New Orleans Saints Tight End Adam Trautman
Video Call with New Orleans Media
Thursday, December 31, 2020

When you cut that pass to set up Alvin's (Kamara) touchdown, what was going through your mind? And just knowing how close that you helped him get to making that history?
"Well, if I'm being completely honest, I obviously knew he had a lot of touchdowns. I did not know exactly how many and to be completely honest, I was trying to score. So I told him the next day in the training room, I was like, you're welcome, for being so slow. So, he would get a sixth touchdown. But yeah, I mean, it feels great. He's a great guy, a great player. I'm glad it all happened for him."

I'm curious what the biggest takeaway has been for you in this rookie year, like, what's the best lesson you've learned over these 15 games now?
"I'd say, consistency. You know, you got to be consistent every week. I've talked about this before, you know, just earning trust. And one of the ways you do that is being consistent every week. And I've been trying to do that to the best of my ability, and that's how you stay in the game plan. That's how you stay active every week. Just playing and getting snaps. So really, that's what I'd say, I've learned the most is just how important consistency is and, you know, you've got to be alert at all times, meetings, practices, walk-thrus, it doesn't matter. You know, you've got to be super focused and really pay attention to everything that's going on."

Has it like, been what you expected? Or has it been maybe a little bit different?
"I don't know. I think it'd be, what I expected. For sure, it's super, it's intense. We have a lot of fun, obviously, but it's also a very, intense working environment. When you walk out to the walk thru, you better know what you're doing. There's no, ah, I messed it up, we'll get again, we don't have the time. So yeah, I mean, I'll just go back to, you know, you just have to be on your P's and Q's and be ready for anything."

Is there a particular area where you feel you've, you know, really had to work at getting more consistent? And maybe, on the flip side, an area where you thought you were able to kind of pick it up quickly?
"Yeah, I mean, I have to work on everything, to be honest, just continue to get better. And that's what you do as a tight end. You've got to excel in three different areas of the game; run game, pass game, and then pass protection as well. So, I'd say that the area I was most unfamiliar with coming in was definitely the pass protection. I didn't do much of that in college, but I'm far from polished or anything like that. So, I've been working at that, I work at that every day after practice, obviously, during practice when I've got to. And it's, and I feel more comfortable doing it, you know, when I've got to do it in games. I feel I'm more confident doing it. Run game, that was probably a second. I did a lot of it in college and everything. So, it wasn't foreign to me, but it was just, not messing up any technical, like any, you're too high, your hands, everything like that, like you're going to get taken advantage of, and obviously, in college, at the level that I played at, that didn't really matter as much. So, just being super technical, and pass game was always more natural to me. That's kind of how I started out in the position was as a pass catcher."

Like you said, you know, getting more consistent with that. Is it nice to see the work that you're putting in on that rewarded with the playing time?
"Absolutely. Yeah, I want to play and contribute, I want to be on the field as much as possible. And I keep seeing increased snaps on the field and everything like that. And I think it's showing that I'm gaining the trust of people in the building, especially offensively. So, you know, just stay on that track and continue to do that."

Feel free to tell me if this does not matter to you at all, but I'm curious, seeing a guy like Travis Kelce, for a while he was leading the NFL in receiving yards as a tight end. Just for young guys playing that position, does that mean anything to you? Seeing a guy lead the NFL in receiving yards at your position?
"Yeah, I mean, it's cool, obviously. He's the premier pass catching guy right now in the NFL at tight end, for sure. He's playing tremendous. And yeah, I mean, it's, l don't look at necessarily from, oh he's catching a lot of balls, like, maybe I will, kind of thing. But it's good to see. Every year, it feels like the tight end position becomes more and more important in the NFL. And that's all you can ask for. There's more reliance in every single offense on tight ends and obviously, as a tight end, you love to see that. So yeah, I definitely take notice of it, see it and it's great for the position."