Saints Training Camp Day 1: Breaking down all of our observations

Notes and observations from the first day of training camp.

OVERVIEW: The Saints' first practice at UC Irvine was an abbreviated 90 minutes, as mandated by league rules. So the team portion of practice was minimal as they begin to ramp up their activities.

DRESS CODE: Shorts

ATTENDANCE: TE Juwan Johnson (foot), DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles) LB Nephi Sewell (knee) did not practice. RB Kendre Miller (hamstring) and OT Justin Herron (knee) left early.

KAMARA IN FULL: Nobody really knew what to expect from Alvin Kamara on the first day of practice. Was he going to participate? Would there be an "injury"? And at first, it was hard to tell how things were going to go.

When Kamara first came out to practice, he didn’t have a jersey on and a few minutes after taking the field, he went up a set of steps and disappeared inside of the building. But when Kamara came back out, he did a quick equipment adjustment on his helmet and went to work.

Business as usual. Kamara ran hard throughout the practice and looked fast and explosive. He looked ready. And it doesn’t look like he’s going to approach anything with a bad attitude. The running back gave tips to younger players during individual drills and helped them get right when they needed to get right.

Kamara’s buy-in is incredibly important. He’s a key part of the team and he’s incredibly honest and doesn’t hesitate to share his truths. The fact that he’s willing to show up, play and put everything aside is a big development and should come as a sigh of relief.

But it is important to remember this is a fluid situation and if negotiations go sideways at some point, you never know what could happen next.

CHASE YOUNG LIMITED: The Saints got another huge positive development on the first day of camp, as Chase Young was able to practice and take part in individual drills.

The defensive end isn’t all the way back. He’ll have to ramp up a bit after missing all of the offseason program while recovering from neck surgery. But he also doesn’t look to be that far off. While his teammates went through some drills, Young broke off to the side at one point and started repping his technique with a trainer and looked pretty quick and explosive.

Young was a major addition for this team this offseason and it’s not outlandish to say that he could be someone that could swing the team’s fortunes. New Orleans badly needs more pass rush and more ability to win one-on-one matchups upfront. Young has been inconsistent throughout his career, but there’s no doubt that he has the ability to win those reps and make a huge impact.

KENDRE DISAPPOINTMENT: Miller left practice after pulling his hamstring on what looked like his first rep of the individual period. The second-year running back had a quiet and unimpactful spring, and now he’s gotten off to a rough start in training camp.

Dennis Allen called the running back out after practice and said he needs to find a way to get on the field and stay on the field because, “it’s hard to make the team from the training room.” Really have to like Allen setting a strong tone this early in camp.

But his message is also a reminder that things are going the wrong direction with Miller. He is a massive talent, but also a big disappointment to this point. We had heard that people were frustrated with how long Miller was taking to recover from a knee injury last offseason, and then he had issues with injuries that basically washed out his rookie season. Now this.

He really should be challenging the guys at the top of the depth chart, and right now it looks like he’s well behind a whole bunch of guys.

DEPTH CHART IN FOCUS: There were a few really interesting things with how the team had players stacked for the walkthrough before practice started. Particularly, Miller was on the secondary field opposite the starters and key players.

While Kamara, Jamaal Williams and Jordan Mims worked on the main field, Miller was with the third- and -fourth-team players on the second field. Safety Jordan Howden also worked on that other field, but was with the second-team during the team portion of practice.

Another interesting note: Dallin Holker and Michael Jacobson were both on the main field. The inclusion of those guys is likely as much about the lack of depth at tight end with Johnson battling an injury as anything, but there’s a very real possibility one or both of them could make the team.

CAM QUICK: Just a random observation, but it looked like Cam Jordan was moving well and had some quickness to him during practice. Jordan himself agreed, saying to a reporter afterward, "Did you see me out there?" and noting that he felt fast.

The defensive end had offseason ankle surgery and battled the ailment last year, so it’s reasonable to think he could bounce back a bit from the level he played at last season. New Orleans would be a better team if some of the younger guys climb the depth chart and claim snaps, but Jordan being better than last year would be a win for the defense.

OFFENSIVE LINE WORK: No change to Saints’ starting o-line on Day 1 (Trevor Penning RT, Nick Saldiveri LG). But Landon Young took some snaps at RT and Lucas Patrick at LG with the first team during walk-through. So competitions could emerge. Oli Udoh is another possible RT candidate. Patrick already feels like a valuable and versatile veteran backup. He saw time at left guard, center and right guard.

Second-team offensive line: LT Landon Young, RT Oli Udoh, C Lucas Patrick, LG Shane Lemieux, RG Kyle Hergel/Mark Evans II took turns

Third-team offensive line: LT Justin Herron, RT Josiah Ezirim, C Sincere Haynesworth, LG Nouri Nouili, RG Evans/Hergel

KOOL-AID MOVING WELL: Second-round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry worked as the second-team cornerback alongside Alontae Taylor with Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo serving as the starters.

The rookie moved well and looked comfortable participating in his first full practice after missing the offseason program while recovering from a foot fracture.

We didn’t see who is starting out ahead in the battle for the slot cornerback job since the offense only used base personnel that featured either two tight ends or two running backs.

WILLIE GAY EXPLOSIVE: All the linebackers had a good day. Pete Werner had a really nice moment when he blew up a run and looked like he had good range throughout practice.

But the newcomer Willie Gay also looked good throughout the practice, and the team has some really good depth there. Gay is fast and explosive and has a lot of range. You can feel his energy on the sidelines.

New Orleans also looks to be high on rookie Jaylan Ford. The rookie was on the first- and second-team field during walkthrough, but took his reps a little bit lower during the team portion of practice.

PENNING PROGRESS: We’re probably going to drive ourselves nuts early in training camp dissecting every snap that Penning plays. And it’s probably especially stupid to try to evaluate offensive line play when no one is wearing pads.

But what’s the point of doing this if we aren’t going overreact to minor things on Day 1 of camp?

There were both positive and negative snaps that stood out with Penning. The point: There are going to be ups and downs throughout his process and there’s a long way to go before we reach conclusions.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Defensive back Will Harris was getting a lot of reps early on in special teams drills on various units. He could be someone to keep an eye on as a potential core player.

Blake Grupe went 8-for-8 while kicking short field goals with one close call that went over the right upright. The teams also repped two fake field goal attempts.

ISAIAH FOSKEY REP: I thought it was a pretty solid day for Foskey. The second-year defensive end jumped on the radar a few times and made a positive impression. After a rocky first season, some positive momentum to start the year is a good thing for him.

CARR’S DAY: The team portion of practice was limited due to the shorter run time. Derek Carr looked pretty sharp throughout his reps, connecting on 4-of-5 attempts, including a nice rollout on a connection to Foster Moreau.

But Carr missed on one throw and threw a pick to Davis over the middle on a pass intended for Rashid Shaheed. This is the time of year for mistakes, so no big deal. Just strength on strength.

OTHER QBs: Jake Haener got second-team reps and hit on two of three attempts. His one miss came after James Robinson slipped and missed a pass.

Spencer Rattler missed on all three of his attempts, but one of them was a catchable pass that bounced off of Jacobson’s hands.

STOCK WATCH: This coaching staff seems to be very high on running back Jordan Mims. We’re starting to get to a point where that no longer looks like a fluke.