After Further Review: Five takes from Saints minicamp practice #1

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) -Take One: Cam gets paid

As we exited the indoor facility and walked to the outdoor portion of practice, news broke that Cam Jordan got his much-deserved payday.

According to reports, it’s a three-year, $52 million extension for Jordan. This would make him the fourth highest-paid defensive end in the league, and that’s exactly where he deserves to be. He’s a top-five talent at the position that is now compensated as such.

As Mike Triplett of ESPN pointed out, this is the first first round pick of the Sean Payton era to get to a third contract with the club.

Jordan was first in a decent line of Saints players up for significant pay raises in the near future. Sean Payton even suggested Tuesday that Michael Thomas could be next.

Take Two: Teddy back at QB1

With Drew Brees out again, Teddy Bridgewater was back with the first team at quarterback. That experience is invaluable for Bridgewater as he gets more comfortable within the offense. But overall, his practice was not as good as his previous one.

He started with the first team period with a strike to Simmie Cobbs down the seam for what would have likely been a touchdown.But he struggled with accuracy the rest of the day.

He misfired on back -to-back throws to Ted GInn, Jr. and Michael Thomas during seven-on-seven. During a red zone period, he overthrew Thomas on a fade in the end zone. He came back in the next team period with back-to-back completions to Jared Cook, which was a good sign. But in the final two-minute drill, Bridgewater went just 5/10 by my count. He closed out his day with a strike to Austin Carr on a skinny post that appeared to be a touchdown.

All in all, it was an inconsistent day for Bridgewater.

Take Three: Taysom making strides at QB

Working within the pocket, Taysom Hill had his best practice of the offseason that we’ve been able to witness. What really stood out was the accuracy on his throws.

During seven-on-sevens, he connected with Tre’Quan Smith on a deep in. He should have had a big completion to Garrett Griffin on an out-and-up route down the sideline, but Griffin dropped the pass. During the red zone period, he hit Risard Matthews, who was participating on a tryout basis, for a touchdown. He nearly had another touchdown, but Josh Hill dropped the ball in the end zone. That pass, however, was a tad high.

In the final two-minute period, Hill went 5/8 including an impressive pass to Dan Arnold on a corner route. His final pass looked like a touchdown until Matthews was ruled out of bounds.

Overall, Hill has shown growth as a true quarterback from an accuracy standpoint. If he can stay consistent with this part of his game, he will have a chance at the position at some point in his NFL career.

Take Four: Rugby meets football

I couldn’t imagine having my first time ever stepping onto a football field, it being for a professional team.

That’s the exact situation NOLA Gold rugby star, Tristan Blewett, found himself in Tuesday. Blewett was brought in on a tryout basis after a solid workout Monday at the team facility.

He worked with defensive backs in drills and punt/kick returner. He did not participate in team drills. Overall, he fielded two of his three punts cleanly and caught four of his six kickoffs clean and dropped one with another going over his head.

Again, this was his first time ever on a football field. Clearly things were very foreign to him, and he’s at the very basic level of football knowledge. Who knows where this is going? But there really is no harm in giving Blewett a tryout.

Take Five: Other Observations

Cyril Grayson keeps showing up. He put in another solid day Tuesday. During one-on-ones, he embarrassed a db on an out-and-up route for an easy score. During sevens, he caught a skinny post from J.T. Barrett that could have been a touchdown. During two-minute, he caught back-to-back balls from Taysom Hill.
Erik McCoy spent the day with the first team at center. Nick Easton was the first team right guard.
Terron Armstead did not do team drills. Marshall Newhouse started in his place.
Marcus Davenport had two sacks Tuesday but it was against Newhouse, not Armstead.
J.T. Barrett had a solid period during seven-on -sevens. He completed all four of his passes.
Cam Meredith did not practice. He spent the day watching from the sideline.
Keith Kirkwood, Larry Warford, Chris Banjo and Travin Dural also did not practice as well.
Rookie tight end Alize Mack had a nice day today. He made two solid catches during seven-on-sevens. He also had a nice grab during two-minute from Hill.
David Onyemata sacked Bridgewater during a team period.