Saints Rookie Report: 3 rookies end up a complete MIA in Week 1 victory

The New Orleans Saints highly-anticipated 2020 draft class was missing in action on Sunday as they recorded under ten snaps.

Footballguys.com records the snap count for each player the day following the game so the numbers were up today. With the New Orleans Saints Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the site, there were a few clear surprises.

One of them was how little the team’s rookies played. First-round pick Cesar Ruiz, a guard from the University of Michigan, was out. He missed his first chance at an NFL debut. Nick Easton slid in for Ruiz in his absence.

However, aside from Ruiz, the expectations at the beginning of the season for Dayton tight end Adam Trautman and Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun were high. Both were third-round picks for New Orleans.

That said, the team’s seventh-round pick Tommy Stevens, after being cut and signed to the practice squad, wasn’t activated, so it was just those two carrying the high expectations.

Neither of the two saw much action in Week 1.

According to footballguys.com, Baun didn’t get a single snap while Trautman played in seven snaps, 10% of the team’s offensive workload. Jared Cook and Josh Hill combined for over 100% of snaps, so the two were used together at times.

The Saints didn’t need much from their rookies as they still plowed over the Bucs 34-23. In what could’ve easily been almost a 20-point game, the Saints showed dominance over the team many thought would compete with them for the division.

In the near future, we should start to see more of Trautman and Baun.

Ruiz should also be expected to be back in Week 2. While the team will be fine with Easton in his absence, getting the preferred offensive line set will be a nice sight for both the coaching staff and fans alike.

The team’s 2020 rookie class didn’t have much impact in Week 1, but that shouldn’t translate to Week 2. Hopefully, in easier matchups, we’ll see more of Trautman and Baun.