Rookies Shaq Davis, Ellis Merriweather among Saints hoping to make one last push for roster spots Sunday

The Saints will be resting quarterback Derek Carr and “several” starters in Sunday night’s preseason finale against the Texans, according to coach Dennis Allen. So the primary focus, from a viewing standpoint anyway, will be seeing which players make a final push to earn a place on the 53-man roster before Tuesday’s roster cuts.

Here are the top battles where those final decisions could still come down to a “tiebreaker” after 21 training camp practices and two other preseason games:

Wide receiver

This battle has become a lot more interesting because of a late surge by undrafted rookie Shaq Davis, who flashed his impressive contested-catch ability in last Sunday’s game against the Chargers with three receptions for 63 yards – then continued to flash throughout this week of practices.

On 3rd down, Jake Haener to Shaq Davis for 18 yards 👏#Saints | 📺 FOX-8 pic.twitter.com/VsZUmRxP52— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 21, 2023

We’ve been debating on the show whether there is room for both Davis (a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder from South Carolina State) and rookie sixth-round draft pick A.T. Perry (a 6-6, 205-pounder from Wake Forest) since there are some redundancies there. Frankly, tight end Jimmy Graham plays a similar role as a big target who won’t be used much as a blocker or on special teams.

However, if both rookies continue to flash as much as they have in recent weeks, it could become harder to sneak them through waivers and onto the practice squad. As Nick pointed out, the Saints guaranteed more than $200,000 to Davis when they signed him after the draft, suggesting he already was on other teams’ radars.

New Show: Will Saints have any surprise cuts?📺: https://t.co/vSRpVb650Q@pjscoffee | @nofnetwork pic.twitter.com/B69vv3X3dY— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 26, 2023

“He’s doing a good job,” Allen said of Davis on Friday. “He’s making some catches in a contested environment, a big-bodied player. Still a ton for him to learn, a ton for him to get better at. But he’s making good progress.”

The best bet here is that four WR spots will be locked up by Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Rashid Shaheed and at least one veteran in Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood (depending on when the Saints expect Smith to return from his lingering groin injury). That might leave only one other spot for a young receiver. Lynn Bowden Jr. is among the other contenders, though a groin injury hasn’t helped his case.

Running back

Like Davis and Perry, undrafted rookie Ellis Merriweather has elevated his stock by flashing as one of the biggest eye-openers in the first two preseason games (14 carries for 41 yards and six carries for 43 yards and a touchdown). But his situation is a little different than the receivers.

With Merriweather, it feels like there is less risk of trying to pass him through waivers and onto the practice squad. For one thing, the supply outweighs the demand at RB throughout the NFL. For another, Merriweather wasn’t on other teams’ radars like Davis was. He went unsigned after the draft and signed with New Orleans after a rookie minicamp tryout.

However, Merriweather has a clearer path to playing time in Week 1, if the Saints believe he could be ready to serve as their No. 3 RB behind Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller while Alvin Kamara serves his three-game suspension. As of now, Merriweather’s competition for that job is newly-signed veteran Darrel Williams and second-year pro Kirk Merritt. But both of them have been dealing with injuries.

The Saints could obviously sign another experienced veteran RB off the street, too, if needed. So the battle here is really Merriweather trying to prove he’s ready to play in the NFL this early.

“I’ve been counted out. I was picked last. So every single day I come on the field, it’s about showing and proving I belong,” Merriweather said. “Third preseason game, I just want to show that I’ve grown from the last two. I’ve been able to show I can pass catch; I’ve been able to show I can run physically, could probably get my pass blocking a little bit better. I just want more opportunities to show I can put it all together.”

I used to watch his highlights before every game in HS/college …. Now i have the opportunity to work beside him everyday- something i do not take for granted ! Not only my favorite RB but one of the best to ever do it https://t.co/icvvpejHtI— Ellis Merriweather🕊 (@ellism_2) August 21, 2023

Kicker and punter

It’s hard to believe these battles could come down to a third preseason game, since the Saints have been evaluating every kick in practice and games dating back to OTAs and minicamp. But they have remained close enough that either a clutch kick or a slip-up could turn the tide.

Up until Friday, we have consistently considered the veteran Lutz as the front-runner in the kicker battle, despite the impressive confidence and consistency Grupe has shown as an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame. However, Lutz endured his worst practice to date Friday in the Superdome with two misses, while Grupe made all seven of his field-goal attempts, including a 59-yarder that bounced in off the crossbar.

We’re nitpicking here, since Lutz had made 93% of his kicks in Saints practices and games this summer, per source (78-of-84). But it’s a legitimate enough battle that it might come down to nitpicking. And timing.

The punter battle is a little different. While Lutz and Grupe look like they probably both belong on NFL rosters, punters Blake Gillikin and Lou Hedley have been more inconsistent this summer. So not only are they battling each other, but they need to prove the Saints shouldn’t switch them out for someone who is cut from another team’s roster on Tuesday.

Saints practice observations: Jaylon Smith, James Hurst, Jordan Howden look to be locking down roles https://t.co/ZcygvNykND— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 25, 2023

Defensive backs

This will be our hardest decision by far when we make our final 53-man roster projections. I genuinely want to keep 14 DBs, even though I would typically only have New Orleans keeping 10. That list includes CBs Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Bradley Roby, Isaac Yiadom and Anthony Johnson; plus safeties Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Jordan Howden, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Johnathan Abram, Ugo Amadi, J.T. Gray and Smoke Monday. Cornerbacks Troy Pride and Adrian Frye are also contenders in the crowded mix.

The Saints will need to prepare for a possible DUI suspension for Maye, though the league probably won’t suspend him before Tuesday’s roster cuts. So the Saints will have some tough decisions to make.

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi and assistant special teams coach Phil Galiano will have a lot of input in this decision, as well as the linebacker decision. They’re remaking a lot of their core since the Saints are heading into this season without four of their top six leaders in special teams snaps from last year (Andrew Dowell, Daniel Sorensen, Kaden Elliss, Dwayne Washington and Chase Hansen).

That could help Yiadom’s case, in particular, since he became a core special teams player after joining the Saints late last season.

Offensive line

This is another position where the Saints’ current backups could be competing with other teams’ roster cuts after some uneven performances throughout training camp and the preseason. As of now, we project the top backups to be Andrus Peat, Calvin Throckmorton, rookie Nick Saldiveri and Landon Young (depending on the status of his knee injury). But if none of those guys is ready to serve as the No. 2 RT in Week 1, then Storm Norton or Lewis Kidd could have an opening. They’ll need to force the issue with a strong performance Sunday night.

Other notables

Newly signed LB Jaylon Smith appears to have quickly cemented a role on the roster, but openings were created by summer injuries to Dowell and Ryan Connelly. Zack Baun and Nephi Sewell appear to have the edge on the fourth and fifth LB spots. So D’Marco Jackson, Anfernee Orji, Ty Summers and Nick Anderson might be competing for one spot at most.

TE Lucas Krull is firmly on the bubble, but the Saints will technically be keeping four tight ends ahead of him if you count both Taysom Hill and Graham. So the numbers get tough there. Unfortunately for Krull, he missed the first preseason game with a tailbone injury before having an uneven performance in the second preseason game while admittedly still shaking off some rust.

DE Niko Lalos gave perhaps the greatest single-quarter performance we’ve ever seen in a preseason game last week with three sacks, a tackle-for-loss and a pass defense against the Chargers. We’ve also seen some good things from DTs Jerron Cage, Prince Emili and Jack Heflin this summer. But we feel pretty good about the top nine defensive linemen making the Saints’ roster (DEs Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, Payton Turner, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Isaiah Foskey; DTs Bryan Bresee, Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepherd and Malcolm Roach). So there simply might not be an opening.

Beer will be in:Martin Wine and SpiritsRousesBreaux MartCansecosRobertsTotal WineWhole FoodsDorignacEliosSav N TimeMathernesSidney’sSavannah DiscountFaubourg Fresh MarketHong Kong Food MarketRainbow MarketAnd more— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 25, 2023