Saints OTA observations: Tyler Shough shows off some special traits

Notes and observations from the second open OTA practice.

ATTENDANCE: Taysom Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, Alvin Kamara, Isaiah Stalbird, J.T. Gray, Demario Davis, Bryan Bresee, Davon Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd and Cam Jordan were absent.

Chase Young and D’Marco Jackson were among those who returned this week. Demario Davis was in the Saints' OTA highlights videos earlier in the week, but he was not out there Thursday. Jake Haener, Foster Moreau, Dallin Holker, Quincy Riley, James Burnip and Charlie Smyth were observers of practice.

SHOUGH UP: Tyler Shough showed his potential today. There’s probably still room for growth and improvement and all of that stuff. And we probably saw those things on his last throw of the day when he was a little bit telegraphed on a throw to Chris Tyree that got picked off over the middle.

But the rookie also really showed off his talent with a few really nice throws. First, he opened up his practice by hitting Bub Means on a bomb down the field with rookie cornerback Dalys Beanum in coverage. And later, he went deep up again, this time up the other sideline, for a deep touchdown pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones with Rejzohn Wright in coverage.

And those are the throws that are going to make the highlight reels and get talked about. But Shough’s day was about more than that. He made a great throw to tight end Jack Stoll on a pass that was layered nicely over safety Justin Reid. He also displayed some jaw-dropping ability on a throw where he was fading to his left and threw from an lower angle to put the ball on Cedrick Wilson on the sideline. It would have been a tough catch, and it was knocked away by linebacker Danny Stutsman, but Shough showed something special on that play.

RATTLER UP: Spencer Rattler also had another really good day. He connected on 10 of 12 passes and looked pretty well in command overall, just like the last time we were out at practice. His best moment of the day came when he hit Rashid Shaheed on a crossing route on a throw he layered over a defender.

One of the other better ones was when he had to do a little ad-libbing and rolling to the right after nothing was open to hit Chris Olave on the right sideline for an intermediate gain. Olave was covered well to start, but eventually got away from Alontae Taylor. It was a pretty hookup.

Rattler almost had his own home run to end the day on a deep ball to Shaheed up the sideline, but the throw was a little short, which caused the receiver to throttle down and allowed the cornerback to knock the ball away.

MORE SHOUGH: Shough really showed out in a drill for the QBs. The QBs had to step over pads after rolling out and then make a throw into the designated colored shape on the throwing net. He was on the money with every throw he had to make while also being on the run moving forward. It’s not doing it justice with words, but I don’t think he missed a single target that Scott Tolzien called out, and he had a good bit of those throws.

OFFENSIVE LINE GROUPINGS: There were a few changes in the second and third-team offensive lines, but the main group stayed the same. Here are the groupings from left to right.

OL1: Kelvin Banks Jr., Trevor Penning, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Taliese Fuaga

OL2: Easton Kilty, Dillon Radunz, Will Clapp, Nick Saldiveri, Landon Young

OL3: Easton Kilty, Torriccelli Simpkins III, Kyle Hergel, Josh Ball, Josiah Ezirim

ALONTAE ROLE: Looks like the Saints plan to use Alontae Taylor as an outside cornerback in base packages and then move him to the slot in nickel packages with Isaac Yiadom taking over on the outside. This would put him in the best position to use his explosiveness and play-making ability from the inside position. The cornerback looks like he's been preparing for both positions -- inside and out -- and will be ready to take on a dynamic role this season.

POSSIBLE STANDOUT: Newly-signed veteran Jonah Williams and rookie Vernon Broughton were the first two defensive tackles in walkthroughs before Khalen Saunders rotated in with them. Potential starters Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd were both absent, but Williams’ usage still feels notable through the first two weeks. Feels like he has a chance to carve out a role in a crowded position group.

UNIQUE WORK: The offensive linemen were working with bungee cords that were attached to the wall, practicing getting off the snap and changing direction with Brendan Nugent. Kellen Moore said after practice that he’s using a lot of bells and whistles to help teach right now. One player told me after practice that the medicine balls we referenced last week were something Nugent used in his last year here (2021).

Moving to the running backs, they were also using some resistance bands. They had someone pulling them back while they had to go and touch cones. Another drill saw them use yoga balls. They had to lie on it with their stomach and then roll over to regain their balance, and then make cuts running up the field after Joel Thomas directed them through the pads.

While a round of drills was going on with most of the special teams players, Juwan Johnson was working individually with tight ends coach Chase Haslett again. He had to duck under a bar and then catch a rugby ball. He was then working on catching tennis balls, which is ironic considering Johnson often juggles tennis balls before games. The tight ends had to catch balls in rapid succession to work on their hand-eye coordination while making one-handed over-the-shoulder catches. Foster Moreau, who likely won’t be back until training camp, did the tennis ball drill. He was also making some catches while against a football dummy with multiple arms. He was behind it and had to find the pass through all of the arms. It was entertaining to watch.

RETURN WORK: Main kick return group consisted of Rashid Shaheed, Kendre Miller and Moochie Dixon on one side, while Velus Jones Jr., Dante Pettis, Marcus Yarns, Chris Tyree and Donovan Peoples-Jones worked on the other side. Shaheed, Pettis, Chris Olave, and Brandin Cooks were fielding punts later in practice.

ROOKIE RISER: While the defense is not set in stone and we haven't seen Demario Davis yet, rookie linebacker Danny Stutsman got extended work with the first-team alongside Pete Werner on Thursday. We’ve been hearing a lot of positive reviews on Stutsman behind the scenes. Seems like the team is encouraged by his early progress.

SAFETY SHUFFLE: Terrell Burgess, who spent time with Brandon Staley in Los Angeles in 2020, is getting more looks at safety with no Tyrann Mathieu in the mix. Justin Reid and Jordan Howden were the primary ones.

BLENDING IN: I don't know that it's fair to make a big comparison here, but hearing Kellen Moore playing paintball with his players feels like a big deal. The team is doing a community event on Tuesday, and it's not just players. Coaches will also be a part of it.