The best part of the NFL season, training camp, is officially underway for the New Orleans Saints. Many position groups are set to have competition, but perhaps none more exciting than the tight ends. At least, that's the case if you ask Kellen Moore.
"I'm excited to let those guys compete. They'll define the roles and they'll sort it all out. We got a really talented group. I think we got seven tight ends, and we love all seven of them," Moore said to the media. "They're all tight ends that can play on Sundays this fall."
Currently the Saints actually have six tight ends on the roster. The push to force the Saints to keep a fourth on the roster puts a spotlight on the back end of this room.
The Saints can't carry seven TEs into the regular season. Some of them will have to go
On average, teams in the NFL carry three tight ends, with an outlier being the 2011 Packers (who had five on their 53-man roster). That means that there's not really a realistic way to keep all six tight ends on the final roster, no matter how excited they make the head coach.
The players the Saints have at hand can all bring different variables to the offense and range in experience from a rookie to an eight-year veteran. Headlined by Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant, it's unfortunate that some of the TEs will have to be put to the wayside the further training camp goes along.
Moore also isn't just making a mountain out of a molehill here because all tight ends could honestly find success at the top level. The team wouldn't have kept them all this long if they weren't. Although that doesn't mean that some don't have more to lose than others, because that is definitely the case in New Orleans.
Players like Moliki Motavo, Zaire Mitchell-Pade, and Treyton Welch have a ton to lose. It could very well be their last legit shot at a spot on the regular season roster, unlike the others. Furthermore, they're all fighting for a spot that might not even be on the team come September: the fourth TE spot.
Depending on how many TEs the Saints carry into the regular season, they might not even be battling for a 53-man roster spot. Practice squad or bust is really the mentality here. In turn, that'll also cause some intense and exciting battles in the Louisiana heat. Just like Kellen Moore wanted.
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