Spencer Rattler vs Zach Wilson. Bub Means vs Kevin Austin Jr. vs Trey Palmer. Position battles are heating up and taking shape as the New Orleans Saints step into their second preseason game.
Joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams means the Saints once again won't play their starters. There's no starting roles on the line, so this strategy places a bigger spotlight on battles that are up for grabs.
The list of players to watch is mixture of players who played well in Week 1 and guys who need to step up. The opener told us a lot, and this week can serve as confirmation.
Zach Wilson is playing to steal Spencer Rattler's job
Zach WilsonÂ
There’s a chance Wilson could start the second preseason game. If he does, he will be playing to take the lead in a race for QB2 that didn’t even exist until last week.Â
Wilson was only taking snaps with the third team this offseason, but his strong performance last week led to him getting reps with the second unit for the first time this offseason this week. It’ll be important for him to carry over momentum regardless of what unit he’s playing with.Â
Spencer RattlerÂ
It’s only natural to go from Wilson to Rattler, because Wilson’s strong performance put pressure directly on Rattler. He went from hopefully being a trade target to fighting to be the backup in a matter of 60 minutes. Now, he needs a bounce back performance to shift the narrative.
That isn't all because of Wilson either. Rattler had a fumble that stemmed from poor ball security, and he didn't consistently drive the ball down the field either. Rattler had low low's and average high's last week, and he needs to at least fix the latter this week.
Bryce Lance
Lance is in a position where he isn’t in any jeopardy of losing his job. All we’re looking for out of Lance is confirming the training camp hype. He’s been on a string of strong performances, including two touchdowns in joint practices against the Rams.Â
Confirming what we’ve seen doesn’t mean scoring twice in the game. Barion Brown was in this position last week and a couple nice grabs was all the confirmation necessary. With Jordyn Tyson on the shelf for 2 months, Lance continuing his hot start is even more important.Â
Bub Means
Another wide receiver on the list, and this one is fighting for his roster spot. Means had a big game last week, hauling in a 27 yard and 37 yard pass downfield. His connection with Zach Wilson has been on display in practice and it translated to the preseason, as Wilson threw both of those long passes.
Tyson's injury is going to push the Saints to keep 6 receivers. It should come down to Means, Austin or Palmer. Means led the team in receiving yards last week and doing so again could give him a leg up in the situation.
Isaac Yiadom
Finally a defensive player! Yiadom has had a poor camp and he had a poor preseason debut as well. The highlights of Barion Brown has often come with Yiadom in coverage.
Yiadom is a veteran who was supposed to give the Saints some good depth, as a former starter. He hasn't played up to that standard this offseason, and the only thing saving him is other question marks below him on the depth chart. However, if Yiadom keeps playing like this, the Saints will go find another cornerback after cut downs.
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