Malcolm Jenkins could take some snaps in the box in a linebacker role.

Baun's adjustment

One of the other big challenges of the season will be getting rookie linebacker Zack Baun comfortable playing as an off-the-ball linebacker who operates in space after serving predominantly as a pass rusher in college.

Outside of the varying physical demands, seeing the field in a new way will be something has to adjust to, particularly reading angles in a new way.

"When you're on the ball (at the edge), everything is kind of flat down the line, right?" former Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "You kind of just make sure you maintain the wall, and everything goes away from you, or if someone comes back, you stay there and hold your ground.

"When you're off the ball, your angles are a little different. You've got to get downhill more and be able to quote, unquote set up a wall, or whatever you want to get done as opposed to just going flat. So, that would probably be the way he has to enter into plays, to make tackles or set the wall and things of that nature. Once he gets used to that, he'll be fine."

UDFA hype

The Saints like the potential of undrafted defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, a Baton Rouge native who played his college ball at Texas.

The defensive lineman had 32 pressures last season and was solid against the run. His contract contained $95,000 worth of guarantees, which is not an insignificant amount of money for an undrafted player.

The amount doesn't guarantee Roach anything, but it does speak to what the team thinks of him. He definitely has a fan in defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen.

"I think he is extremely explosive, a smart player," Nielsen said. "I really like that about him. His intelligence, he sees things when you watch his games at Texas. I think he's an equally good pass rusher as a run defender. His game is not skewed one way or another. So, when we can get a player like that, and look, he's close to home now. He's going to have a lot of motivation to make this football team."

With limited preseason games (if any), making the team as an undrafted player will be difficult. Roach is going to have to flash early in camp and keep his momentum high to have a shot at making the team.