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Saints Training Camp 2024: Key Takeaways from Wednesday, Aug. 21

Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo participates fully in practice

Aug 21, 2024 at 03:19 PM

Todd Graffagnini

1. Wednesday Quick Hits: For the first time since mandatory minicamp in June, the New Orleans Saints practiced at the Oschner Sports Performance Center on Airline Drive. The two-hour practice was one hour outside on the Bermuda grass, and one hour at the indoor facility. All team periods were held indoors. The weather actually was rather pleasant for the outdoor individual/position portion, with cloud cover and temperatures that were tolerable for late August in New Orleans. The Saints will also practice Thursday at their facility. --- Running back Alvin Kamara went through his most complete practice in over a week participating in team drills, but his reps were limited. --- Cornerback Paulson Adebo participated fully throughout practice and took all reps at right cornerback with the ones. --- Trevor Penning and Oli Udoh alternated first and second team reps at right tackle in the last few team periods of practice. Kicker Blake Grupefollowed up Charlie Smythe's big night at Tulane with a solid day of his own. Grupe went six for seven, with all kicks in the indoor facility, with his only miss coming from 61 yards. The kick actually had the distance, but bounced a quarter way up the left upright. Grupe is now 64 for 76 on kicks throughout camp. --- For the first time in all of camp, the first team offense and defenses were running scout teams at half-speed, giving the other side a good look at what the opponent will be running. There is one more preseason game remaining, Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Caesars Superdome against the Tennessee Titans.

2. Foster shout out: Someone who has quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) gone about his business this training camp is tight end Foster Moreau. The sixth-year veteran from LSU has become a big-play target as camp has progressed from Irvine to New Orleans. Moreau has been working with the ones throughout the entirety of camp, and the chemistry he has established with quarterback Derek Carr throughout their career has been palpable. It seems time and time again when Carr needs a play to be made, he goes to No. 87. We've seen numerous touchdowns during team and seven-on-seven drills between the two, and during Wednesday's practice the two hooked up yet again on a deep cross for a 30-yard gain. What makes Moreau a coaches favorite is his willingness to block in the run game, as he has been responsible for numerous chunk runs with his kick out and roll back blocks. The Jesuit High School grad has been noticeably the most vocal offensive player going back to Day One in Irvine, not only firing his own side of the ball, but talking some trash toward the defense in the team periods. This is a guy who obviously loves the game of football, and it's been fun to watch him work on a daily basis. You would expect Moreau to be a big part of this Saints offense this fall in the pass and running game.

3. Play(s) of the Day: Utility man Taysom Hill continues to make big plays on offense when given the opportunity. It now seems those opportunities are coming more and more frequently. During Wednesday's indoor session at the Oschner Sports Performance Center, there were a couple. During the second team period and the offense moving from the plus 40-yard line and right to left, Carr executed a perfect play fake, almost as if he was simulating throwing a pass, but held on to the ball and rolled a bit to his left. That allowed Hill to leak out to the far right sideline undetected. Carr would throw back across the field to Hill, with no defender near him, for a huge gain down to the 10-yard line. Toward the end of practice and the offense moving the other way from left to right and at the minus 40-yard line, the two would connect for another chunk play of 35 yards on a deep seam route, in which Hill had split the coverage on the left hash by Adebo and Johnathan Abram.

All-Access Photos: 2024 Saints Training Camp practice 8/21/24