3 takeaways from Saints unofficial depth chart ahead of preseason opener
By Kristen Wong
Saints takeaway No. 2: Abram Smith is badly losing the RB battle
The running back depth chart could look vastly different when Week 1 rolls around, and the initial ordering of NOLA’s RB room appears to be based on seniority.
Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram are confident locks for the top two spots, but the rest of the unit remains up in the air. What sticks out the most may be undrafted rookie Abram Smith finishing dead last behind the likes of Dwayne Washington, Malcolm Brown, and Tony Jones Jr.
Smith, who played linebacker for a brief stint in his college career, set a single-season record as a senior at Baylor with 1,621 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Saints were high on Smith when they acquired him earlier this summer, and Smith could still make out to be RB3 material.
The Saints released running back Malcolm Brown, per source.
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 10, 2022
Looks like Tony Jones, Dwayne Washington, Abram Smith and Devine Ozigbo are the guys in the mix for RB3.@ByLukeJohnson had that first.
NOLA has typically rostered four running backs in years past, which means Smith will compete with a handful of other unproven talents for either an RB3 or RB4 position.
Each running back should get his chance to shine in the spotlight in preseason, and it’ll be up to Smith to separate himself from the pack in the next few weeks.