The New Orleans Saints are two games through the preseason, which means players have one more game to prove themselves. This is most important for players on the roster bubble as they're looking to prove themselves to the Saints but also other teams around the league.
The Saints saw the same trend along their offensive line they saw a week ago. The struggles in the unit started with the starters and got better once the second unit came in.
We also saw the same trend with the quarterbacks where the second quarterback entered the game had the better day. It'll be hard to make that decision after this week's action. There were a couple of players who did standout. Just not in a good way
Cesar Ruiz leads the biggest losers from Saints second preseason games
Cesar Ruiz
The last thing you want to hear when walking away from a preseason game is one of your starters is the biggest black eye on the 60 minutes of action. Unfortunately, that's what Cesar Ruiz was on Sunday. The Jaguars defensive line was consistently in the backfield, and it was often Ruiz who opened the door.
Ruiz was the only starting offensive lineman to stay on the field after the second unit came into the game, and honestly it's hard to question Kellen Moore's decision. Ruiz struggled in the run and pass game. With so many moving parts, you need Ruiz to be steady. His performance today produced more doubt in his ability to do that.
Saints backup interior defensive line
If tackling could be a part of this list, it would have. Since it can't we'll point the finger at the entire backup interior defensive line. The struggles were understandable when facing the Jaguars' first unit. Unfortunately, those struggles continued when the Jaguars' second-team entered the game.
The interior defensive line was continuously pushed to the side or pushed back. This is purely in the run game. There was no pass rush either, but we can slander their run defense enough for the time being. There was too much movement in the trenches and poor tackling when hands did get on runners.
Cam Akers
Akers didn't necessarily play poorly, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Velus Jones Jr. just looked better. Jones Jr., in particular, had a couple of standout runs late in the fourth quarter and had the best running day. Edwards-Helaire had a pair of notable catch and runs. Akers didn't stand out on a day when his biggest obstacles to the roster played well. His stock dropped out of circumstance.