Saints 2022 Training Camp: 3 major standouts from first week

Saints’ standout No. 1: Andrew Dowell

Now there’s a name you don’t see in the headlines every day. Saints linebacker Andrew Dowell sits toward the back end of the depth chart behind Pete Werner, Kaden Elliss, D’Marco Jackson, and Zack Baun, but that doesn’t mean he’s not giving 100 percent on the field.

Dowell joined NOLA back in 2020 and has since played 17 games (starting none) for the Saints and recorded just 15 combined tackles. He featured in 77 percent of snaps on special teams, so New Orleans may consider him more of a situational utility player than a starting defender, yet Dowell is making his name known this training camp.

For the last two years, Dowell has been working hard at honing his craft and has developed into a useful defender for the Saints. He may not see much of the field in 2022, but his attitude and competitive spirit benefits everyone in camp and he sets a high standard of excellence for all players.

This season, Demario Davis and Pete Werner are the projected starting linebackers for the Saints, and barring injury, it’ll be difficult for another linebacker to break into the starter rotation.

Nonetheless, Dowell knows his worth, and the Saints do, too. Expect the special teams gem to keep putting in the work at camp and push his teammates to be better, faster, stronger, and all of the above.

Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and other fan-favorite Saints players will no doubt take their turns in the spotlight in 2022, but this week of training camp belongs to the Andrew Dowells of the team.

They deserve the recognition even if it’s just preseason.